Communication method and communication apparatus

Abstract

A communication method and a communication apparatus. The method comprises: a first communication device receiving a first response message from a second communication device, wherein the first response message is used for indicating acceptance of an attachment request from the first communication device or rejection of the attachment request from the first communication device, and the attachment request from the first communication device indicates that the first communication device requests to access a network corresponding to the second communication device; and after receiving the first response message, on the basis of the first response message, the first communication device determining whether to monitor a paging message. Specifically, the second communication device is deployed on a first non-terrestrial network (NTN) device, and the first NTN device operates in a store-and-forward mode. In the communication method, whether it is necessary for a first communication device to monitor a paging message can be determined by means of a first response message. In some cases, it is necessary to monitor the paging message, while in other cases, monitoring of the paging message is not required. Therefore, a paging mechanism for the first communication device is defined for a discontinuous feed scenario.

Description

Communication method and communication apparatus

[0001] The present application claims priority from the Chinese patent application No. 202411369390.X filed on September 27, 2024, and entitled "Communication method and communication apparatus", the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication, and more particularly, to a communication method and a communication apparatus. BACKGROUND

[0003] The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is committed to combining the 5th Generation (5G) system network with satellites. The 3GPP has carried out standardization work on non-terrestrial networks (NTN) and satellite overall architecture (SAT_ARCH). The NTN includes two scenarios of transparent forwarding and regenerative forwarding. For the regenerative forwarding scenario, there may be non-continuous feeding, i.e., the service link and the feeding link cannot be available at the same time. For the data or signaling sent by the terminal device or the server side, it needs to be buffered on the satellite, and then when the feeding or service link is available, the information is sent to the terminal device or the server.

[0004] At present, the network access process of the terminal device is defined for the non-continuous feeding scenario, but whether the satellite pings the terminal device and how to ping the terminal device in the non-continuous feeding scenario are not defined. Therefore, for the non-continuous feeding scenario, how to define the detailed paging mechanism becomes a problem to be solved. SUMMARY

[0005] The present application provides a communication method, which provides a paging mechanism for the non-continuous feeding scenario.

[0006] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be performed by a first communication device. In the present application, the first communication device can refer to the first communication device itself (e.g., a terminal device), a component in the first communication device (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a chip system, such as a circuit or a chip responsible for communication functions in a terminal device (e.g., a Modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a system on chip (SoC) chip or a system in package (SIP) chip containing a modem core)), or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the first communication device. For ease of description, the following description takes the first communication device as an example.

[0007] The communication method includes: receiving a first response message from a second communication device, the first response message being used to indicate acceptance of an attachment request of the first communication device or rejection of the attachment request of the first communication device, the attachment request of the first communication device indicating that the first communication device requests to access a network corresponding to the second communication device; and determining whether to monitor a paging message according to the first response message, wherein the second communication device is deployed on a first non-terrestrial network (NTN) device, and the first NTN device works in a store-and-forward mode.

[0008] Based on the above technical solution, in the case that the NTN device works in the store-and-forward mode, the first communication device can determine whether to monitor the paging message according to the received first response message responding to the attachment request of the first communication device, that is, in the technical solution, whether the first communication device needs to monitor the paging message can be determined by the first response message. In some cases, the paging message needs to be monitored, while in some cases, the paging message does not need to be monitored. In the case that the NTN device works in the store-and-forward mode, it can be understood that the first communication device is in a feeder discontinuous scenario, thereby defining a paging mechanism for the first communication device in the feeder discontinuous scenario.

[0009] In addition, compared with the case that the first communication device does not make any judgment and continuously monitors the paging message, in the technical solution, the first communication device can not need to monitor the paging message in some cases, which can reduce the energy consumption of the first communication device to some extent, thereby reducing the energy consumption of the terminal device in the feeder discontinuous scenario.

[0010] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the determining whether to monitor the paging message according to the first response message includes: determining to monitor the paging message according to the first response message; or determining not to monitor the paging message according to the first response message.

[0011] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the determining not to monitor the paging message according to the first response message comprises: determining not to monitor the paging message according to the first response message and a first condition, the first response message being used to indicate acceptance of the attachment request of the first communication device, and the first condition comprising: the first communication device working in a store-and-forward mode; and / or the first response message comprising a monitoring list, the monitoring list comprising information of at least one NTN device for the first communication device to access.

[0012] Based on the above technical solution, the first communication device determining not to monitor the paging message according to the received first response message can be: in the case that the first response message indicates acceptance of the attachment request of the first communication device, the first communication device determining not to monitor the paging message according to the received first response message and a first condition, the first condition being a judgment condition known to the first communication device. Thus, the first communication device can independently determine not to monitor the paging message without the indication of the network side, thereby reducing signaling overhead.

[0013] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the determining to monitor the paging message according to the first response message comprises: determining to monitor the paging message according to the first response message and a second condition, the first response message being used to indicate acceptance of the attachment request of the first communication device, and the second condition comprising: the first communication device not working in a store-and-forward mode; and / or the first response message not comprising a monitoring list, the monitoring list comprising information of at least one NTN device for the first communication device to access.

[0014] Based on the above technical solution, the first communication device determining to monitor the paging message according to the received first response message can be: in the case that the first response message indicates acceptance of the attachment request of the first communication device, the first communication device determining to monitor the paging message according to the received first response message and a second condition, the second condition being a judgment condition known to the first communication device. Thus, the first communication device can independently determine to monitor the paging message without the indication of the network side, thereby reducing signaling overhead.

[0015] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the determining not to monitor the paging message according to the first response message comprises: determining not to monitor the paging message according to first indication information comprised in the first response message, the first indication information being used to indicate that the first communication device does not monitor the paging message.

[0016] Based on the technical solution, the first communication device can determine not to monitor the paging message according to the received first response message. The first response message can carry first indication information indicating that the first communication device does not monitor the paging message. The first communication device can determine not to monitor the paging message based on the first indication information, without self-judgment based on conditions, thereby simplifying the operation of the first communication device.

[0017] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the determining, according to the first response message, to monitor the paging message includes: determining, according to second indication information included in the first response message, to monitor the paging message, the second indication information being used to indicate that the first communication device monitors the paging message.

[0018] Based on the technical solution, the first communication device can determine to monitor the paging message according to the received first response message. The first response message can carry second indication information indicating that the first communication device monitors the paging message. The first communication device can determine to monitor the paging message based on the second indication information, without self-judgment based on conditions, thereby simplifying the operation of the first communication device.

[0019] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, in the case of determining, according to the first response message, not to monitor the paging message, the method further includes: sending third indication information to the second communication device, the third indication information being used to indicate that the second communication device does not initiate the paging.

[0020] Based on the technical solution, after the first communication device determines not to monitor the paging message based on the first response message, the first communication device can indicate the network side not to initiate the paging through the third indication information. That is, the network side can determine not to initiate the paging procedure based on the explicit indication information of the first communication device. In this technical solution, the network side can not need to initiate the paging, and the paging mechanism of the network side is defined for the power feeding discontinuous scenario.

[0021] In addition, compared with the network side directly paging the terminal device within the coverage range, in this technical solution, the network side can not need to initiate the paging in some cases, which can reduce the energy consumption of the terminal device within the satellite coverage range to a certain extent. In addition, the network side can know whether to initiate the paging through the received second indication information, without self-judgment based on conditions, thereby simplifying the operation of the network side.

[0022] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, in the case of determining, according to the first response message, to monitor the paging message, the method further includes: sending fourth indication information to the second communication device, the fourth indication information being used to indicate that the second communication device initiates the paging.

[0023] Based on the above technical solution, after the first communication device determines not to monitor the paging message based on the first response message, the fourth indication information can be used to instruct the network side to initiate paging, that is, the network side can determine to initiate the paging process based on the explicit indication information of the first communication device, and the paging mechanism of the network side is defined for the power feeding discontinuous scenario.

[0024] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, in a case where it is determined according to the first response message that the paging message is not monitored, the method further includes: in a case where there is an uplink information transmission demand of the first communication device, accessing a second NTN device according to a monitoring list included in the first response message, the monitoring list including information of at least one NTN device for the first communication device to access, and the second NTN device being one of the at least one NTN device for the first communication device to access.

[0025] Based on the above technical solution, in a case where the first communication device determines not to monitor the paging message, the first communication device can access the satellite when there is uplink data or signaling to be transmitted, so as to realize data or signaling transmission, that is, the first communication device accesses when there is uplink transmission demand, thereby avoiding unnecessary signaling overhead.

[0026] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: sending a first request message to the second communication device, the first request message being used to request to attach to a network corresponding to the second communication device, and the first request message including information indicating that the first communication device works in a store-and-forward mode.

[0027] The second aspect provides a communication method. The method can be executed by a second communication device. In the absence of special description, the "second communication device" in the present application can refer to the second communication device itself (for example, an access mobile management network element), a component (for example, a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.) in the second communication device (for example, a circuit or a chip responsible for communication function in a terminal device (such as a Modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a SoC chip or a SIP chip containing a modem core)), or a logic module or software capable of realizing all or part of the functions of the second communication device. For ease of description, the following describes an example in which the second communication device executes.

[0028] The communication method includes: receiving a first request message from a first communication device, the first request message being used to request to attach to a network corresponding to the second communication device; and determining whether to initiate paging according to the first request message, wherein the second communication device is deployed on a first non-terrestrial network (NTN) device, and the first NTN device works in a store-and-forward mode.

[0029] Based on the above technical solution, in the case that the NTN device works in the store-and-forward mode, the second communication device can determine whether to initiate paging through the received attachment request, that is, in this technical solution, whether the second communication device needs to initiate paging can be determined through the first request message, and in some cases, paging needs to be initiated, while in some cases, paging can not need to be initiated. Wherein, the case that the NTN device works in the store-and-forward mode can be understood as that the second communication device is in a feeder discontinuous scenario, so as to define the paging mechanism of the second communication device for the feeder discontinuous scenario.

[0030] In addition, compared with the case that the second communication device does not make any judgment and continuously initiates paging, in this technical solution, the second communication device can not need to initiate paging in some cases, which can reduce the energy consumption of the terminal device in the coverage range of the second communication device to a certain extent, so as to reduce the energy consumption of the terminal device for the feeder discontinuous scenario.

[0031] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementation manners of the second aspect, the determining whether to initiate paging according to the first request message comprises: determining to initiate paging according to the first request message; or determining not to initiate paging according to the first request message.

[0032] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementation manners of the second aspect, the determining not to initiate paging according to the first request message comprises: determining not to initiate paging according to the first request message and a third condition, the third condition comprising at least one of the following: the first communication device working in a store-and-forward mode, the first communication device storing a monitoring list, the second communication device accepting the attachment request of the first communication device, or the data volume of the first communication device being less than a first threshold value, the monitoring list comprising information of at least one NTN device for the first communication device to access.

[0033] Based on the above technical solution, the second communication device determining not to initiate paging according to the received first request message can be: the second communication device determining not to initiate paging according to the received first request message and a third condition, the third condition being a judgment condition known to the second communication device. Therefore, the second communication device can independently determine not to monitor the paging message without the indication of other devices, thereby reducing the signaling overhead.

[0034] In some implementations of the second aspect, the determining to initiate the paging according to the first request message comprises: determining to initiate the paging according to the first request message and a fourth condition, the fourth condition comprising at least one of the following: the first communication device not working in a store-and-forward mode, the first communication device not storing a monitoring list comprising information of at least one NTN device for the first communication device to access, the second communication device rejecting an attachment request of the first communication device, or a data volume of the first communication device being greater than or equal to a first threshold value.

[0035] According to the above technical solution, the second communication device determines to initiate the paging according to the received first request message and a fourth condition known to the second communication device. Thus, the second communication device can independently determine to monitor the paging message without the indication of other devices, thereby reducing signaling overhead.

[0036] In some implementations of the second aspect, the determining not to initiate the paging according to the first request message comprises: determining not to initiate the paging according to third indication information included in the first request message, the third indication information being used to indicate that the second communication device does not initiate the paging.

[0037] According to the above technical solution, the second communication device determines not to initiate the paging according to the received first request message and third indication information included in the first request message. Thus, the second communication device can determine not to initiate the paging based on the third indication information without self-judgment based on conditions, thereby simplifying the operation of the second communication device.

[0038] In some implementations of the second aspect, the determining to initiate the paging according to the first request message comprises: determining to initiate the paging according to fourth indication information included in the first request message, the fourth indication information being used to indicate that the second communication device initiates the paging.

[0039] According to the above technical solution, the second communication device determines to initiate the paging according to the received first request message and fourth indication information included in the first request message. Thus, the second communication device can determine to initiate the paging based on the fourth indication information without self-judgment based on conditions, thereby simplifying the operation of the second communication device.

[0040] In a possible implementation of the second aspect, the method further includes: sending, to the first communication device, a first response message in response to the first request message, the first response message including first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate that the first communication device does not monitor a paging message.

[0041] According to the above technical solution, after the second communication device determines not to initiate paging according to the received first request message, the second communication device can indicate the first communication device not to monitor the paging message through the first indication information, that is, the first communication device can determine not to monitor the paging message based on the explicit indication information of the second communication device, which means that the first communication device can not need to monitor the paging message in this technical solution, and the paging mechanism of the first communication device is defined for the power feeding discontinuous scenario.

[0042] In a possible implementation of the second aspect, the method further includes: sending, to the first communication device, a first response message in response to the first request message, the first response message including second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate that the first communication device monitors a paging message.

[0043] According to the above technical solution, after the second communication device determines to initiate paging according to the received first request message, the second communication device can indicate the first communication device to monitor the paging message through the second indication information, that is, the first communication device can determine to monitor the paging message based on the explicit indication information of the second communication device, which means that the paging mechanism of the first communication device is defined for the power feeding discontinuous scenario in this technical solution.

[0044] In a third aspect, a communication apparatus is provided. The communication apparatus is configured to implement the first aspect and any of the implementation forms thereof. Specifically, the communication apparatus includes a processor and a memory configured to store a computer program; the processor is configured to invoke and run the computer program from the memory, so that the communication apparatus implements the first aspect and any of the implementation forms thereof.

[0045] In an implementation form, the communication apparatus is a terminal device. When the communication apparatus is a terminal device, the transceiver unit can be a transceiver, or the input / output interface. The processing unit can be at least one processor. Optionally, the transceiver can be a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the input / output interface can be an input / output circuit.

[0046] In another implementation form, the communication apparatus can be a chip, a chip system or a circuit in a terminal device. At this time, the transceiver unit can be an input / output interface, an interface circuit, an output circuit, an input circuit, a pin or a related circuit on the chip, the chip system or the circuit; the processing unit can be at least one processor, a processing circuit or a logic circuit.

[0047] In a fourth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided. The communication apparatus is configured to implement the second aspect and any of the implementation forms thereof. Specifically, the communication apparatus includes a processor and a memory storing a computer program; the processor is configured to invoke and run the computer program from the memory, so that the network device implements the second aspect and any of the implementation forms thereof.

[0048] In an implementation form, the communication apparatus is a network device. When the communication apparatus is a network device, the transceiver unit can be a transceiver, or the input / output interface. The processing unit can be at least one processor. Optionally, the transceiver can be a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the input / output interface can be an input / output circuit.

[0049] In another implementation form, the communication apparatus can be a chip, a chip system or a circuit in the network device. At this time, the transceiver unit can be an input / output interface, an interface circuit, an output circuit, an input circuit, a pin or related circuit on the chip, the chip system or the circuit; the processing unit can be at least one processor, a processing circuit or a logic circuit, etc.

[0050] In a fifth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided for implementing the method in the first aspect. The apparatus includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit, wherein the transceiver unit is configured to transceive information, and the processing unit is configured to perform internal processing actions.

[0051] Specifically, the transceiver unit is configured to receive a first response message from a second communication device, the first response message being configured to indicate acceptance of an attachment request of a first communication device or rejection of the attachment request of the first communication device, the attachment request of the first communication device indicating that the first communication device requests to access a network corresponding to the second communication device; and the processing unit is configured to determine whether to monitor a paging message according to the first response message, wherein the second communication device is deployed on a first non-terrestrial network (NTN) device, and the first NTN device operates in a store-and-forward mode.

[0052] In some implementation forms of the fifth aspect, the processing unit is configured to determine whether to monitor the paging message according to the first response message, including: the processing unit is configured to determine to monitor the paging message according to the first response message; or the processing unit is configured to determine not to monitor the paging message according to the first response message.

[0053] In some implementations of the fifth aspect, in accordance with the first response message, the processing unit determines not to monitor the paging message, including: in accordance with the first response message and a first condition, the processing unit determines not to monitor the paging message, the first response message indicating acceptance of the first communication device's attachment request, and the first condition including: the first communication device operating in a store-and-forward mode; and / or, the first response message including a monitoring list including information of at least one NTN device for the first communication device to access.

[0054] In some implementations of the fifth aspect, in accordance with the first response message, the processing unit determines to monitor the paging message, including: in accordance with the first response message and a second condition, the processing unit determines to monitor the paging message, the first response message indicating acceptance of the first communication device's attachment request, and the second condition including: the first communication device not operating in a store-and-forward mode; and / or, the first response message not including a monitoring list including information of at least one NTN device for the first communication device to access.

[0055] In some implementations of the fifth aspect, in accordance with the first response message, the processing unit determines not to monitor the paging message, including: in accordance with first indication information included in the first response message, the processing unit determines not to monitor the paging message, the first indication information indicating that the first communication device does not monitor the paging message.

[0056] In some implementations of the fifth aspect, in accordance with the first response message, the processing unit determines to monitor the paging message, including: in accordance with second indication information included in the first response message, the processing unit determines to monitor the paging message, the second indication information indicating that the first communication device monitors the paging message.

[0057] In some implementations of the fifth aspect, in accordance with the first response message, the processing unit determines not to monitor the paging message, including: in accordance with first indication information included in the first response message, the processing unit determines not to monitor the paging message, the first indication information indicating that the first communication device does not monitor the paging message.

[0058] In some implementations of the fifth aspect, in accordance with the first response message, the processing unit determines to monitor the paging message, including: in accordance with second indication information included in the first response message, the processing unit determines to monitor the paging message, the second indication information indicating that the first communication device monitors the paging message.

[0059] In a possible implementation of the fifth aspect, in the case that the processing unit determines not to monitor the paging message according to the first response message, the processing unit is further configured to access a second NTN device according to a monitoring list included in the first response message in the case that there is an uplink information transmission requirement of the first communication device, the monitoring list including information of at least one NTN device for the first communication device to access, and the second NTN device being one of the at least one NTN device for the first communication device to access.

[0060] In a possible implementation of the fifth aspect, the transceiver is further configured to send a first request message to the second communication device, the first request message being used to request to attach to a network corresponding to the second communication device, and the first request message including information indicating that the first communication device works in a store-and-forward mode.

[0061] The method shown in the fifth aspect and possible designs thereof has the technical effects as the first aspect and possible designs thereof.

[0062] The sixth aspect provides a communication device for implementing the method shown in the second aspect. The device includes a transceiver and a processing unit, where the transceiver is configured to transceive information, and the processing unit is configured to perform internal processing actions.

[0063] Specifically, the transceiver is configured to receive a first request message from a first communication device, the first request message being used to request to attach to a network corresponding to the second communication device. The processing unit is configured to determine whether to initiate paging according to the first request message, where the second communication device is deployed on a first non-terrestrial network (NTN) device, and the first NTN device works in a store-and-forward mode.

[0064] In a possible implementation of the sixth aspect, the processing unit is configured to determine whether to initiate paging according to the first request message, including that the processing unit is configured to determine to initiate paging according to the first request message, or the processing unit is configured to determine not to initiate paging according to the first request message.

[0065] In some implementations of the sixth aspect, in conjunction with the sixth aspect, the processing unit, configured to determine, according to the first request message, whether to initiate the paging, includes a processing unit configured to determine, according to the first request message and a third condition, whether to initiate the paging, the third condition including at least one of the first communication device operating in a store-and-forward mode, the first communication device storing a monitoring list including information of at least one NTN device for the first communication device to access, the second communication device accepting an attachment request of the first communication device, or a data volume of the first communication device being less than a first threshold.

[0066] In some implementations of the sixth aspect, in conjunction with the sixth aspect, the processing unit, configured to determine, according to the first request message, whether to initiate the paging, includes a processing unit configured to determine, according to the first request message and a fourth condition, whether to initiate the paging, the fourth condition including at least one of the first communication device not operating in a store-and-forward mode, the first communication device not storing a monitoring list including information of at least one NTN device for the first communication device to access, the second communication device rejecting an attachment request of the first communication device, or a data volume of the first communication device being greater than or equal to a first threshold.

[0067] In some implementations of the sixth aspect, in conjunction with the sixth aspect, the processing unit, configured to determine, according to the first request message, whether to initiate the paging, includes a processing unit configured to determine, according to third indication information included in the first request message, whether to initiate the paging, the third indication information indicating whether the second communication device initiates the paging.

[0068] In some implementations of the sixth aspect, in conjunction with the sixth aspect, the processing unit, configured to determine, according to the first request message, whether to initiate the paging, includes a processing unit configured to determine, according to fourth indication information included in the first request message, whether to initiate the paging, the fourth indication information indicating whether the second communication device initiates the paging.

[0069] In some implementations of the sixth aspect, in conjunction with the sixth aspect, the transceiver is further configured to send, to the first communication device, a first response message in response to the first request message, the first response message including first indication information indicating that the first communication device does not monitor a paging message.

[0070] In some implementations of the sixth aspect, in conjunction with the sixth aspect, the transceiver is further configured to send, to the first communication device, a first response message in response to the first request message, the first response message including second indication information indicating that the first communication device monitors a paging message.

[0071] The technical effects of the method shown in the sixth aspect and possible designs thereof can refer to the technical effects in the second aspect and possible designs thereof.

[0072] In a seventh aspect, a computer readable storage medium is provided. The computer readable storage medium stores a computer program which, when executed, causes the method of any of the first aspect and the second aspect to be performed.

[0073] In an eighth aspect, a computer program product containing instructions is provided. When the computer program product is executed, the method provided by any of the first aspect and the second aspect is performed.

[0074] In a ninth aspect, a chip or chip system is provided. The chip includes a processor and a communication interface. The processor reads instructions through the communication interface and executes the method provided by any of the first aspect and the second aspect.

[0075] Optionally, as an implementation form, the chip further includes a memory. The memory stores a computer program or instructions. The processor is configured to execute the computer program or instructions stored in the memory. When the computer program or instructions are executed, the processor is configured to execute the method provided by any of the first aspect to the fourth aspect.

[0076] In a tenth aspect, a communication system is provided. The communication system includes the communication device of the third aspect and the communication device of the fourth aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0077] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture provided by the present application.

[0078] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of another network architecture provided by the present application.

[0079] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a transparent payload satellite network architecture provided by the present application.

[0080] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a regenerative satellite network architecture provided by the present application.

[0081] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a feeder discontinuous scenario provided by the present application.

[0082] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an MME split architecture provided by the present application.

[0083] FIG. 7 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0084] FIG. 8 is a schematic flowchart of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0085] FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0086] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0087] In order to facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the following points are first explained.

[0088] First, in the present application, "for indicating" can include for directly indicating and for indirectly indicating. When describing that certain indication information is for indicating A, it can include that the indication information directly indicates A or indirectly indicates A, and does not mean that A must be carried in the indication information.

[0089] The information indicated by the indication information is referred to as to-be-indicated information, and in the specific implementation process, there are many ways to indicate the to-be-indicated information, for example but not limited to, the to-be-indicated information can be directly indicated, such as the to-be-indicated information itself or an index of the to-be-indicated information. The to-be-indicated information can also be indirectly indicated by indicating other information, where the other information and the to-be-indicated information have an association relationship. The to-be-indicated information can also be only indicated in part, and the other part of the to-be-indicated information is known or agreed in advance. For example, the indication of a specific information can also be achieved by means of the arrangement order of each information agreed in advance (for example, specified by a protocol), thereby reducing the indication overhead to a certain extent. At the same time, the common part of each information can be identified and uniformly indicated, so as to reduce the indication overhead caused by separately indicating the same information.

[0090] Second, in the present application, "at least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more (including two). In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, "first", "second", and various numerical numbers (for example, "#1", "#2", etc.) are only for the convenience of description and do not limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. The size of the serial number of each process below does not mean the execution order, and the execution order of each process should be determined according to its function and inherent logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application. It should be understood that the objects thus described can be interchanged under appropriate circumstances, so as to be able to describe schemes other than the embodiments of the present application. In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, the words such as "S610" are only for the convenience of description and do not limit the order of execution steps.

[0091] Third, in the embodiments of the present application, the words "exemplary" or "for example" are used to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any embodiment or design scheme described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the present application should not be construed as being more preferred or having more advantages than other embodiments or design schemes. Rather, the words "exemplary" or "for example" are used in the sense of presenting a specific example.

[0092] Fourthly, the "storing" in the embodiments of the present application can refer to storing in one or more memories. The one or more memories can be separately arranged or integrated in the encoder or decoder, processor, or communication device. The one or more memories can also be partially separately arranged and partially integrated in the decoder, processor, or communication device. The type of the memory can be any form of storage medium, which is not limited in the present application.

[0093] Fifthly, in the embodiments of the present application, the "protocol" can refer to a standard protocol in the communication field, which can include the NR protocol and related protocols applied in future communication systems, which is not limited in the present application.

[0094] Sixthly, in the embodiments of the present application, "of", "corresponding", "relevant", "corresponding", and "associate" can be used interchangeably at times. It should be pointed out that the meanings expressed are consistent when the differences are not emphasized.

[0095] Seventhly, in the embodiments of the present application, "in the case of", "when", and "if" can be used interchangeably at times. It should be pointed out that the meanings expressed are consistent when the differences are not emphasized.

[0096] Eighthly, the term "and / or" in the present application only describes the association relationship of the associated objects, which means that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B can represent the following three cases: A exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / " in the present application generally represents an "or" relationship between the associated objects.

[0097] Ninthly, the terms "message", "information", or "information element (IE)" can be used interchangeably in the present application, and the names of the messages or information are not limited in any way as long as the corresponding functions can be implemented.

[0098] Tenth, in this application, "sending" and "receiving" represent the direction of signal transmission. For example, "sending information to XX" can be understood as the destination of the information is XX, and "sending information" can include direct sending or indirect sending through other units or modules. "Receiving information from YY" can be understood as the source of the information is YY, and "receiving information" can include direct receiving from YY or indirectly receiving from YY through other units or modules. In addition to the air interface sending or receiving signals realized by the whole machine level such as network equipment or terminal equipment, "sending" can also be understood as the "output" of the chip interface, and "receiving" can also be understood as the "input" of the chip interface. For example, the modem or system-level chip (such as SoC chip or SIP chip, etc.) sends or receives signals. "Sending" or "receiving" can also be carried out by device components, such as sending or receiving signals through several parts, modules, chips of the device through bus, wire or interface.

[0099] The technical solutions in this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0100] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, for example: long term evolution (LTE) system, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, LTE time division duplex (TDD), 5th generation (5G) system or new radio (NR), and future communication systems, vehicle-to-X (V2X), which can include vehicle to network (V2N), vehicle to vehicle (V2V), vehicle to infrastructure (V2I), vehicle to pedestrian (V2P), etc., long term evolution-vehicle (LTE-V), Internet of Vehicles, machine type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), long term evolution-machine (LTE-M), machine to machine (M2M), wireless local area network (WLAN), etc.

[0101] In addition, the technical solutions of the present application can be applied to satellite communication systems, high altitude platform (HAPS) communication, unmanned aerial vehicles and other non-terrestrial network (NTN) systems, such as integrated communication and navigation (IcaN) systems, global navigation satellite system (GNSS), and ultra-dense low-orbit satellite communication systems, etc.

[0102] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system suitable for the present application. As shown in FIG. 1, the network architecture can include three parts, which are terminal device part, DN and operator network PLMN part respectively. The functions of the network elements of each part are briefly described below.

[0103] The terminal device part can include a terminal device 110, which can also be referred to as a user equipment (UE). The terminal device can access the communication system as described above, and is a device or module with corresponding communication function. The terminal device can also be referred to as a user equipment (UE), a terminal, a user apparatus, an access terminal, a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a mobile station (MS), a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a terminal unit, a terminal station, a terminal apparatus, a wireless communication device, a user agent, or a user device. A communication module, circuit, or chip for performing the corresponding communication function is usually arranged in the terminal. Program instructions configured to perform the corresponding communication function are also arranged in the terminal.

[0104] For example, the terminal in the embodiments of the present application can be a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA) computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer (Pad), a drone, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a machine type communication (MTC) terminal, a virtual reality (VR) terminal, an augmented reality (AR) terminal, a smart point of sale (POS) machine, a customer-premises equipment (CPE), a light UE, a reduced capability UE (REDCAP UE), a wearable device (such as a smart watch, a smart bracelet, a pedometer, smart glasses, etc.), an internet of things (IoT) terminal, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in smart city, a wireless terminal in smart home (such as a game console, a smart TV, a smart speaker, a smart refrigerator, and fitness equipment, etc.), a transport vehicle with wireless communication function, a communication module, a roadside unit (RSU) with terminal function, a flight device (such as a smart robot, a hot air balloon, a drone, an airplane). The terminal device can also be a vehicle device, such as a whole vehicle device, a vehicle-mounted module, a vehicle-mounted chip, an on-board unit (OBU), or a telematics box (T-BOX), etc.

[0105] The operator network PLMN part can include, but is not limited to, the RAN 120 and the core network (CN) part.

[0106] The RAN 120 is an implementation system between the service nodes of the operator network and the terminal device 110. To access the operator network, the terminal device 110 first passes through the RAN 120, and then can be connected with the service nodes of the operator network through the RAN 120.

[0107] The access network device can be a network-side device with wireless transceiver function. The access network device can be an apparatus in a radio access network (RAN) that provides wireless communication function for terminal devices, referred to as a RAN device. The RAN can be a 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP)-related cellular system, such as a 5G mobile communication system, or a future-oriented evolution system (such as a next-generation mobile communication system). The RAN can also be an open radio access network (O-RAN or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (CRAN), or a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system. For example, the access network device can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a next-generation NodeB (gNB) in a 5G mobile communication system, a base station in a subsequent evolution of 3GPP, a transmission reception point (TRP), an access node in a WiFi system, a wireless relay node, a wireless backhaul node, etc. In a communication system using different radio access technologies (RATs), the name of the device with base station function can be different. For example, it can be referred to as an eNB or eNodeB in an LTE system, and as a gNB in a 5G system or an NR system. The specific name of the base station is not limited in the present application. The access network device can include one or more co-sited or non-co-sited transmission reception points. For another example, the access network device can include at least one of one or more central units (CUs), one or more distributed units (DUs), and one or more radio units (RUs). In different systems, the CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU can also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in an open RAN (ORAN) system, the CU can also be referred to as an O-CU (open CU), the DU can also be referred to as an O-DU (open DU), the CU-CP can also be referred to as an O-CU-CP, the CU-UP can also be referred to as an O-CU-UP, and the RU can also be referred to as an O-RU. Any of the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, and RU in the present application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.Exemplarily, the functions of the CU can be implemented by one entity or different entities. For example, the functions of the CU are further divided, i.e., the control plane and the user plane are separated and implemented by different entities, namely a control plane CU entity (i.e., a CU-CP entity) and a user plane CU entity (i.e., a CU-UP entity), which can be coupled with the DU to jointly complete the functions of the access network device. For example, the CU is responsible for processing non-real-time protocols and services, implementing radio resource control (RRC), and the functions of the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer. The DU is responsible for processing physical layer protocols and real-time services, implementing the functions of the radio link control (RLC) layer, the media access control (MAC) layer, and the physical (PHY) layer. In this way, part of the functions of the radio access network device can be implemented by multiple network function entities. These network function entities can be network elements in a hardware device, or software functions running on a dedicated hardware, or virtualized functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform). The access network device can also include an active antenna unit (AAU). The AAU implements part of the physical layer processing functions, radio frequency processing, and related functions of the active antenna. Since the information of the RRC layer will eventually become the information of the PHY layer, or be converted from the information of the PHY layer, in this architecture, high-layer signaling, such as RRC layer signaling, can also be considered as being sent by the DU, or by the DU+AAU. It can be understood that the access network device can be a device including one or more of the CU node, the DU node, and the AAU node. In addition, the CU can be divided into an access network device in the radio access network (RAN), or the CU can be divided into an access network device in the core network (CN), which is not limited in the present application. For another example, in the V2X technology, the access network device can be a road side unit (RSU). The multiple access network devices in the communication system can be the same type of base station, or different types of base stations. The base station can communicate with the terminal device, or communicate with the terminal device through a relay station. In the embodiments of the present application, the device for implementing the functions of the access network device can be the access network device itself, or a device capable of supporting the access network device to implement the functions, such as a chip system or a combination device or component that can implement the functions of the access network device, which can be installed in the access network device. In the embodiments of the present application, the chip system can be composed of a chip, or can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0108] The CN part can include, but is not limited to, the following NFs: a user plane function (UPF) 130, a network exposure function (NEF) 131, a network repository function (NRF) 132, a policy control function (PCF) 133, a unified data management (UDM) 134, a unified data repository (UDR) 135, a network data analytics function (NWDAF) 136, an authentication server function (AUSF) 137, an AMF 138, a session management function (SMF) 139.

[0109] A data network DN 140, which can also be referred to as a packet data network (PDN), is usually a network located outside the operator network, for example, a third-party network. Of course, in some implementations, the DN can also be deployed by the operator, that is, the DN belongs to a part of the PLMN. The present application does not limit whether the DN belongs to the PLMN. The operator network PLMN can access multiple data networks DN 140, and various services can be deployed on the data networks DN 140 to provide data and / or voice services for the terminal device 110. For example, the data network DN 140 can be a private network of a certain smart factory, and the sensors installed in the workshop of the smart factory can be terminal devices 110. A control server of the sensors is deployed in the data network DN 140, and the control server can provide services for the sensors. The sensors can communicate with the control server, obtain instructions from the control server, and transmit the collected sensor data to the control server according to the instructions, and the like. For another example, the data network DN 140 can be an internal office network of a certain company, and the mobile phones or computers of the employees of the company can be terminal devices 110. The mobile phones or computers of the employees can access information and data resources on the internal office network of the company. The terminal device 110 can establish a connection with the operator network through an interface (for example, N1, etc.) provided by the operator network, and use the data and / or voice services provided by the operator network. The terminal device 110 can also access the data network DN 140 through the operator network, use the operator services and / or third-party services deployed on the data network DN 140.

[0110] The CN includes NF functions, which are further briefly described below.

[0111] 1. The UPF 130 is a gateway provided by an operator and is a gateway for communication between the operator network and a data network DN 140. The UPF 130 includes functions related to a user plane, such as data packet routing and transmission, data packet detection, service usage reporting, quality of service (QoS) processing, uplink data packet detection, and downlink data packet storage.

[0112] 2. The NEF 131 is a control plane function provided by an operator and is mainly used to enable third parties to use services provided by the network, support network exposure of capabilities, event and data analysis, provision of information for PLMN security from external applications, conversion of information for interaction within and outside the PLMN, provision of an application programming interface (API) interface for the operator network to expose to the outside, and provision of an interface for interaction between an external service and the internal operator network.

[0113] 3. The NRF 132 is a control plane function provided by an operator and can be used to maintain real-time information about network functions and services in the network. For example, it supports network service discovery, maintains NF profile-supported services for NF instances, supports service discovery for service communication proxies (SCPs), maintains SCP profiles for SCP instances, sends notifications about newly registered, deregistered, and updated NFs and SCPs, and maintains health status for running NFs and SCPs.

[0114] 4. The PCF 133 is a control plane function provided by an operator and supports a unified policy framework to govern network behavior, provides policy rules and subscription information related to policy decisions to other control functions, and the like.

[0115] 5、The UDM 134 is a control plane function provided by an operator, responsible for storing the user permanent identifier (SUPI) of a subscription user in an operator network, the generic public subscription identifier (GPSI) of the subscription user, credential, and the like. The SUPI is first protected in confidentiality during transmission, and the SUPI protected in confidentiality is referred to as a subscription concealed identifier (SUCI). The information stored by the UDM 134 can be used for authentication and authorization of the terminal device 110 accessing the operator network. The subscription user of the operator network described above can be a user using a service provided by the operator network, for example, a user using a subscriber identity module (SIM) card of an operator A, or a user using a SIM card of an operator B, and the like. The credential of the subscription user can be a long-term key stored in the SIM card or a small file stored in relation to SIM card encryption, used for authentication and / or authorization. It should be noted that the permanent identifier, the credential, the security context, the authentication data (cookie), and the token and the like are information related to verification / authentication and authorization, which are not distinguished or limited in the embodiments of the present application for the sake of convenience of description.

[0116] 6、The UDR 135 is a control plane function provided by an operator, providing a function of storing and obtaining subscription data for the UDM, storing and obtaining policy data for the PCF, storing and obtaining the NF group ID information of a user, and the like.

[0117] 7、The NWDAF 136 is a control plane function provided by an operator, and its main function is to collect data from NFs, external application functions (AFs), and operations, administration and maintenance (OAM) systems, and the like, and to provide the NWDAF service registration, data exposure, and analysis data for the NFs and the AFs. In the present application, the NWDAF is mainly responsible for security-related data analysis, and therefore the NWDAF can also be understood as a network element with a security analysis function in the present application. The network element with the security analysis function is referred to as the NWDAF, which is only an example, and other network element names can also be used in the future, which are not limited in the present application.

[0118] 8、The AUSF 137 is a control plane function provided by an operator, and is usually used for primary authentication, i.e., authentication between the terminal device 110 (a subscription user) and the operator network. After receiving an authentication request initiated by a subscription user, the AUSF 137 can authenticate and / or authorize the subscription user through authentication information and / or authorization information stored in the UDM 134, or generate authentication and / or authorization information of the subscription user through the UDM 134. The AUSF 137 can feed back the authentication information and / or authorization information to the subscription user.

[0119] 9、The AMF 138 is a control plane network function provided by an operator network, and is responsible for access control and mobility management of the terminal device 110 accessing the operator network, for example, including functions such as mobile state management, allocation of a user temporary identity, authentication and authorization of a user, etc.

[0120] 10、The SMF 139 is a control plane network function provided by an operator network, and is responsible for managing a PDU session of the terminal device 110. The PDU session is a channel for transmitting PDUs, and the terminal device transmits PDUs with a data network DN 140 through the PDU session. The PDU session is responsible for establishment, maintenance and deletion, etc. by the SMF 139. The SMF 139 includes session management (for example, session establishment, modification and release, including maintenance of a tunnel between a user plane function UPF 130 and a RAN 120), selection and control of the UPF 130, service and session continuity (SSC) mode selection, roaming, and other session-related functions.

[0121] 11、The AF 141 is a control plane network function provided by an operator network, and is used to provide application layer information. It can interact with a policy framework through a network exposure function network element, or directly interact with the policy framework to request a policy decision, etc. It can be located within an operator network, or outside the operator network.

[0122] It can be understood that the above-mentioned network elements or functions can be physical entities in hardware devices, software instances running on dedicated hardware, or virtualized functions instantiated on a shared platform (for example, a cloud platform). In short, an NF can be implemented by hardware or software.

[0123] Nnef, Nnrf, Npcf, Nudm, Nudr, Nnwdaf, Nausf, Namf, Nsmf, Nran, N1, N2, N3, N4, and N6 in FIG. 1 are interface sequence numbers. For example, the meanings of the above interface sequence numbers can refer to the meanings defined in the 3GPP standard protocol, and the meanings of the above interface sequence numbers are not limited in the present application. It should be noted that the interface names between the various network functions in the figure are only an example, and the interface names of the system architecture in the specific implementation can also be other names, which are not limited in the present application. In addition, the names of the messages (or signaling) transmitted between the above various network elements are also only an example, and the functions of the messages themselves are not limited.

[0124] For the convenience of description, the network functions (such as NEF 131…SMF 139) in the embodiments of the present application are collectively / referred to as NF, that is, the NF described hereinafter in the embodiments of the present application can be replaced by any network function. In addition, FIG. 1 only schematically describes part of the network functions, and the NF described hereinafter is not limited to the network functions shown in FIG. 1.

[0125] It should be understood that the network architecture applied to the embodiments of the present application described above is only a network architecture described from the perspective of service architecture, and the network architecture applicable to the embodiments of the present application is not limited thereto, and any network architecture capable of realizing the functions of the above-mentioned network elements is applicable to the embodiments of the present application. For example, at least one of the network elements, access network devices, or terminal devices in the present application can be deployed in an NTN. For another example, the present application can be applied to a fourth generation (4G) system as shown in FIG. 2, as shown in FIG. 4, the UE is a terminal device, the E-UTRAN is an access network device or base station of the 4G, and other network elements (except for the universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN) and global system for mobile communications (GSM) / enhanced data rates for GSM evolution (EDGE) radio access network (GERAN)) are core network elements, such as the 4G network element mobility management entity (MME) having the functions of mobility management and part of session management, corresponding to the 5G network elements AMF and SM, the 4G network element policy and charging rules function (PCRF) corresponding to the 5G network element PCF, the 4G network element home subscriber server (HSS) corresponding to the 5G network element UDM, the 4G network element serving gateway (SGW) and packet data network gateway (PGW) corresponding to the 5G network element UPF.

[0126] It should also be understood that the core network elements (such as AMF, SMF, UPF, NEF, MME, SGW, etc.) shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 can be understood as network elements in the core network for realizing different functions, which can be combined into network slices as needed, for example. These core network elements can be independent devices or can be integrated into the same device to realize different functions, and the present application does not limit the specific form of the above-mentioned network elements. In addition, the network architecture shown in FIG. 1 can also include other network elements, for example, the network architecture can also include a perception function network element, an artificial intelligence logic function (such as a model training logic function, an analysis logic function) network element, etc.

[0127] It should also be understood that the above naming is only defined for the convenience of distinguishing different functions, and should not constitute any limitation on the present application. The present application does not exclude the possibility of using other names in 5G networks and future other networks. For example, in future communication networks, part or all of the above network elements can continue to use the terms in 5G, or other names, etc.

[0128] For the convenience of understanding the embodiments of the present application, some basic concepts related to the present application are briefly described. It should be understood that the basic concepts introduced below are described by taking the basic concepts defined in the NR protocol as an example, but the embodiments of the present application are not limited to only being applicable to the NR system. Therefore, when described by taking the NR system as an example, the standard names appearing are functional descriptions, the specific names are not limited, and only indicate the function of the device, which can be extended to other systems in the future.

[0129] 1, Non-terrestrial networks (NTN): Compared with terrestrial communication, NTN communication has the characteristics of large coverage area and flexible networking, and can achieve seamless global network coverage. NTN network is not only a supplement to the current ground network, but also can be regarded as an independent communication system that provides global high-speed network access for users. At present, research institutes, communication organizations and communication companies around the world are participating in the research of NTN communication technology and standard formulation, trying to build a unified communication network of sky, space and earth.

[0130] NTN communication includes using unmanned aerial vehicles, high-altitude platforms, or satellite devices for networking to provide data transmission, voice communication and other services for UEs. The high-altitude platform device is generally 8-50 km above the ground. According to the orbital height of the satellite, the satellite communication system can be divided into three types: geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite communication system, also known as synchronous orbit satellite system; medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite communication system and low earth orbit (LEO) satellite communication system.

[0131] Because of the advantages of satellites, such as not being easily affected by natural disasters or external damage, at present, satellites are being researched as access network devices (such as base stations) of mobile communication systems to realize the provision of communication services for some areas such as oceans and forests. Unlike ground base stations, satellites have a relatively large moving speed relative to the ground and a longer signal propagation distance, so that the signal path loss of satellites as base stations is larger. The communication mechanism designed in the current mobile communication system for terminal devices and ground base stations cannot be directly applied between terminal devices and satellite base stations.

[0132] Compared with the ground communication system, the single-satellite coverage area is wider, and the transmission distance is far. Providing services to UEs through wide coverage is a significant feature of satellite communication systems. There are large time delays and frequency offsets in satellite communication systems. NTN terminal access to the satellite network is strongly dependent on GNSS, and time and frequency offset compensation is based on GNSS and satellite ephemeris information to ensure access to the network process.

[0133] 2. Satellite working mode: NTN includes two scenarios of transparent forwarding and regenerative forwarding. Among them, the transparent forwarding scenario can be called a transparent payload satellite network framework, and the regenerative forwarding scenario can be called a regenerative satellite network architecture.

[0134] In the transparent payload satellite network architecture, the satellite can be regarded as a relay node on the network side. The satellite changes the frequency carrier of the uplink radio frequency signal and filters and amplifies it before downlink transmission, but the signal waveform carried does not change. In this network architecture, the satellite works in a transparent mode. The signal only undergoes frequency conversion and signal amplification on the satellite. The satellite is transparent to the signal, as if it does not exist.

[0135] In the regenerative payload satellite network architecture, the uplink radio frequency signal is converted and amplified before being transmitted on the downlink. The effective payload includes demodulation / decoding, encoding / modulation, etc. For example, the satellite has all or part of the base station function, and optionally can also have all or part of the core network function (such as taking the 4G core network as an example, the satellite has MME, SGW, etc. function). In this network architecture, the satellite has partial or complete base station function (such as the satellite corresponding to a complete base station or DU), which can be called a non-transparent mode.

[0136] In the regenerative satellite architecture, there is no specific limitation in the current standard on which network elements / devices are deployed on the satellite and which are deployed on the ground. Optionally, the deployment of network elements / devices includes but is not limited to the following cases:

[0137] 1) The base station can be deployed on the satellite, and the entire core network element is deployed on the ground.

[0138] 2) The base station and part of the core network element can be deployed on the satellite, for example, the RAN and MME or AMF are deployed on the satellite, and other core network elements are deployed on the ground, for example, HSS, UDM, PCRF, PCF, UPF, SGW, or PGW are deployed on the ground.

[0139] 3) The base station and the entire core network element can be deployed on the satellite, and connected to the ground application server through the feeder link.

[0140] 4) Also can be part of the base station and the whole core network element function (such as part of the MME function, part of the SGW function, etc.) deployed on the satellite, connected with the ground core network element or other functional modules through the feeder link (at this time the satellite has the whole core network element, and the ground also has part of the core network element or functional module, and these network elements on the ground can have some special functions, which are used to serve S&F).

[0141] For the convenience of understanding, the satellite working mode is briefly introduced in combination with FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, FIG. 3 is a transparent payload satellite network architecture, and FIG. 4 is a regenerative satellite network architecture. As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the service link refers to the connection between the satellite and the UE, and the feeder link refers to the connection between the satellite and the gateway station, wherein the 5GC is the 5G core network (5G core network, 5GC), which can also be replaced by the EPC, that is, the 4G core network (evolved packet core, EPC). The satellite and the gateway station can be maintained by a satellite operator.

[0142] 4, Feeder discontinuous scenario: also known as store and forward (store and forward, S&F). As shown in FIG. 5, in the feeder discontinuous scenario, the network element or device on the satellite is not available at all times during the satellite operation, that is, the service link may be disconnected for a period of time, and the feeder link may be disconnected for a period of time.

[0143] Specifically, in the feeder discontinuous scenario, the service link and the feeder link cannot be available at the same time. Therefore, the network element / device deployed on the satellite needs to receive and store the uplink data of the UE when the service link is available, and forward the stored uplink data of the UE to the ground network element / device when the feeder link is available, and receive and store the downlink data sent to the UE from the ground network element / device. When the service link is available again, the stored downlink data is forwarded to the UE.

[0144] In summary, in the feeder discontinuous scenario (that is, the scenario in which the satellite has connection at different times of access and feeding), for the data / signaling sent by the UE or the server side, it needs to be buffered on the satellite, and then when the feeder or service link is available, the information is sent to the UE or the server. Thus, in the feeder discontinuous scenario, delay-tolerant services can be supported, and services with high delay requirements may not meet the delay requirements in this scenario.

[0145] 5, MME split architecture: S&F mode is generally applied to IoT services, and the terminal device corresponding to the IoT service is generally sensitive to energy consumption. The 3GPP standard defines that the 4G system supports S&F, and the main work is introduced as follows:

[0146] 3GPP defines a MME-split architecture as shown in Figure 6. That is, a part of MME function is located on satellite, called MME-on board, and a part of MME function is located on ground, called MME-on ground. 3GPP does not define the interface between MME-on board and MME-on ground. This application does not define the interface between MME-on board and MME-on ground, either. In the following, MME-on board and MME-on ground are not distinguished, and are referred to as MME. That is, the actions performed by MME-on board and / or MME-on ground can be referred to as the actions performed by MME.

[0147] 6、UE access procedure in S&F mode: For the convenience of understanding, the UE access procedure in 4G system is taken as an example to be explained. The UE access procedure in 4G system includes the following steps:

[0148] Step 1: E-UTRAN broadcasts S&F indication, which is used to indicate that satellite works in S&F mode.

[0149] Step 2: When service link is available, UE initiates attach procedure, that is, UE sends attach request message to MME through E-UTRAN, and the attach request message carries S&F capability, which indicates that UE supports S&F.

[0150] Step 3: Since MME does not have UE context, such as UE subscription data, authentication data, etc., MME rejects the attach request of UE. In addition, MME can obtain the context of UE from HSS.

[0151] Step 4: MME sends attach reject message to UE, and the attach reject message carries S&F wait timer, monitoring list. The monitoring list includes the information of at least one satellite (such as the identification of satellite).

[0152] Exemplarily, after the expiration of S&F wait timer, UE can access any satellite in the monitoring list. Thus, UE can access the satellite in the monitoring list, instead of the satellite in the entire satellite constellation. This makes UE achieve energy saving.

[0153] Step 5: When the S&F timer expires, the UE accesses any satellite in the monitoring list. That is, the UE re-initiates the attach procedure to the MME, as shown in steps 1-2 above.

[0154] Since the MME has the UE context at this time, the MME can accept the UE's attach request, that is, the attach accept returned by the MME to the UE can carry the S&F wait timer, the monitoring list.

[0155] It should be understood that the above only takes the UE network access procedure in the 4G system as an example to introduce the UE network access procedure in the S&F mode, and does not constitute any limitation on the protection scope of the present application. The UE network access procedure in the S&F mode in other communication systems (such as the 5G system or future communication systems) can refer to the above description, and will not be described here.

[0156] The above briefly introduces the scenario to which the communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application can be applied, and introduces the basic concepts that can be involved in the embodiments of the present application, and introduces the feeder discontinuous scenario and the UE network access procedure in the S&F mode in the basic concepts. However, the currently defined UE network access procedure in the S&F mode does not specify the way in which the satellite pages the UE. For example, when the downlink data or signaling (DL data / signalling) is buffered in the satellite and the service link is reachable, it is not defined whether the satellite needs to page.

[0157] In addition, in the case where the downlink data or signaling of the terminal device is buffered to the satellite, if the satellite pages the terminal device, it will cause the energy consumption of the terminal device to increase. The feeder discontinuous scenario is mainly applied to IoT UEs, and such terminals are more sensitive to energy consumption.

[0158] The present application provides a communication method, which provides a paging mechanism for a feeder discontinuous scenario.

[0159] The communication method provided by the present application can be applied to a system that communicates through multi-antenna technology, for example, the communication system shown in FIG. 1 and / or FIG. 2. The communication system can include at least one network device and at least one terminal device. More specifically, the communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application can be applied to an NTN communication scenario. The embodiments shown below do not limit the application scenario of the method provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0160] The embodiments shown below do not particularly limit the specific structure of the execution subject of the method provided by the embodiments of the present application, as long as it can communicate according to the method provided by the embodiments of the present application by running the program in which the code of the method provided by the embodiments of the present application is recorded.

[0161] For example, the method provided in the embodiments of the present application can be executed by a first communication device (such as a terminal device), or can also be executed by a component (for example, a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc., such as a circuit or chip responsible for communication function in the first communication device (for example, a Modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core)) of the first communication device, or can also be a logic module or software capable of realizing all or part of the function of the first communication device. For the convenience of description, the following will be described by taking the first communication device as an example.

[0162] For another example, the method provided in the embodiments of the present application can be executed by a second communication device (such as an access mobile management network element), or can also be executed by a component (for example, a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc., such as a circuit or chip responsible for communication function in the first communication device (for example, a Modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core)) of the second communication device, or can also be a logic module or software capable of realizing all or part of the function of the second communication device.

[0163] FIG. 7 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application, including the following steps:

[0164] S710, the first communication device receives indication information #1 from the access network device, and correspondingly, the access network device sends the indication information #1 to the first communication device.

[0165] By way of example and without limitation, the present application can be applied in a 4G system, the first communication device can be a UE in the 4G system, and the access network device can be an eNB in the 4G system; or the present application can be applied in a 5G system, the first communication device can be a UE in the 5G system, and the access network device can be a gNB in the 5G system.

[0166] It should be understood that the present application does not make any limitation on the application scenarios, and the scenarios of devices capable of realizing the functions of the first communication device and the access network device are all within the protection scope of the present application.

[0167] The indication information #1 is used to indicate that the first NTN device works in a store-and-forward mode (S&F mode). Specifically, the access network device is deployed on the first NTN device. Wherein, the first NTN device can be a first satellite or other non-terrestrial device, which is not limited in the present application.

[0168] The first NTN device in the embodiments of the present application works in a store-and-forward mode, which can also be understood as: the first NTN device works or supports in a non-continuous feeding scenario; or, the first NTN device broadcasts the S&F indication to indicate that the first NTN device works in or supports the S&F mode.

[0169] Optionally, the access network device can broadcast the above-mentioned indication information #1 to the terminal device within the service range in a broadcast manner, and the first communication device is a terminal device within the service range of the access network device; or the access network device can send the above-mentioned indication information #1 to the first communication device in other manners, and the present application does not make any limitation on how the access network device sends the indication information #1 to the first communication device.

[0170] Further, after the first communication device receives the above-mentioned indication information #1, it is learned that the first NTN device works in a store-and-forward mode, that is, the service link between the first communication device and the first NTN device will be disconnected for a certain period of time, and when the service link is available, the first communication device can initiate an attachment process, and the method flow shown in FIG. 7 further includes:

[0171] S720, the first communication device sends a first request message #1 to the second communication device through the access network device, and correspondingly, the second communication device receives the first request message #1 from the first communication device through the access network device.

[0172] As an example but not limitation, the present application can be applied in a 4G system, and the second communication device can be an MME in the 4G system, for example, the MME includes MME-on board and MME-on ground, wherein the MME-on board is deployed on the NTN device. The present application does not make any limitation on the interface between the MME-on board and the MME-on ground, and the second communication device can be the MME-on board and / or the MME-on ground.

[0173] Optionally, the present application can also be applied in a 5G system, and the second communication device can be an AMF in the 5G system, for example, part or all of the AMF is deployed on the NTN device.

[0174] It should be understood that the present application does not make any limitation on the application scenario, and the scenario of the device capable of realizing the function of the second communication device is within the protection scope of the present application.

[0175] The first request message 1 is used to request to establish a connection with the second communication device. For example, the first communication device sends the first request message 1 to the second communication device through a non-access stratum (NAS) message. For example, the first request message 1 can be an attach request message, which can be embedded in an initial UE connection message.

[0176] Specifically, the first request message 1 includes information indicating that the first communication device works in the store-and-forward mode. For example, the first request message 1 includes capability information indicating that the first communication device works in the store-and-forward mode. For example, the capability information is an S&F capability, which indicates that the first communication device works in the store-and-forward mode.

[0177] For example, in the present application, the first communication device working in the store-and-forward mode can be replaced by: the first communication device supports the store-and-forward mode, or the first NTN device accessed by the first communication device works in the store-and-forward mode, or the first communication device receives an S&F indication broadcast by the first NTN device, and the S&F indication indicates that the first NTN device works in the S&F mode.

[0178] It should be noted that when the first NTN device works in the fed non-continuous mode, the first communication device provides the capability information to the second communication device (e.g., the first communication device receives the indication information 1 broadcast by the access network device and / or the first NTN device).

[0179] After the second communication device receives the first request message 1, it can determine whether to enable the paging mechanism, i.e., determine whether to page the terminal device. The paging range can be the coverage range of the first NTN device, or a part of the coverage range of the first NTN device, such as the coverage range of a beam of the first NTN device, or the coverage range of all or part of the NTN devices. The specific paging range and the paging process after paging are not limited in the present application. Therefore, the method flow shown in FIG. 7 further includes:

[0180] S730, the second communication device determines whether to initiate paging according to the first request message 1.

[0181] For example, the second communication device determines whether to initiate paging according to the first request message 1, including:

[0182] The second communication device determines to initiate paging according to the first request message #1, or the second communication device determines not to initiate paging according to the first request message #1. The second communication device determining to initiate paging according to the first request message #1 can be replaced by the second communication device determining to enable a paging mechanism, or the second communication device determining to page the terminal device, or the second communication device determining to send a paging message to the access network device, and the like. Similarly, the second communication device determining not to initiate paging according to the first request message #1 can be replaced by the second communication device determining not to enable the paging mechanism, or the second communication device determining not to page the terminal device, or the second communication device determining not to send the paging message to the access network device.

[0183] If the second communication device determines not to initiate paging, when the second communication device receives the downlink data or signaling of the first communication device, the second communication device can not send a paging message to the access network device.

[0184] If the second communication device determines to initiate paging, when the second communication device receives the downlink data or signaling of the first communication device, the second communication device sends a paging message to the access network device to page the first communication device.

[0185] It can be understood that the second communication device receiving the downlink data or signaling of the first communication device can be replaced by other network elements (or devices) such as NEF, SGW, PGW receiving the downlink data or signaling, and then notifying the second communication device, so as to trigger the second communication device to send or not to send a paging message to the access network device.

[0186] As a possible implementation, the second communication device determining not to initiate paging according to the first request message #1 includes: the second communication device determining not to initiate paging according to the first request message #1 and a third condition, and the third condition includes at least one of the following: the first communication device working in a store-and-forward mode, the first communication device storing a monitoring list, the second communication device accepting an attachment request of the first communication device, or a data volume of the first communication device being less than a first threshold, and the like. The monitoring list includes information of at least one NTN device accessed by the first communication device, and the monitoring list can also be referred to as an NTN device information list or a first list, or other names, and the information of at least one NTN device accessed by the first communication device is sufficient, and the name of the monitoring list is not limited.

[0187] Exemplarily, the second communication device determining not to initiate paging according to the first request message and the third condition can be understood as: in the case of meeting the third condition, the second communication device can not initiate paging.

[0188] For example, the first request message includes capability information indicating that the first communication device works in a store-and-forward mode, and the second communication device determines not to initiate paging.

[0189] For example, the second communication device determines not to initiate the paging, when the first request message #1 acquired by the second communication device carries information indicating that the first communication device stores the monitoring list.

[0190] For another example, the first communication device works in the store-and-forward mode, and the first communication device stores the information of the monitoring list, and the second communication device determines not to initiate the paging.

[0191] For another example, after the second communication device receives the first request message #1 of the first communication device, and determines to accept the attachment request of the first communication device (for example, the second communication device locally stores the context of the first communication device), the second communication device determines not to initiate the paging.

[0192] For another example, the second communication device determines not to initiate the paging according to the communication behavior of the first communication device (for example, the data volume of the first communication device is less than a first threshold value). The first threshold value can be a protocol predefined value or determined through negotiation between the first communication device and the second communication device, which is not limited in the present application.

[0193] It should be understood that the third condition is only an example of how the second communication device determines not to initiate the paging, and does not limit the protection scope of the present application. The second communication device can also determine not to initiate the paging through other manners, for example, according to the type of the first communication device, if the first communication device is an IoT device, the paging is not initiated, which will not be illustrated one by one here.

[0194] As another possible implementation manner, the second communication device determines to initiate the paging according to the first request message #1, including: the second communication device determines to initiate the paging according to the first request message #1 and a fourth condition, and the fourth condition includes at least one of the following: the first communication device does not work in the store-and-forward mode, the first communication device does not store the monitoring list, the second communication device rejects the attachment request of the first communication device, or the data volume of the first communication device is greater than or equal to a first threshold value, and the monitoring list includes information of at least one NTN device accessed by the first communication device. The monitoring list including information of at least one NTN device accessed by the first communication device can also be referred to as an NTN device information list or a first list, or other names, and at least one information of the NTN device accessed by the first communication device is included, and the name of the monitoring list is not limited.

[0195] For example, the second communication device determines to initiate the paging according to the first request message #1 and the fourth condition, which can be understood as: in the case of meeting the fourth condition, the second communication device can initiate the paging.

[0196] For example, the capability information included in the first request message #1 indicates that the first communication device does not work in the store-and-forward mode, and the second communication device determines to initiate the paging.

[0197] For another example, the second communication device acquires the information in the first request message #1 indicating that the first communication device does not store the monitoring list, and the second communication device determines to initiate the paging.

[0198] For another example, the first communication device does not work in the store-and-forward mode, and the first communication device does not store the information of the monitoring list, and the second communication device determines to initiate the paging.

[0199] For another example, after the second communication device receives the first request message #1 of the first communication device, the second communication device determines to reject the attachment request of the first communication device (for example, the second communication device does not locally save the context of the first communication device), and then the second communication device determines to initiate the paging.

[0200] For another example, the second communication device determines to initiate the paging according to the communication behavior of the first communication device (for example, the data volume of the first communication device is greater than or equal to a first threshold value). The first threshold value can be a value predefined by a protocol or negotiated between the first communication device and the second communication device, which is not limited in the present application.

[0201] It should be understood that the above fourth condition is only an example of how the second communication device determines to initiate the paging, and does not constitute any limitation on the protection scope of the present application. The second communication device can also determine to initiate the paging in other ways, for example, according to the type of the first communication device. If the first communication device is a device other than an IoT device, the paging is initiated. Here, it is not necessary to enumerate all examples.

[0202] Further, the second communication device can send a first response message to the first communication device in response to the first request message #1. The method flow shown in FIG. 7 further includes:

[0203] S740, the second communication device sends a first response message to the first communication device through the access network device, and correspondingly, the first communication device receives the first response message from the second communication device through the access network device.

[0204] The first response message is used to indicate acceptance of the attachment request of the first communication device or rejection of the attachment request of the first communication device. The first response message can include a timer and a monitoring list. The timer is used for the first communication device to determine the timing of accessing the NTN device. The monitoring list includes information of at least one NTN device for the first communication device to access. The first communication device can access any of the NTN devices for the first communication device to access.

[0205] Exemplarily, the second communication device sends, to the access network device, an S1-MM control message (e.g., an initial context setup request), which carries the first response message, wherein the first response message carries an S&F wait timer and a monitoring list, and the access network device can send the first response message to the first communication device after receiving the S1-MM control message.

[0206] In this embodiment, after the first communication device receives the first response message, the first communication device can determine whether to monitor the paging message according to the first response message, and the method flow shown in FIG. 7 further includes:

[0207] S750, the first communication device determines whether to monitor the paging message according to the first response message.

[0208] Exemplarily, the first communication device can determine whether to monitor the paging message according to the first response message, including:

[0209] The first communication device can determine to monitor the paging message according to the first response message, or the first communication device can determine not to monitor the paging message according to the first response message. Wherein, the first communication device determining to monitor the paging message according to the first response message can be alternatively described as: the first communication device determines to enable the paging mechanism, or the first communication device determines to receive the paging message, or the first communication device determines to respond to the paging of the access network device, etc. Similarly, the first communication device determining not to monitor the paging message according to the first response message can be alternatively described as: the first communication device determines not to enable the paging mechanism, or the first communication device determines not to receive the paging message, or the first communication device determines not to respond to the paging of the access network device, etc.

[0210] As an example but not limitation, the first communication device determining not to monitor the paging message according to the first response message includes the following possible implementation manners:

[0211] As a possible implementation manner, the first communication device determining not to monitor the paging message according to the first response message includes: the first communication device determines not to monitor the paging message according to the first response message and a first condition, the first response message is used to indicate that the attachment request of the first communication device is accepted, and the first condition includes: the first communication device works in a store-and-forward mode; and / or, the monitoring list is included in the first response message, and the monitoring list includes information of at least one NTN device accessed by the first communication device.

[0212] For example, the first communication device determines not to monitor the paging message according to the first response message and the first condition, which can be understood as: the first communication device can not monitor the paging message when the first condition is met.

[0213] For example, the first communication device works in the store-and-forward mode, and the first communication device determines not to monitor the paging message.

[0214] For another example, the first response message includes a monitoring list, and the first communication device determines not to monitor the paging message.

[0215] For another example, the first communication device works in the store-and-forward mode, and the first response message includes the monitoring list, and the first communication device determines not to monitor the paging message.

[0216] It should be understood that the above-mentioned first condition is only an example of how the first communication device determines not to monitor the paging message, and does not limit the protection scope of the present application. The first communication device can also determine not to monitor the paging message in other ways, for example, according to the type of the first communication device, if the first communication device is an IoT device, then the first communication device does not monitor the paging message, which will not be illustrated one by one here.

[0217] As another possible implementation, the first communication device determines not to monitor the paging message according to the first response message, comprising: determining not to monitor the paging message according to first indication information included in the first response message, the first indication information being used to indicate that the first communication device does not monitor the paging message.

[0218] In the present application, the first indication information indicating that the first communication device does not monitor the paging message can be replaced by: the first indication information indicating (or showing) that the second communication device does not initiate paging, or the first indication information indicating that the second communication device does not support the store-and-forward mode, or the first indication information indicating that the second communication device does not work in the store-and-forward mode.

[0219] Optionally, in this implementation, when the judgment of the second communication device changes (such as from not initiating paging to initiating paging, or from initiating paging to not initiating paging), indication information can be sent to the first communication device to indicate whether the first communication device monitors the paging message.

[0220] As an example but not as a limitation, the first communication device determines to monitor the paging message according to the first response message, comprising the following possible implementation:

[0221] As a possible implementation, the first communication device determines to monitor the paging message according to the first response message, comprising: the first communication device determines not to monitor the paging message according to the first response message and a second condition, the first response message is used to indicate acceptance of the first communication device's attachment request, and the second condition comprises: the first communication device does not work in a store-and-forward mode; and / or, the monitoring list is not included in the first response message, and the monitoring list includes information of at least one NTN device for the first communication device to access.

[0222] For example, the first communication device determines to monitor the paging message according to the first response message and the second condition, which can be understood as: in the case of meeting the second condition, the first communication device monitors the paging message.

[0223] For example, the first communication device does not work in the store-and-forward mode, and the first communication device determines to monitor the paging message.

[0224] For example, the first response message does not include the monitoring list, and the first communication device determines to monitor the paging message.

[0225] For example, the first communication device does not work in the store-and-forward mode, and the first response message does not include the monitoring list, and the first communication device determines to monitor the paging message.

[0226] It should be understood that the above-mentioned second condition is only an example of how the first communication device judges to monitor the paging message, and does not constitute any limitation on the protection scope of the present application. The first communication device can also determine to monitor the paging message in other ways, for example, according to the type of the first communication device, if the first communication device is other than an IoT device, then monitor the paging message, which will not be illustrated one by one here.

[0227] As another possible implementation, the first communication device determines to monitor the paging message according to the first response message, comprising: determining to monitor the paging message according to second indication information included in the first response message, the second indication information is used to indicate the first communication device to monitor the paging message.

[0228] In the present application, the second indication information indicating the first communication device to monitor the paging message can be replaced by: the second indication information indicating (or indicating) that the second communication device initiates paging, or the second indication information indicating that the second communication device supports the store-and-forward mode, or the second indication information indicating that the second communication device works in the store-and-forward mode.

[0229] Optionally, in this implementation, in the case that the judgment of the second communication device changes (such as from not initiating paging to initiating paging, or from initiating paging to not initiating paging), indication information can be sent to the first communication device to indicate whether the first communication device monitors the paging message.

[0230] For example, the first communication device determines not to monitor the paging message, and can access the NTN device according to the monitoring list carried in the first response message, or the first communication device can access the NTN device according to the monitoring list carried in the first response message in the presence of uplink data or signaling (UL data / signalling).

[0231] For example, in the presence of uplink information transmission demand of the first communication device, the first communication device accesses the second NTN device according to the monitoring list included in the first response message, the monitoring list includes information of at least one NTN device for the first communication device to access, and the second NTN device is one of the at least one NTN device for the first communication device to access indicated by the monitoring list. Wherein, the second NTN device can be the same as or different from the first NTN device.

[0232] In addition, the presence of uplink information transmission demand of the first communication device can be understood as the case that the first communication device needs to send uplink information.

[0233] By way of example and not limitation, the process of the first communication device accessing the second NTN device includes the following steps:

[0234] Step one: the first communication device sends an RRC connection establishment request to the access network device.

[0235] Step two: the second communication device sends an initial UE message to the second communication device.

[0236] Step three: the second communication device sends an S1AP message to the access network device, and the S1AP message includes data or signaling sent to the first communication device.

[0237] Step four: the access network device sends an RRC downlink message (RRC DL message) to the first communication device, and the RRC downlink message includes data or signaling sent to the first communication device.

[0238] It should be understood that the above process of the first communication device accessing the second NTN device is only an example and does not limit the scope of protection of the present application.

[0239] In the communication method shown in FIG. 7, in the case that the NTN device works in the store-and-forward mode, the first communication device can determine whether to monitor the paging message through the received first response message responding to the attachment request of the first communication device, that is, in this technical solution, whether the first communication device needs to monitor the paging message can be determined through the first response message, and in some cases, the paging message needs to be monitored, and in some cases, the paging message can not need to be monitored. Wherein, the case that the NTN device works in the store-and-forward mode can be understood as that the first communication device is in a feeder discontinuous scenario, so as to define the paging mechanism of the first communication device for the feeder discontinuous scenario.

[0240] In addition, compared with the case that the first communication device does not make any judgment and continuously monitors the paging message, in this technical solution, in some cases, the first communication device can not need to monitor the paging message, which can reduce the energy consumption of the first communication device to a certain extent, so as to reduce the energy consumption of the terminal device for the feeder discontinuous scenario.

[0241] As can be seen from the above, in the communication method shown in FIG. 7, the first communication device does not determine whether to monitor the paging message before sending the first request message #1 to the second communication device, but determines whether to monitor the paging message based on the first response message after receiving the first response message responding to the first request message #1. The present application also provides another communication method, in which the first communication device can send the first request message #2 to the second communication device after determining whether to monitor the paging message, and indicate whether the second communication device initiates paging.

[0242] For ease of understanding, the communication method will be described in detail below in combination with FIG. 8.

[0243] FIG. 8 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application, including the following steps:

[0244] S810, the first communication device receives the indication information #1 from the access network device, and correspondingly, the access network device sends the indication information #1 to the first communication device.

[0245] Reference can be made to the description of step S710 in FIG. 7, which will not be repeated here.

[0246] S820, the first communication device sends the first request message #1 to the second communication device through the access network device, and correspondingly, the second communication device receives the first request message #1 from the first communication device through the access network device.

[0247] Reference can be made to the description of step S720 in FIG. 7, which will not be repeated here.

[0248] S830, the second communication device sends, to the first communication device, a first response message through the access network device, and correspondingly, the first communication device receives the first response message from the second communication device through the access network device.

[0249] The description of step S740 in FIG. 7 can be referred to, and details are not repeated here. The difference is that the first response message does not carry the first indication information or the second indication information described above in this embodiment.

[0250] S840, the first communication device determines whether to monitor the paging message according to the first response message.

[0251] The description of step S750 in FIG. 7 can be referred to, and details are not repeated here. The difference is that the first communication device cannot determine whether to monitor the paging message based on the indication information in the first response message in this embodiment.

[0252] Further, in this embodiment, after the first communication device determines whether to monitor the paging message, the first communication device can send a first request message #2 to the second communication device, the first request message #2 including indication information indicating whether the second communication device initiates the paging, and the method flow shown in FIG. 8 further includes:

[0253] S850, the first communication device sends, to the second communication device, the first request message #2 through the access network device, and correspondingly, the second communication device receives the first request message #2 from the first communication device through the access network device.

[0254] Exemplarily, in a case where the first communication device determines not to monitor the paging message according to the first response message, the first request message #2 includes third indication information, the third indication information being used to indicate that the second communication device does not initiate the paging.

[0255] Exemplarily, in a case where the first communication device determines to monitor the paging message according to the first response message, the first request message #2 includes fourth indication information, the fourth indication information being used to indicate that the second communication device initiates the paging.

[0256] Optionally, the first communication device can send the third indication information or the fourth indication information to the second communication device in a NAS procedure, which can be an attach procedure, a tracking area update (TAU) procedure, or a service request procedure. The trigger condition of the NAS procedure can be a NAS procedure initiated by the first communication device based on the decision of step S840, for example, the first communication device triggers a TAU procedure based on the decision of step S840 that the first communication device does not monitor the paging message, and in the TAU procedure, the first communication device sends the third indication information to the second communication device, the third indication information being used to indicate that the second communication device does not initiate the paging.

[0257] It can be understood that the above-mentioned attachment procedure can be replaced by a registration procedure, and the TAU procedure can be replaced by a mobility registration update procedure.

[0258] It can be understood that step S850 is performed after the first communication device successfully registers or attaches to the network, for example, the first response message in the above-mentioned step S830 can be an attachment acceptance message, or a TAU acceptance message, or a service request acceptance message, and the first communication device successfully registers or attaches to the network through the above-mentioned steps S820 and S830.

[0259] For example, in the case of a change in the judgment of the first communication device (such as from not monitoring the paging message to monitoring the paging message, or from monitoring the paging message to not monitoring the paging message), the second communication device can be sent indication information indicating whether the second communication device initiates paging.

[0260] For example, in the case of the first communication device determining not to monitor the paging message, the second communication device is instructed not to initiate paging by the third indication information, and in the case of the first communication device changing from not monitoring the paging message to monitoring the paging message, the second communication device is instructed to initiate paging by the fourth indication information; for another example, in the case of the first communication device determining to monitor the paging message, the second communication device is instructed to initiate paging by the fourth indication information, and in the case of the first communication device changing from monitoring the paging message to not monitoring the paging message, the second communication device is instructed to initiate paging by the third indication information.

[0261] Further, after the second communication device receives the first request message #2, it can determine whether to enable the paging mechanism based on the first request message #2, that is, determine whether to page the terminal device within the coverage range of the first NTN device, and the method flow shown in FIG. 8 further includes:

[0262] S860, the second communication device determines whether to initiate paging according to the first request message #2.

[0263] For example, the second communication device determines whether to initiate paging according to the first request message #2, including:

[0264] The second communication device determines to initiate paging according to the first request message #2, or the second communication device determines not to initiate paging according to the first request message #2. The second communication device determines to initiate paging according to the first request message #2 can be replaced by that the second communication device determines to enable the paging mechanism, or the second communication device determines to page the terminal device, or the second communication device determines to send a paging message to the access network device; similarly, the second communication device determines not to initiate paging according to the first request message #2 can be replaced by that the second communication device determines not to enable the paging mechanism, or the second communication device determines not to page the terminal device, or the second communication device determines not to send the paging message to the access network device.

[0265] If the second communication device determines not to initiate paging, when the second communication device receives the downlink data or signaling of the first communication device, the second communication device can not send the paging message to the access network device.

[0266] If the second communication device determines to initiate paging, when the second communication device receives the downlink data or signaling of the first communication device, the second communication device sends the paging message to the access network device to page the first communication device.

[0267] As a possible implementation, the second communication device determines not to initiate paging according to the first request message #2, including: the second communication device determines not to initiate paging according to third indication information included in the first request message #2, the third indication information being used to indicate that the second communication device does not initiate paging.

[0268] In this implementation, the first communication device sends the third indication information to the second communication device, indicating that the paging mechanism is not enabled.

[0269] The third indication information indicating that the second communication device does not initiate paging in the present application can be replaced by that the third indication information indicates (or shows) that the first communication device does not monitor the paging message, or the third indication information indicates (or shows) that the first communication device does not support the store-and-forward mode, or the third indication information indicates (or shows) that the first communication device does not work in the store-and-forward mode.

[0270] As another possible implementation, the second communication device determines to initiate paging according to the first request message #2, including: the second communication device determines to initiate paging according to fourth indication information included in the first request message #2, the fourth indication information being used to indicate that the second communication device initiates paging.

[0271] In this implementation, the first communication device sends the fourth indication information to the second communication device, indicating that the paging mechanism is enabled.

[0272] The fourth indication information in the application indicates that the second communication device initiates paging can be replaced by: the fourth indication information indicates (or shows) that the first communication device monitors the paging message, or the fourth indication information indicates (or shows) that the first communication device supports the store-and-forward mode, or the fourth indication information indicates (or shows) that the first communication device works in the store-and-forward mode.

[0273] In the communication method shown in FIG. 8, the second communication device can determine whether to initiate paging through the received request message, that is, in this technical solution, whether the second communication device needs to initiate paging can be determined through the received request message, in some cases, it is necessary to initiate paging, and in some cases, it can not be necessary to initiate paging. Wherein, the NTN device working in the store-and-forward mode can be understood as the second communication device being in the feeder discontinuous scenario, thereby realizing the definition of the paging mechanism of the second communication device for the feeder discontinuous scenario.

[0274] In addition, compared with the premise that the second communication device does not make any judgment and continuously initiates paging, in this technical solution, the second communication device can not need to initiate paging in some cases, which can reduce the energy consumption of the terminal device in the coverage range of the second communication device to a certain extent, thereby realizing the reduction of the energy consumption of the terminal device for the feeder discontinuous scenario.

[0275] It should be understood that the size of the serial number of the above processes does not mean the execution order, the execution order of the processes should be determined according to its function and inherent logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the application.

[0276] It should also be understood that, in the various embodiments of the present application, the terms and / or descriptions of different embodiments are consistent and can be referred to each other if there is no special description and logical conflict. In addition, the technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship. For example, in the communication method shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, the second communication device is mainly taken as an example of an access mobile management network element, which does not constitute any limitation on the protection scope of the present application. For example, the second communication device can also be replaced by other devices. For example, in the case of replacing the second communication device with an access network device (such as RAN), the RAN can also perform the steps performed by the second communication device, such as determining whether to initiate paging, indicating whether the terminal device monitors the paging message through the indication information, and the message name is different from the name in the above embodiment. For example, when the second communication device is replaced by RAN, the first request message and the first response message in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 are replaced by the messages between the terminal device and the RAN, and the execution logic of the MME is replaced by the RAN. Here, no longer detailed examples are given. In addition, the message name in the present application is not limited, for example, the first request message #1 in FIG. 7 and the first request message #2 in FIG. 7 can be collectively referred to as the first request message; for another example, the first response message in FIG. 7 and the first response message in FIG. 8 can be distinguished by different message names.

[0277] The communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application is described in detail above in combination with FIG. 7 and FIG. 8. The above communication method is mainly introduced from the perspective of the interaction between various entities. It can be understood that the first communication device and the second communication device and the like contain the corresponding hardware structure and / or software module for executing various functions in order to realize the above functions.

[0278] Those skilled in the art should realize that the units and algorithm steps of the examples described in combination with the embodiments disclosed in the present application can be realized in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a certain function is realized in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional technicians can use different methods to realize the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the present application.

[0279] The communication device provided by the present application is described in detail below in combination with FIG. 9 and FIG. 10. It should be understood that the description of the device embodiment corresponds to the description of the method embodiment. Therefore, the content not described in detail can be referred to the above method embodiment, and part of the content will not be described again for the sake of brevity.

[0280] The embodiments of the present application can divide the function modules of the first communication device and the second communication device according to the above method examples. For example, each function module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The integrated module can be realized in the form of hardware or in the form of a software function module. It should be noted that the division of the modules in the embodiments of the present application is illustrative, and is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, another division mode can be used. The following will be described taking the division of each function module according to each function as an example.

[0281] FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram of the communication apparatus 10 provided by the embodiments of the present application. The apparatus 10 includes a transceiver unit 11 and a processing unit 12. The transceiver unit 11 can implement corresponding communication functions, and the processing unit 12 is configured to perform data processing. In other words, the transceiver unit 11 is configured to perform operations related to receiving and sending, and the processing unit 12 is configured to perform operations other than receiving and sending. The transceiver unit 11 can also be referred to as a communication interface or a communication unit.

[0282] Optionally, the apparatus 10 can further include a storage unit 13, which can be configured to store instructions and / or data. The processing unit 12 can read the instructions and / or data in the storage unit, so that the apparatus implements the actions of the device in the foregoing various method embodiments.

[0283] In one design, the apparatus 10 can correspond to the first communication device in the above method embodiments, or be a component (such as a chip) of the first communication device.

[0284] The apparatus 10 can implement the steps or processes performed by the first communication device in the above method embodiments. In this case, the transceiver unit 11 can be configured to perform the operations related to receiving and sending of the first communication device in the above method embodiments, and the processing unit 12 can be configured to perform the operations related to processing of the first communication device in the above method embodiments.

[0285] In one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 11 is configured to receive a first response message from a second communication device. The first response message is used to indicate acceptance of an attachment request of the first communication device or rejection of the attachment request of the first communication device. The attachment request of the first communication device indicates that the first communication device requests to access a network corresponding to the second communication device. The processing unit 12 is configured to determine whether to monitor a paging message according to the first response message. The second communication device is deployed on a first non-terrestrial network (NTN) device, and the first NTN device works in a store-and-forward mode.

[0286] When the apparatus 10 is configured to perform the method in FIG. 7, the transceiver unit 11 can be configured to perform the steps of transmitting and / or receiving information in the method, such as steps S710, S720 and S740; the processing unit 12 can be configured to perform the processing steps in the method, such as step S750.

[0287] When the apparatus 10 is configured to perform the method in FIG. 8, the transceiver unit 11 can be configured to perform the steps of transmitting and / or receiving information in the method, such as steps S810, S820, S830 and S850; the processing unit 12 can be configured to perform the processing steps in the method, such as step S840.

[0288] It should be appreciated that the detailed procedures for the respective units to perform the above corresponding steps are already explained in the above method embodiments, and thus are not repeated here for brevity.

[0289] In another design, the apparatus 10 can correspond to, or be a component (e.g., a chip) of, the second communication device in the above method embodiments.

[0290] The apparatus 10 can implement the steps or procedures performed by the second communication device in the above method embodiments, where the transceiver unit 11 can be configured to perform the operations related to transmitting and / or receiving by the second communication device in the above method embodiments, and the processing unit 12 can be configured to perform the operations related to processing by the second communication device in the above method embodiments.

[0291] In one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 11 is configured to receive a first request message from a first communication device, the first request message being used to request to attach to a network corresponding to the second communication device; the processing unit 12 is configured to determine whether to initiate paging according to the first request message; where the second communication device is deployed on a first non-terrestrial network (NTN) device, and the first NTN device operates in a store-and-forward mode.

[0292] When the apparatus 10 is configured to perform the method in FIG. 7, the transceiver unit 11 can be configured to perform the steps of transmitting and / or receiving information in the method, such as steps S720 and S740; the processing unit 12 can be configured to perform the processing steps in the method, such as step S730.

[0293] When the apparatus 10 is configured to perform the method in FIG. 8, the transceiver unit 11 can be configured to perform the steps of transmitting and / or receiving information in the method, such as steps S820, S830 and S850; the processing unit 12 can be configured to perform the processing steps in the method, such as step S860.

[0294] It should be appreciated that the detailed procedures for the respective units to perform the above corresponding steps are already explained in the above method embodiments, and thus are not repeated here for brevity.

[0295] It should also be understood that the apparatus 10 herein is embodied in the form of a functional block diagram. The terminology used herein, such as "unit", can refer to an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (e.g., a shared processor, a dedicated processor, or a group processor, etc.) and a memory for executing one or more software or firmware programs, a combination of logic circuitry and / or other suitable components that support the described functions. In an optional example, those skilled in the art can understand that the apparatus 10 can be embodied in the mobile management network element in the above embodiments, and can be used to execute the processes and / or steps corresponding to the mobile management network element in the above method embodiments; or the apparatus 10 can be embodied in the terminal device in the above embodiments, and can be used to execute the processes and / or steps corresponding to the terminal device in the above method embodiments, which will not be described here to avoid repetition.

[0296] The apparatus 10 of each of the above schemes has the function of performing the corresponding steps performed by the entities (such as the first communication device and the second communication device) in the above methods. The function can be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units corresponding to the above functions; for example, the transceiver unit can be replaced by a transceiver (for example, the transmitting unit in the transceiver unit can be replaced by a transmitter, and the receiving unit in the transceiver unit can be replaced by a receiver), and other units, such as the processing unit, can be replaced by a processor, which respectively performs the transceiving operations and related processing operations in each of the method embodiments.

[0297] In addition, the above transceiver unit 11 can also be a transceiver circuit (for example, which can include a receiving circuit and a transmitting circuit), and the processing unit can be a processing circuit.

[0298] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of another communication apparatus 20 provided by the embodiments of the present application. The apparatus 20 includes a processor 21, which is configured to execute computer programs or instructions stored in a memory 22, or read data / signaling stored in the memory 22, to perform the methods in the above method embodiments. Optionally, the processor 21 is one or more.

[0299] Optionally, as shown in FIG. 10, the apparatus 20 further includes a memory 22, which is configured to store computer programs or instructions and / or data. The memory 22 can be integrated with the processor 21, or can be separately arranged. Optionally, the memory 22 is one or more.

[0300] Optionally, as shown in FIG. 10, the apparatus 20 further includes a transceiver 23, which is configured to receive and / or transmit signals. For example, the processor 21 is configured to control the transceiver 23 to receive and / or transmit signals.

[0301] As an option, the apparatus 20 is configured to implement the operations performed by the first communication device or the second communication device in each of the above method embodiments.

[0302] It should be understood that the processor mentioned in the embodiments of the present application can be one or a combination of a central processing unit (CPU), other general-purpose processors, a digital signal processor (DSP), a microprocessor unit (MPU), a microcontroller unit (MCU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an artificial intelligence processor (AI processor), or a neural network processor (NPU). Alternatively, the processor mentioned in the embodiments of the present application can be an ASIC or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, a discrete hardware component, etc. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or the processor can also be any conventional processor.

[0303] It should also be understood that the memory mentioned in the embodiments of the present application can be a volatile memory and / or a non-volatile memory. Among them, the non-volatile memory can be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically EPROM (EEPROM) or a flash memory. The volatile memory can be a cache, a random access memory (RAM). For example, the RAM can be used as an external cache. As an example but not limitation, the RAM includes the following various forms: static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM) and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM).

[0304] It should be noted that when the processor is a general processor, a DSP, an ASIC, a FPGA or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, a discrete hardware component, the memory (storage module) can be integrated in the processor.

[0305] It should also be noted that the memory described herein is intended to include, but not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0306] The embodiments of the present application also provide a chip system, which can also be referred to as a processing system, including a logic circuit and an input / output interface.

[0307] Among them, the logic circuit can be a processing circuit in the chip system. The logic circuit can be coupled to the storage unit to call the instructions in the storage unit, so that the chip system can realize the methods and functions of the embodiments of the present application. The input / output interface can be an input / output circuit in the chip system, which outputs the processed information of the chip system or inputs the data or signaling information to be processed into the chip system for processing.

[0308] As a solution, the chip system is configured to implement operations performed by the first communication device or the second communication device in the above method embodiments.

[0309] For example, the logic circuit is configured to implement processing-related operations performed by the first communication device or the second communication device in the above method embodiments; and the input / output interface is configured to implement sending and / or receiving-related operations performed by the first communication device or the second communication device in the above method embodiments.

[0310] The embodiments of the present application further provide a computer readable storage medium, having stored thereon computer instructions for implementing the method performed by the first communication device or the second communication device in the above method embodiments.

[0311] For example, the computer program, when executed by a computer, enables the computer to implement the method performed by the first communication device or the second communication device in the above method embodiments.

[0312] The embodiments of the present application further provide a computer program product, comprising instructions, which, when executed by a computer, implement the method performed by the first communication device or the second communication device in the above method embodiments.

[0313] The embodiments of the present application further provide a communication system, comprising the access network device and the second communication device as described above. Optionally, the communication system further comprises the first communication device as described above.

[0314] The above-described any one of the apparatuses can refer to the corresponding method embodiments provided above for the explanation of related contents and advantages, which will not be repeated here.

[0315] Those skilled in the art can understand that the units and algorithm steps of the examples described in combination with the embodiments disclosed herein can be realized by electronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether the functions are realized in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the present application.

[0316] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the above-described system, apparatus and unit can refer to the corresponding processes in the above method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0317] In several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and method can be implemented by other manners. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are only illustrative, for example, the division of the units is only a logical function division, and actual implementation can have another division manner, for example, a plurality of units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection between the units or components shown or discussed can be indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, apparatuses or units, and can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0318] The units described as separate components can or can not be physically separated, and the components shown as units can or can not be physical units, that is, they can be located in one place or distributed on a plurality of network units. Part or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the embodiment.

[0319] In addition, the functional units in each embodiment of the present application can be integrated in one processing unit, or each unit can be physically present separately, or two or more units can be integrated in one unit.

[0320] If the functions are realized in the form of software function units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solutions of the present application or the essential part or part of the technical solutions that make contributions to the prior art can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium, and includes a plurality of instructions for causing a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The foregoing storage medium includes: U disk, mobile hard disk, ROM, RAM, magnetic disk or optical disk and various program code storage media.

[0321] The above is only a specific implementation of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or replacements within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, which should be covered within the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method is applied to a first communication device, and comprises: receiving a first response message from a second communication device, the first response message being used to indicate acceptance or rejection of an attachment request of the first communication device, the attachment request of the first communication device indicating that the first communication device requests to access a network corresponding to the second communication device; determining whether to monitor a paging message according to the first response message, wherein the second communication device is deployed on a first non-terrestrial network (NTN) device, and the first NTN device works in a store-and-forward mode.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The determining whether to monitor the paging message according to the first response message comprises: determining to monitor the paging message according to the first response message; or determining not to monitor the paging message according to the first response message.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein, The determining not to monitor the paging message according to the first response message comprises: determining not to monitor the paging message according to the first response message and a first condition, the first response message being used to indicate acceptance of the attachment request of the first communication device, and the first condition comprising: the first communication device working in the store-and-forward mode; and / or the first response message comprising a monitoring list, the monitoring list comprising information of at least one NTN device for the first communication device to access.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein, The determining to monitor the paging message according to the first response message comprises: determining to monitor the paging message according to the first response message and a second condition, the first response message being used to indicate acceptance of the attachment request of the first communication device, and the second condition comprising: the first communication device not working in the store-and-forward mode; and / or the first response message not comprising the monitoring list, the monitoring list comprising information of at least one NTN device for the first communication device to access.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein, The determining not to monitor the paging message according to the first response message comprises: determining not to monitor the paging message according to first indication information comprised in the first response message, the first indication information being used to indicate that the first communication device does not monitor the paging message.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein, The determining to monitor the paging message according to the first response message comprises: determining to monitor the paging message according to second indication information comprised in the first response message, the second indication information being used to indicate that the first communication device monitors the paging message.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, In a case where it is determined not to monitor the paging message according to the first response message, the method further comprises: sending third indication information to the second communication device, the third indication information being used to indicate that the second communication device does not initiate paging.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, In a case where it is determined to monitor the paging message according to the first response message, the method further comprises: sending fourth indication information to the second communication device, the fourth indication information being used to indicate that the second communication device initiates paging.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, In a case where it is determined not to monitor the paging message according to the first response message, the method further comprises: In a case that the first communication device has an uplink information transmission requirement, accessing a second NTN device according to a monitoring list included in the first response message, the monitoring list including information of at least one NTN device for the first communication device to access, the second NTN device being one of the at least one NTN device for the first communication device to access.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that, The method further includes: sending a first request message to the second communication device, the first request message being used to request to attach to a network corresponding to the second communication device, and the first request message including information indicating that the first communication device works in a store-and-forward mode.

11. A communication method, comprising: Applied to a second communication device, the method includes: receiving a first request message from a first communication device, the first request message being used to request to attach to a network corresponding to the second communication device; determining whether to initiate paging according to the first request message; wherein the second communication device is deployed on a first non-terrestrial network (NTN) device, and the first NTN device works in a store-and-forward mode.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein, The determining whether to initiate paging according to the first request message includes: determining to initiate paging according to the first request message; or determining not to initiate paging according to the first request message.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein, The determining not to initiate paging according to the first request message includes: determining not to initiate paging according to the first request message and a third condition, the third condition including at least one of the following: the first communication device working in a store-and-forward mode, the first communication device storing a monitoring list, the second communication device accepting an attachment request of the first communication device, or a data volume of the first communication device being less than a first threshold, the monitoring list including information of at least one NTN device for the first communication device to access.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein, The determining to initiate paging according to the first request message includes: determining to initiate paging according to the first request message and a fourth condition, the fourth condition including at least one of the following: the first communication device not working in a store-and-forward mode, the first communication device not storing a monitoring list, the second communication device rejecting an attachment request of the first communication device, or the data volume of the first communication device being greater than or equal to the first threshold, the monitoring list including information of at least one NTN device for the first communication device to access.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein, The determining not to initiate paging according to the first request message includes: determining not to initiate paging according to third indication information included in the first request message, the third indication information being used to indicate that the second communication device does not initiate paging.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein, The determining to initiate paging according to the first request message includes: determining to initiate paging according to fourth indication information included in the first request message, the fourth indication information being used to indicate that the second communication device initiates paging.

17. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 16, characterized in that, The method further includes: sending a first response message in response to the first request message to the first communication device, the first response message including first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate that the first communication device does not monitor a paging message.

18. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 16, characterized in that, The method further includes: sending, to the first communication device, a first response message in response to the first request message, the first response message including second indication information, the second indication information being used to instruct the first communication device to monitor a paging message.

19. A communications device, characterized by The apparatus includes means for performing the method of any one of claims 1-10.

20. A communications device, characterized by The apparatus includes means for performing the method of any one of claims 11-18.

21. A communication system, characterized by The communication apparatus of claim 19 and the communication apparatus of claim 20.

22. A communications device, characterized by A processor coupled with a memory for storing computer programs or instructions, the processor being configured to execute the computer programs or instructions in the memory to cause the apparatus to perform the method of any one of claims 1-18.

23. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer readable storage medium has stored thereon computer programs or instructions which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1-18.

24. A chip or chip system, characterized by A processor for invoking and running computer programs from a memory to cause a communication device in which the chip system is installed to perform the method of any one of claims 1-18.

25. A computer program product, characterised in that, The computer program product, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1-18.

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