Method and apparatus for performing random access procedure in wireless communication system

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a 5G communication system or a 6G communication system for supporting higher data rates beyond a 4G communication system such as long term evolution (LTE). The present disclosure provides a communication method, a user equipment and a base station. The method comprises: receiving a first message by a UE, the first message including first configuration information related to at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups; transmitting a preamble to a base station on a PRACH resource; and monitoring a PDCCH in at least one of the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups. The present disclosure may realize the reliability of communicating on different downlink frequency domain resource groups. The present disclosure relates to a 5G communication system or a 6G communication system for supporting higher data rates than 4G communication systems such as Long Term Evolution (LTE).

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PERFORMING RANDOM ACCESS PROCEDURE IN WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the technical field of wireless communications, and in particular, to a communication method, a user equipment (UE) and a base station.

[0002] Considering the development of wireless communication from generation to generation, the technologies have been developed mainly for services targeting humans, such as voice calls, multimedia services, and data services. Following the commercialization of 5th-generation (5G) communication systems, it is expected that the number of connected devices will exponentially grow. Increasingly, these will be connected to communication networks. Examples of connected things may include vehicles, robots, drones, home appliances, displays, smart sensors connected to various infrastructures, construction machines, and factory equipment. Mobile devices are expected to evolve in various form-factors, such as augmented reality glasses, virtual reality headsets, and hologram devices. In order to provide various services by connecting hundreds of billions of devices and things in the 6th-generation (6G) era, there have been ongoing efforts to develop improved 6G communication systems.

[0003] 6G communication systems, which are expected to be commercialized around 2030, have various significantly improved metrics compared to the current 5G communication systems. The peak data rate will reach at least 50 Gbit / s, and the user experienced data rate will reach at least 300 Mbit / s, the air-interface latency will be less than 1 ms, and the air-interface reliability will reach . In addition to the above basic communication metrics, the 6G communication systems will also have sensing capabilities, AI-related capabilities, better security, better interoperability and better sustainability.

[0004] In order for the 6G communication systems to fulfill the above metrics, more advanced air-interface technologies and network technologies need to be developed. The evolution of extreme Multiple Input Multiple Output (extreme MIMO) has been already under consideration, including the use of ultra-large scale antenna arrays, the development and evolution of distributed antenna systems, and the design of MIMO air-interface algorithms assisted by Artificial Intelligence (AI). This technology enables higher spectral efficiency, greater coverage, and precise localization and sensing capabilities. Additionally, for technologies that contribute to improve high-frequency band coverage, including metamaterial-based lenses and antennas, new antenna architectures, and reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS), etc., they also need to be better evolved and developed.

[0005] In order to meet some of newly added functions of the 6G communication systems, new technologies need to be developed in the terms of network energy saving, air-interface security, and network security, meanwhile the feasibility of fusion technologies such as Integrated Sensing and Communication, needs to be studied.

[0006] Moreover, in order to improve the spectral efficiency and the overall network performances, the following technologies have been developed for 6G communication systems: a full-duplex technology for enabling an uplink transmission and a downlink transmission to simultaneously use the same frequency resource at the same time; a network technology for utilizing satellites, high-altitude platform stations (HAPS), and the like in an integrated manner; an improved network structure for supporting mobile base stations and the like and enabling network operation optimization and automation and the like; a dynamic spectrum sharing technology via collision avoidance based on a prediction of spectrum usage; an use of artificial intelligence (AI) in wireless communication for improvement of overall network operation by utilizing AI from a designing phase for developing 6G and internalizing end-to-end AI support functions; and a next-generation distributed computing technology for overcoming the limit of user equipment (UE) computing ability through reachable super-high-performance communication and computing resources (such as mobile edge computing (MEC), clouds, and the like) over the network. In addition, through designing new protocols to be used in 6G communication systems, developing mechanisms for implementing a hardware-based security environment and safe use of data, and developing technologies for maintaining privacy, attempts to strengthen the connectivity between devices, optimize the network, promote softwarization of network entities, and increase the openness of wireless communications are continuing.

[0007] It is expected that research and development of 6G communication systems in hyper-connectivity, including person to machine (P2M) as well as machine to machine (M2M), will allow the next hyper-connected experience. Particularly, it is expected that services such as truly immersive extended reality (XR), high-fidelity mobile hologram, and digital replica could be provided through 6G communication systems. In addition, services such as remote surgery for security and reliability enhancement, industrial automation, and emergency response will be provided through the 6G communication system such that the technologies could be applied in various fields such as industry, medical care, automobiles, and home appliances.

[0008] In an embodiment, a method performed by a user equipment is provided. The method includes receiving a first message, the first message including first configuration information related to at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups, wherein the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups include a first downlink frequency domain resource group and at least one second downlink frequency domain resource group, and when the first configuration information does not include information of a second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is determined based on at least one of the following: a first frequency domain reference point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, a starting frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, an ending frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, or a center frequency point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group; transmitting a preamble to a base station on a physical random access channel (PRACH) resource; and monitoring a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in at least one of the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups, wherein the PDCCH includes a random access response related to the preamble.

[0009] In an embodiment, a method performed by a base station is provided. The method includes transmitting a first message, the first message including first configuration information related to at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups, wherein the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups include a first downlink frequency domain resource group and at least one second downlink frequency domain resource group, and when the first configuration information does not include information of a second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is determined based on at least one of the following: a first frequency domain reference point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, a starting frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, an ending frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, or a center frequency point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group; monitoring a preamble transmitted by a user equipment (UE), wherein the preamble is transmitted on a physical random access channel (PRACH) resource; and transmitting a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in at least one of the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups, wherein the PDCCH includes a random access response related to the preamble.

[0010] In an embodiment, a user equipment is provided. The user equipment includes at least one transceiver; at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one transceiver; and at least one memory, communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, storing instructions executable by the at least one processor individually or in any combination to cause the user equipment to: receive, from a base station, a first message including first configuration information related to at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups, wherein the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups include a first downlink frequency domain resource group and at least one second downlink frequency domain resource group, and when the first configuration information does not include information of a second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is determined based on at least one of: a first frequency domain reference point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, a starting frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, an ending frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, or a center frequency point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, transmit a preamble to a base station on a physical random access channel (PRACH) resource, and monitor a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in at least one of the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups, wherein the PDCCH includes a random access response related to the preamble.

[0011] In an embodiment, a base station is provided. The base station includes at least one transceiver; at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one transceiver; and at least one memory, communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, storing instructions executable by the at least one processor individually or in any combination to cause the base station to: transmit a first message including first configuration information related to at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups, wherein the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups include a first downlink frequency domain resource group and at least one second downlink frequency domain resource group, and when the first configuration information does not include information of a second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is determined based on at least one of : a first frequency domain reference point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, a starting frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, an ending frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, or a center frequency point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group; monitor a preamble transmitted by a user equipment (UE), wherein the preamble is transmitted on a physical random access channel (PRACH) resource; and transmit a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in at least one of the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups, wherein the PDCCH includes a random access response related to the preamble.

[0012] An object of embodiments of the present disclosure is to be able to solve the problem of how to communicate on different downlink frequency domain resource groups.

[0013] According to an aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a method performed by a user equipment (UE) in a communication system, the method comprises:

[0014] receiving a first message, the first message including first configuration information related to at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups, wherein the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups include a first downlink frequency domain resource group and at least one second downlink frequency domain resource group, and when the first configuration information does not include information of a second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is determined based on at least one of the following: a first frequency domain reference point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, a starting frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, an ending frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, or a center frequency point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group;

[0015] transmitting a preamble to a base station on a physical random access channel (PRACH) resource; and

[0016] monitoring a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in at least one of the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups, wherein the PDCCH includes a random access response related to the preamble.

[0017] Optionally, the at least one downlink frequency domain resource group is associated with at least one of the following: the preamble, a control resource set (CORESET) associated with the preamble, the PRACH resource, or a CORESET associated with the PRACH resource.

[0018] Optionally, the first message includes random access channel (RACH) configuration information, the RACH configuration information comprising at least one of the following:

[0019] an index of the at least one downlink frequency domain resource group; or

[0020] an index of at least one CORESET,

[0021] wherein the at least one CORESET is on a downlink frequency domain resource group.

[0022] Optionally, the first message includes control resource set (CORESET) configuration information, the CORESET configuration information including a parameter indicative of a frequency domain resource location of a CORESET, and an index of a RACH resource associated with the CORESET.

[0023] Optionally, the PDCCH is monitored on the CORESET of the at least one downlink frequency domain resource group,

[0024] wherein a frequency domain location of a second CORESET corresponding to the second downlink frequency domain resource group is determined according to at least one of the following ways:

[0025] determining based on a first offset, first indication information, and a starting frequency domain resource unit of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, wherein the first offset is an offset between a starting frequency domain resource unit of the CORESET corresponding to the first downlink frequency domain resource group and a starting frequency domain resource unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, and wherein the first indication information indicates whether to reuse the first offset as an offset between a starting frequency domain resource unit of the second CORESET and the starting frequency domain resource unit of the second downlink frequency domain resource group;

[0026] determining based on a second offset, second indication information, and a center frequency point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, wherein the second offset is an offset between a center frequency point of the CORESET corresponding to the first downlink frequency domain resource group and the center frequency point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, and wherein the second indication information indicates whether to reuse the second offset as an offset between a center frequency point of the second CORESET and the center frequency point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group;

[0027] determining based on a third offset, third indication information, and a starting frequency domain resource unit of a second reference signal, wherein the second reference signal is a reference signal on the second downlink frequency domain resource group, and wherein the third offset is an offset between a starting frequency domain resource unit of the CORESET corresponding to the first downlink frequency domain resource group and a starting frequency domain resource unit of a reference signal on the first downlink frequency domain resource group, and wherein the third indication information indicates whether to reuse the third offset as an offset between a starting frequency domain resource unit of the second CORESET and the starting frequency domain resource unit of the second reference signal;

[0028] determining based on a fourth offset, fourth indication information, and a center frequency point of a second reference signal, wherein the fourth offset is an offset between a center frequency point of the CORESET corresponding to the first downlink frequency domain resource group and a center frequency point of a reference signal on the first downlink frequency domain resource group, and wherein the fourth indication information indicates whether to reuse the fourth offset as an offset between a center frequency point of the second CORESET and the center frequency point of the second reference signal;

[0029] determining based on a fifth offset, and a starting frequency domain resource unit of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, wherein the fifth offset is an offset between a starting frequency domain resource unit of the second CORESET and the starting frequency domain resource unit of the second downlink frequency domain resource group;

[0030] determining based on a sixth offset, and a center frequency point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, wherein the sixth offset is an offset between a center frequency point of the second CORESET and the center frequency point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group;

[0031] determining based on a seventh offset, and a starting frequency domain resource unit of a second reference signal, wherein the seventh offset is an offset between a starting frequency domain resource unit of the second CORESET and the starting frequency domain resource unit of the second reference signal; or

[0032] determining based on an eighth offset, and a center frequency point of a second reference signal, wherein the eighth offset is an offset between a center frequency point of the second CORESET and the center frequency point of the second reference signal.

[0033] Optionally, the first message includes at least one of the fifth offset, the sixth offset, the seventh offset, or the eighth offset.

[0034] Optionally, the first message includes at least one of the first indication information, the second indication information, the third indication information, or the fourth indication information, and / or

[0035] when the first configuration information does not include information of a second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, at least one of the following indication information is indicated:

[0036] the first indication information indicates to reuse the first offset as the offset between the starting frequency domain resource unit of the second CORESET and the starting frequency domain resource unit of the second downlink frequency domain resource group;

[0037] the second indication information indicates to reuse the second offset as the offset between the center frequency point of the second CORESET and the center frequency point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group;

[0038] the third indication information indicates to reuse the third offset as the offset between the starting frequency domain resource unit of the second CORESET and the starting frequency domain resource unit of the second reference signal; or

[0039] the fourth indication information indicates to reuse the fourth offset as the offset between the center frequency point of the second CORESET and the center frequency point of the second reference signal.

[0040] Optionally, the PDCCH is monitored on the CORESET of the at least one downlink frequency domain resource group,

[0041] wherein the number of frequency domain resource units occupied by the second CORESET corresponding to the second downlink frequency domain resource group is determined according to at least one of the following ways:

[0042] determining based on the number of frequency domain resource units occupied by the second CORESET indicated in the first message;

[0043] determining based on the number of frequency domain resource units occupied by the CORESET corresponding to the first downlink frequency domain resource group, and the fifth indication information, wherein the fifth indication information indicates whether to reuse the number of frequency domain resource units occupied by the CORESET corresponding to the first downlink frequency domain resource group as the number of frequency domain resource units occupied by the second CORESET; or

[0044] determining based on the number of frequency domain resource units occupied by the CORESET corresponding to the first downlink frequency domain resource group, the number of frequency domain resource units occupied by the first downlink frequency domain resource group, the number of frequency domain resource units occupied by the second downlink frequency domain resource group, and the sixth indication information, wherein the sixth indication information indicates whether to scale the number of frequency domain resource units occupied by the CORESET corresponding to the first downlink frequency domain resource group, to thereby determine the number of frequency domain resource units occupied by the second CORESET.

[0045] Optionally, if the first downlink frequency domain resource group is a downlink frequency domain resource group that transmits synchronization information and / or system information, configuration information of a first CORESET corresponding to the first downlink frequency domain resource group is determined based on a master information block (MIB) and / or a cell defining synchronization signal block (CDSSB); and / or

[0046] if the first downlink frequency domain resource group is not a downlink frequency domain resource group that transmits synchronization information and / or system information, the first downlink frequency domain resource group and the second downlink frequency domain resource group have the same frequency domain reference point; and / or

[0047] the second CORESET is a cell-specific frequency domain resource for monitoring the PDCCH on the second downlink frequency domain resource group.

[0048] Optionally, the number of frequency domain resource units for monitoring the PDCCH and frequency domain locations thereof are determined based on a bitmap included in the first message, and the number of frequency domain resource units corresponding to one bit in the bitmap,

[0049] wherein the number of frequency domain resource units corresponding to one bit in the bitmap is obtained based on the first message, or is determined based on a bandwidth of the at least one downlink frequency domain resource group.

[0050] Optionally, the first configuration information includes information related to the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, the information related to the second frequency domain reference point comprising at least one of the following:

[0051] a ninth offset that is an offset between the first frequency domain reference point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group and the second frequency domain reference point;

[0052] a unit of the ninth offset;

[0053] a first parameter for indicating whether to use the first frequency domain reference point as the second frequency domain reference point;

[0054] a second parameter for indicating whether to use the starting frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group as the second frequency domain reference point;

[0055] a third parameter for indicating whether to use the ending frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group as the second frequency domain reference point; or

[0056] a fourth parameter for indicating whether to use the center frequency point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group as the second frequency domain reference point.

[0057] Optionally, the first configuration information includes location-related information of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, the location-related information comprising at least one of the following:

[0058] an absolute radio frequency channel number (ARFCN) corresponding to a frequency that is the location of the starting frequency domain unit of the second downlink frequency domain resource group;

[0059] a global synchronization channel number (GSCN) corresponding to a frequency that is the location of the starting frequency domain unit of the second downlink frequency domain resource group;

[0060] the center frequency point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group;

[0061] an eleventh offset that is an offset between the center frequency point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group and the center frequency point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group;

[0062] a unit of the eleventh offset;

[0063] a twelfth offset that is an offset between the starting frequency domain unit of the second downlink frequency domain resource group and the starting frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group;

[0064] a unit of the twelfth offset;

[0065] a thirteenth offset that is an offset between the ending frequency domain unit of the second downlink frequency domain resource group and the starting frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group;

[0066] a unit of the thirteenth offset;

[0067] a fourteenth offset that is an offset between the starting frequency domain unit of the second downlink frequency domain resource group and the ending frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group; or

[0068] a unit of the fourteenth offset.

[0069] Optionally, the frequency domain units in the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups are numbered based on at least one of the following ways:

[0070] for each downlink frequency domain resource group in a serving cell, numbering the frequency domain units in the downlink frequency domain resource group and numbering the frequency domain units in the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups in a first manner based on frequencies of the frequency domain units from low to high, wherein in two downlink frequency domain resource groups adjacent in the frequencies, a first number of a frequency domain unit with the lowest frequency in the downlink frequency domain resource group with a higher frequency is correlated based on a second number of a frequency domain unit with the highest frequency in the downlink frequency domain resource group with a lower frequency;

[0071] starting from the downlink frequency domain resource group with the smallest index, numbering the frequency domain units in a second manner based on frequencies of the frequency domain units from low to high, and repeating the numbering of the frequency domain units in the second manner sequentially for remaining downlink frequency domain resource groups in the order of indexes of the downlink frequency domain resource groups from small to large, wherein in two downlink frequency domain resource groups adjacent in the indexes, a third number of a frequency domain unit with the lowest frequency in the downlink frequency domain resource group with a larger index and a fourth number of a frequency domain unit with the highest frequency in the downlink frequency domain resource group with a smaller index are consecutive; or

[0072] for each downlink frequency domain resource group, numbering the frequency domain units in a third manner based on frequencies of the frequency domain units from low to high according to a frequency domain reference point corresponding to the downlink frequency domain resource group to obtain a first numbering result, and based on a plurality of the first numbering results, re-numbering each frequency domain unit of each downlink frequency domain resource group as virtual resource blocks indexed from low to high in the order of frequencies of the downlink frequency domain resource groups from low to high or the order of indexes of the downlink frequency domain resource groups from small to large.

[0073] Optionally, the frequency domain units in the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups are numbered based on one of the following ways:

[0074] starting from the downlink frequency domain resource group with the lowest frequency, numbering the frequency domain units in a first manner based on frequencies of the frequency domain units from low to high, and repeating the numbering of the frequency domain units in the first manner sequentially for remaining downlink frequency domain resource groups in the order of frequencies of the downlink frequency domain resource groups from low to high, wherein in two downlink frequency domain resource groups adjacent in the frequencies, a first number of a frequency domain unit with the lowest frequency in the downlink frequency domain resource group with a higher frequency is determined based on a second number of a frequency domain unit with the highest frequency in the downlink frequency domain resource group with a lower frequency; or

[0075] starting from the downlink frequency domain resource group with the smallest index, numbering the frequency domain units in a first manner based on frequencies of the frequency domain units from low to high, and repeating the numbering of the frequency domain units in the first manner sequentially for remaining downlink frequency domain resource groups in the order of indexes of the downlink frequency domain resource groups from small to large, wherein in two downlink frequency domain resource groups adjacent in the frequencies, a first number of a frequency domain unit with the lowest frequency in the downlink frequency domain resource group with a higher frequency is determined based on a second number of a frequency domain unit with the highest frequency in the downlink frequency domain resource group with a lower frequency, and wherein all the downlink frequency domain resource groups have a same frequency domain reference point.

[0076] Optionally, the first number and the second number are consecutive; and / or

[0077] the interval between the first number and the second number is a frequency domain unit offset between the two downlink frequency domain resource groups.

[0078] Optionally, the method further comprises:

[0079] receiving a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), wherein the frequency domain resource units occupied by the PDSCH are determined based on a frequency domain resource allocation (FDRA) field in the PDCCH and the numbering result of the frequency domain units in the downlink frequency domain resource group.

[0080] Optionally, when the PRACH occasions for transmitting the preamble is greater than one, the downlink frequency domain resource groups corresponding to a plurality of the PRACH occasions are the same.

[0081] Optionally, the PRACH resource is determined based on at least one of the following:

[0082] at least one threshold related to a random access channel further included in the first message; or

[0083] a reference signal receiving power (RSRP) related to a first reference signal and an RSRP related to at least one second reference signal, the first reference signal being reference information on the first downlink frequency domain resource group and the second reference signal being a reference signal on the second downlink frequency domain resource group.

[0084] Optionally, each uplink frequency domain resource group corresponds to a threshold, whether a PRACH resource corresponding to a first uplink frequency domain resource group can be used for transmitting the preamble is determined based on a first threshold corresponding to the first uplink frequency domain resource group and the RSRP of the first reference signal, and whether a PRACH resource corresponding to a second uplink frequency domain resource group can be used for transmitting the preamble is determined based on a second threshold corresponding to the second uplink frequency domain resource group and the RSRP of the second reference signal.

[0085] Optionally, the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups correspond to the at least one threshold, and the PRACH resource used for transmitting the preamble is determined based on at least one of the following:

[0086] uplink resources corresponding to a downlink frequency domain resource group having the strongest RSRP of the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups;

[0087] uplink resources corresponding to one or more downlink frequency domain resource groups having an RSRP greater than a third threshold of the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups; or

[0088] in case the RSRPs of the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups are all less than a fourth threshold and / or not less than a fifth threshold, uplink resources corresponding to one or more downlink frequency domain resource groups in a default uplink frequency domain resource group.

[0089] Optionally, the first message further includes configuration information related to the second reference signal, comprising at least one of the following:

[0090] an offset between the center frequency point of the second reference signal and the second downlink frequency domain resource group;

[0091] an index of a sequence used to generate the second reference signal;

[0092] the power of the second reference signal;

[0093] a relationship between the power of the second reference signal and the power of the first reference signal;

[0094] the power of a reference signal related to the second reference signal; or

[0095] a physical resource index corresponding to the second reference signal.

[0096] Optionally, the second reference signal includes information related to the first reference signal, the information related to the first reference signal comprising at least one of the following:

[0097] a first frequency band in which the first reference signal is located;

[0098] an ARFCN in which the first reference signal is located;

[0099] an offset between the ARFCN in which the first reference signal is located and an ARFCN with the lowest frequency in the first frequency band;

[0100] a GSCN in which the first reference signal is located;

[0101] an offset between the GSCN in which the first reference signal is located and a GSCN with the lowest frequency in the first frequency band;

[0102] an offset between an ARFCN corresponding to the first reference signal and an ARFCN corresponding to the second reference signal; or

[0103] an offset between a GSCN corresponding to the first reference signal and a GSCN corresponding to the second reference signal.

[0104] Optionally, the second reference signal comprises at least one of the following:

[0105] a type of the second reference signal;

[0106] location information of a CORESET associated with the second reference signal, wherein the CORESET associated with the second reference signal is used to monitor a PDCCH related to at least one of a second step message in a four-step random access procedure, a fourth step message in the four-step random access procedure, a second step message in a two-step random access procedure, or a paging message, the CORESET associated with the second reference signal and the second reference signal being in a same downlink frequency domain resource group; or

[0107] a quasi co-location (QCL) relationship between the second reference signal and the first reference signal.

[0108] According to another aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a method performed by a base station in a communication system, the method comprises:

[0109] transmitting a first message, the first message including first configuration information related to at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups, wherein the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups include a first downlink frequency domain resource group and at least one second downlink frequency domain resource group, and when the first configuration information does not include information of a second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is determined based on at least one of the following: a first frequency domain reference point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, a starting frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, an ending frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, or a center frequency point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group;

[0110] monitoring a preamble transmitted by a user equipment (UE), wherein the preamble is transmitted on a physical random access channel (PRACH) resource; and

[0111] transmitting a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in at least one of the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups, wherein the PDCCH includes a random access response related to the preamble.

[0112] According to yet another aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a user equipment (UE) comprising:

[0113] a transceiver; and

[0114] a processor coupled to the transceiver and configured to perform the method performed by the UE in the communication system according to the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0115] According to still another aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a base station comprising:

[0116] a transceiver; and

[0117] a processor coupled to the transceiver and configured to perform the method performed by the base station in the communication system according to the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0118] According to a further aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program, that when executed by a processor, implements the method performed by the UE or the base station in the communication system according to the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0119] According to a further aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer program product comprising a computer program, that when executed by a processor, implements the method performed by the UE or the base station in the communication system according to the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0120] The communication method, the user equipment and the base station according to the embodiments of the present disclosure may realize the reliability of communicating on different downlink frequency domain resource groups.

[0121] In order to more clearly explain the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the accompanying drawings to be used in the description of the embodiments of the present disclosure will be briefly described below.

[0122] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a wireless network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0123] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a base station according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0124] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a user equipment according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0125] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a four-step random access procedure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0126] FIG. 5A is a schematic flowchart of a method performed by a UE in a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0127] FIG. 5B is a schematic flowchart of another method performed by a UE in a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0128] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of two downlink frequency domain resource groups according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0129] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a way of determining a CORESET of at least one downlink frequency domain resource group according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0130] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of another way of determining a CORESET of at least one downlink frequency domain resource group according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0131] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a first way of determining the locations of downlink frequency domain resource groups according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0132] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a second way of determining the locations of downlink frequency domain resource groups according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0133] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a third way of determining the locations of downlink frequency domain resource groups according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0134] FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a fourth way of determining the locations of downlink frequency domain resource groups according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0135] FIG. 13A is a schematic diagram of a fifth way of determining the locations of downlink frequency domain resource groups according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0136] FIG. 13B is a schematic diagram of a sixth way of determining the locations of downlink frequency domain resource groups according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0137] FIG. 13C is a schematic diagram of a seventh way of determining the locations of downlink frequency domain resource groups according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0138] FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of an eighth way of determining the locations of downlink frequency domain resource groups according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0139] FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of a ninth way of determining the locations of downlink frequency domain resource groups according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0140] FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram of a tenth way of determining the locations of downlink frequency domain resource groups according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0141] FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of a bandwidth of a downlink frequency domain resource group according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0142] FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram of a first method of determining frequency domain resources corresponding to a downlink frequency domain resource group according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0143] FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram of a second method of determining frequency domain resources corresponding to a downlink frequency domain resource group according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0144] FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram of a third method of determining frequency domain resources corresponding to a downlink frequency domain resource group according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0145] FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram of a fourth method of determining frequency domain resources corresponding to a downlink frequency domain resource group according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0146] FIG. 22 is a schematic diagram of a fifth method of determining frequency domain resources corresponding to a downlink frequency domain resource group according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0147] FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram of a sixth method of determining frequency domain resources corresponding to a downlink frequency domain resource group according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0148] FIG. 24 is a schematic diagram of a first way of numbering frequency domain units in a downlink frequency domain resource group according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0149] FIG. 25 is a schematic diagram of a second way of numbering frequency domain units in a downlink frequency domain resource group according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0150] FIG. 26 is a schematic diagram of a third way of numbering frequency domain units in a downlink frequency domain resource group according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0151] FIG. 27 is a schematic diagram of a fourth way of numbering frequency domain units in a downlink frequency domain resource group according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0152] FIG. 28 is a schematic diagram of a fifth way of numbering frequency domain units in a downlink frequency domain resource group according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0153] FIG. 29A is a schematic diagram of a sixth way of numbering frequency domain units in a downlink frequency domain resource group according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0154] FIG. 29B is a schematic diagram of a seventh way of numbering frequency domain units in a downlink frequency domain resource group according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0155] FIG. 30 is a schematic diagram of an eighth way of numbering frequency domain units in a downlink frequency domain resource group according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0156] FIG. 31 is a schematic diagram of a ninth way of numbering frequency domain units in a downlink frequency domain resource group according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0157] FIG. 32 is a schematic diagram of a structure of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0158] Before undertaking the DETAILED DESCRIPTION below, it may be advantageous to set forth definitions of certain words and phrases used throughout this patent document. The term "couple" and its derivatives refer to any direct or indirect communication between two or more elements, whether those elements are in physical contact with one another. The terms "transmit," "receive," and "communicate," as well as derivatives thereof, encompass both direct and indirect communication. The terms "include" and "comprise," as well as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion without limitation. The term "or" is inclusive, meaning and / or. The phrase "associated with," as well as derivatives thereof, means to include, be included within, interconnect with, contain, be contained within, connect to or with, couple to or with, be communicable with, cooperate with, interleave, juxtapose, be proximate to, be bound to or with, have, have a property of, have a relationship to or with, or the like. The term "controller" means any device, system or part thereof that controls at least one operation. Such a controller may be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and software and / or firmware. The functionality associated with any particular controller may be centralized or distributed, whether locally or remotely. The phrase "at least one of," when used with a list of items, means that different combinations of one or more of the listed items may be used, and only one item in the list may be needed. For example, "at least one of: A, B, and C" includes any of the following combinations: A, B, C, A and B, A and C, B and C, and A and B and C. Likewise, the term "set" means one or more. Accordingly, a set of items can be a single item or a collection of two or more items.

[0159] Moreover, various functions described below can be implemented or supported by one or more computer programs, each of which is formed from computer readable program code and embodied in a computer readable medium. The terms "application" and "program" refer to one or more computer programs, software components, sets of instructions, procedures, functions, objects, classes, instances, related data, or a portion thereof adapted for implementation in a suitable computer readable program code. The phrase "computer readable program code" includes any type of computer code, including source code, object code, and executable code. The phrase "computer readable medium" includes any type of medium capable of being accessed by a computer, such as read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), a hard disk drive, a compact disc (CD), a digital video disc (DVD), or any other type of memory. A "non-transitory" computer readable medium excludes wired, wireless, optical, or other communication links that transport transitory electrical or other signals. A non-transitory computer readable medium includes media where data can be permanently stored and media where data can be stored and later overwritten, such as a rewritable optical disc or an erasable memory device.

[0160] Definitions for other certain words and phrases are provided throughout this patent document. Those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that in many if not most instances, such definitions apply to prior as well as future uses of such defined words and phrases.

[0161] The figures included herein, and the various embodiments used to describe the principles of the present disclosure are by way of illustration only and should not be construed in any way to limit the scope of the disclosure. Further, those skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the present disclosure may be implemented in any suitably arranged wireless communication system.

[0162] FIGS. 1-3 below describe various embodiments of the present disclosure implemented in wireless communications systems. The descriptions of FIGS. 1-3 are not meant to imply physical or architectural limitations to the manner in which different embodiments may be implemented. Different embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in any suitably-arranged communications system.

[0163] FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless network according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The embodiment of the wireless network shown in FIG. 1 is for illustration only. Other embodiments of the wireless network 100 could be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0164] As shown in FIG. 1, the wireless network includes a base station (next generation nodeB, gNB or gNodeB) 101, a gNB 102, and a gNB 103. The gNB 101 communicates with the gNB 102 and the gNB 103. The gNB 101 also communicates with at least one network 130, such as the Internet, a proprietary Internet Protocol (IP) network, or other data network.

[0165] The gNB 102 provides wireless broadband access to the network 130 for a plurality of first user equipments (UEs) within a coverage area 120 of the gNB 102. The plurality of first UEs includes a UE 111, which may be located in a small business; a UE 112, which may be located in an enterprise (E); a UE 113, which may be located in a WiFi hotspot (HS); a UE 114, which may be located in a first residence (R1); a UE 115, which may be located in a second residence (R2); and a UE 116, which may be a mobile device (M), such as a cell phone, a wireless laptop, a wireless personal digital assistant (PDA), or the like. The gNB 103 provides wireless broadband access to the network 130 for a plurality of second UEs within a coverage area 125 of the gNB 103. The plurality of second UEs include the UE 115 and the UE 116, as well as subscriber stations (SS, for example, UEs) 117, 118 and 119. In some embodiments, one or more of the gNBs 101-103 may communicate with each other and with the UEs 111-116 using existing wireless communication techniques, and one or more of the UE 111-119 may communicate directly with each other (e.g., UEs 117-119) using other existing or proposed wireless communication techniques.

[0166] Depending on the network type, the term "base station" or "BS" can refer to any component (or collection of components) configured to provide wireless access to a network, such as transmit point (TP), transmit-receive point (TRP), an enhanced (or "evolved") base station (eNodeB or eNB), a 5G base station (gNB), a macrocell, a femtocell, a wireless fidelity (WiFi) access point (AP), or other wirelessly enabled devices. Base stations may provide wireless access in accordance with one or more wireless communication protocols, e.g., 3GPP 5G New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE Advanced (LTE-A), high speed packet access (HSPA), Wi-Fi 802.11a / b / g / n / ac, etc. For the sake of convenience, the various names for a base station-type apparatus and functionality are used interchangeably in this patent document to refer to network infrastructure components that provide wireless access to remote terminals. Also, depending on the network type, the term "user equipment" (UE) can refer to any component such as a mobile station (MS), subscriber station (SS), remote terminal, wireless terminal, receive point, or user device. For the sake of convenience, the various names for a user equipment-type device and functionality are used interchangeably in this patent document to refer to remote wireless equipment that wirelessly accesses a BS, whether the UE is a mobile device (such as a mobile telephone or smartphone) or is normally considered a stationary device (such as a desktop computer or vending machine).

[0167] Dotted lines show the approximate extents of the coverage areas 120 and 125, which are shown as approximately circular for the purposes of illustration and explanation only. It should be clearly understood that the coverage areas associated with gNBs, such as the coverage areas 120 and 125, may have other shapes, including irregular shapes, depending upon the configuration of the gNBs and variations in the radio environment associated with natural and man-made obstructions.

[0168] As described in more detail below, one or more of the UEs 111-119 include circuitry, programing, or a combination thereof. In certain embodiments, and one or more of the gNBs 101-103 includes circuitry, programing, or a combination thereof.

[0169] Although FIG. 1 illustrates one example of a wireless network, various changes may be made to FIG. 1. For example, the wireless network could include any number of gNBs and any number of UEs in any suitable arrangement. Also, the gNB 101 could communicate directly with any number of UEs and provide those UEs with wireless broadband access to the network 130. Similarly, each gNB 102-103 could communicate directly with the network 130 and provide UEs with direct wireless broadband access to the network 130. Further, the gNBs 101, 102, and / or 103 could provide access to other or additional external networks, such as external telephone networks or other types of data networks.

[0170] FIG. 2 illustrates an example base station according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The embodiment of the gNB 102 illustrated in FIG. 2 is for illustration only, and the gNBs 101 and 103 of FIG. 1 could have the same or similar configuration. However, gNBs come in a wide variety of configurations, and FIG. 2 does not limit the scope of the present disclosure to any particular implementation of a gNB.

[0171] As shown in FIG 2, the gNB 102 includes multiple antennas 200a-200n, multiple radio frequency (RF) transceivers 201a-201n, transmit (TX) processing circuitry 203, and receive (RX) processing circuitry 204. The gNB 102 also includes a controller / processor 205, a memory 206, and a backhaul or network interface 207.

[0172] The RF transceivers 201a-201n receive, from the antennas 200a-200n, incoming RF signals, such as signals transmitted by UEs in the network 100. The RF transceivers 201a-201n down-convert the incoming RF signals to generate intermediate frequency (IF) or baseband signals. The IF or baseband signals are sent to the RX processing circuitry 204, which generates processed baseband signals by filtering, decoding, and / or digitizing the baseband or IF signals. The RX processing circuitry 204 transmits the processed baseband signals to the controller / processor 205 for further processing.

[0173] The TX processing circuitry 203 receives analog or digital data (such as voice data, web data, electronic mail, or interactive video game data) from the controller / processor 205. The TX processing circuitry 203 encodes, multiplexes, and / or digitizes the outgoing baseband data to generate processed baseband or IF signals. The RF transceivers 201a-201n receive the outgoing processed baseband or IF signals from the TX processing circuitry 203 and up-converts the baseband or IF signals to RF signals that are transmitted via the antennas 201a-201n.

[0174] The controller / processor 205 can include one or more processors or other processing devices that control the overall operation of the gNB 102. For example, the controller / processor 205 could control the reception of forward channel signals and the transmission of reverse channel signals by the RF transceivers 201a-201n, the RX processing circuitry 204, and the TX processing circuitry 203 in accordance with well-known principles. The controller / processor 205 could support additional functions as well, such as more advanced wireless communication functions.

[0175] For instance, the controller / processor 205 could support beam forming or directional routing operations in which outgoing signals from multiple antennas 200a-200n are weighted differently to effectively steer the outgoing signals in a desired direction. Any of a wide variety of other functions could be supported in the gNB 102 by the controller / processor 205.

[0176] The controller / processor 205 is also capable of executing programs and other processes resident in the memory 206, such as an operating system (OS). The controller / processor 205 can move data into or out of the memory 206 as required by an executing process.

[0177] The controller / processor 205 is also coupled to the backhaul or network interface 207. The backhaul or network interface 207 allows the gNB 102 to communicate with other devices or systems over a backhaul connection or over a network. The interface 207 could support communications over any suitable wired or wireless connection(s). For example, when the gNB 102 is implemented as part of a cellular communication system (such as one supporting 5G, LTE, or LTE-A), the interface 207 could allow the gNB 102 to communicate with other gNBs over a wired or wireless backhaul connection. When the gNB 102 is implemented as an access point, the interface 207 could allow the gNB 102 to communicate over a wired or wireless local area network or over a wired or wireless connection to a larger network (such as the Internet). The interface 207 includes any suitable structure supporting communications over a wired or wireless connection, such as an Ethernet or RF transceiver.

[0178] The memory 206 is coupled to the controller / processor 205. Part of the memory 206 could include a random access memory (RAM), and another part of the memory 206 could include a Flash memory or other read only memory (ROM).

[0179] Although FIG. 2 illustrates one example of gNB 102, various changes may be made to FIG. 2. For example, the gNB 102 could include any number of each component shown in FIG. 2. As a particular example, an access point could include a number of interfaces 207, and the controller / processor 205 could support routing functions to route data between different network addresses. As another particular example, while shown as including a single instance of TX processing circuitry 203 and a single instance of RX processing circuitry 204, the gNB 102 could include multiple instances of each (such as one per RF transceiver). Also, various components in FIG. 2 could be combined, further subdivided, or omitted and additional components could be added according to particular needs.

[0180] FIG. 3 illustrates an example user equipment according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The embodiment of the UE 116 illustrated in FIG. 3 is for illustration only, and the UEs 111-115 and 117-119 of FIG. 1 could have the same or similar configuration. However, UEs come in a wide variety of configurations, and FIG. 3 does not limit the scope of the present disclosure to any particular implementation of a UE.

[0181] As shown in FIG. 3, the UE 116 includes an antenna 301, a radio frequency (RF) transceiver 302, TX processing circuitry 303, a microphone 304, and receive (RX) processing circuitry 305. The UE 116 also includes a speaker 306, a controller or processor 307, an input / output (I / O) interface (IF) 308, an input device 309, a touchscreen display 310, and a memory 311. The memory 311 includes an OS 312 and one or more applications 313.

[0182] The RF transceiver 302 receives, from the antenna 301, an incoming RF signal transmitted by a gNB of the network 100. The RF transceiver 302 down-converts the incoming RF signal to generate an IF or baseband signal. The IF or baseband signal is sent to the RX processing circuitry 305, which generates a processed baseband signal by filtering, decoding, and / or digitizing the baseband or IF signal. The RX processing circuitry 305 transmits the processed baseband signal to the speaker 306 (such as for voice data) or to the processor 307 for further processing (such as for web browsing data).

[0183] The TX processing circuitry 303 receives analog or digital voice data from the microphone 304 or other outgoing baseband data (such as web data, e-mail, or interactive video game data) from the processor 307. The TX processing circuitry 303 encodes, multiplexes, and / or digitizes the outgoing baseband data to generate a processed baseband or IF signal. The RF transceiver 302 receives the outgoing processed baseband or IF signal from the TX processing circuitry 303 and up-converts the baseband or IF signal to an RF signal that is transmitted via the antenna 301.

[0184] The processor 307 can include one or more processors or other processing devices and execute the OS 312 stored in the memory 311 in order to control the overall operation of the UE 116. For example, the processor 307 could control the reception of forward channel signals and the transmission of reverse channel signals by the RF transceiver 302, the RX processing circuitry 305, and the TX processing circuitry 303 in accordance with well-known principles. In some embodiments, the processor 307 includes at least one microprocessor or microcontroller.

[0185] The processor 307 is also capable of executing other processes and programs resident in the memory 311, such as processes for CSI reporting on uplink channel. The processor 307 can move data into or out of the memory 311 as required by an executing process. In some embodiments, the processor 307 is configured to execute the applications 313 based on the OS 312 or in response to signals received from gNBs or an operator. The processor 307 is also coupled to the I / O interface 308, which provides the UE 116 with the ability to connect to other devices, such as laptop computers and handheld computers. The I / O interface 308 is the communication path between these accessories and the processor 307.

[0186] The processor 307 is also coupled to the touchscreen display 310. The user of the UE 116 can use the touchscreen display 310 to enter data into the UE 116. The touchscreen display 310 may be a liquid crystal display, light emitting diode display, or other display capable of rendering text and / or at least limited graphics, such as from web sites.

[0187] The memory 311 is coupled to the processor 307. Part of the memory 311 could include RAM, and another part of the memory 311 could include a Flash memory or other ROM.

[0188] Although FIG. 3 illustrates one example of UE 116, various changes may be made to FIG. 3. For example, various components in FIG. 3 could be combined, further subdivided, or omitted and additional components could be added according to particular needs. As a particular example, the processor 307 could be divided into multiple processors, such as one or more central processing units (CPUs) and one or more graphics processing units (GPUs). Also, while FIG. 3 illustrates the UE 116 configured as a mobile telephone or smartphone, UEs could be configured to operate as other types of mobile or stationary devices.

[0189] Transmissions in a wireless communication system comprise transmission from a base station (gNB) to a user equipment (UE) (referred to as downlink transmission), with the corresponding slot being referred to as a downlink slot, and transmission from the UE to the base station (referred to as uplink transmission), with the corresponding slot being referred to as an uplink slot.

[0190] In downlink communications of the wireless communication system, the system transmits a synchronization signal and a broadcast channel to a user periodically through a synchronization signal block (SSB / physical broadcast channel (PBCH), or referred to as downlink reference signal), and the periodicity is a synchronization signal block periodicity (e.g. SSB periodicity), or is known as a synchronization signal block burst periodicity (SSB burst periodicity). Meantime, the base station will configure a physical random access channel configuration period (PRACH configuration period), in which a certain number of random access transmission occasions (also called random access occasions, PRACH transmission occasions, ROs) are configured, and these configured ROs are judged by certain validity rules to obtain valid ROs, and to meet the requirements that all SSBs can be mapped to the corresponding valid ROs within an association period (a certain length of time), and the SSBs in one SSB periodicity can all be just mapped to the required random access resources in an SSB-to-RO mapping cycle, and there can be one or more mapping cycles in one association period. An SSB-to-RO association pattern period contains one or more association periods, and SSB-to-RO association patterns are the same in each association pattern period.

[0191] In a new radio (NR) communication system, before the radio resource control is established, e.g., in the random access procedure, the performance of random access directly affects the user experience. In traditional wireless communication systems such as LTE and LTE-Advanced, or in 5G or NR systems, the random access procedure is applied in multiple scenarios such as initial link establishment, cell handover, uplink re-establishment, and radio resource control (RRC) connection re-establishment, etc., and is categorized into contention-based random access and contention-free random access, depending on whether the user has preamble sequence resources exclusively. In contention-based random access, each user selects a preamble sequence from the same preamble sequence resources in the process of attempting to establish an uplink.

[0192] For example, the contention-based random access procedure is divided into four steps, and FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic diagram of the four-step random access procedure.

[0193] In the first step, the user randomly selects a preamble sequence from a resource pool of preamble sequences (also interchangeably referred to as "preambles" or "preamble codes") and transmits it to the base station. The base station performs correlation detection on received signals to identify the preamble sequence transmitted by the user.

[0194] In the second step, the base station transmits, to the user, a random access response (RAR) containing a random access preamble sequence identifier, a timing advance command determined according to delay estimation between the user and the base station, a temporary cell-radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI), and time-frequency resources allocated for the user's next uplink transmission, and the user will search for a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) that carries the feedback, based on a random access-RNTI (RA-RNTI) associated with a physical random access channel (PRACH) occasion that transmits the random access preamble sequence. The RA-RNTI associated with the PRACH occasion (RO) that transmits the random access preamble sequence is calculated by the following equation:

[0195] ul_carrier_id

[0196] wheres_idis an index of the first orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol for that PRACH occasion (0 s_id< 14),t_idis an index of the first slot of that PRACH occasion in a system frame (0 t_id< 80), where, for ={0,1,2,3}, a sub-carrier spacing for determiningt_idis based on a specified value of , and for ={5,6},t_idis an index of a 120 kHz slot that contains the PRACH occasion in the system frame (0 t_id < 80),f_idis an index of the PRACH occasion in the frequency domain (0 f_id < 8),ul_carrier_idis an uplink carrier for transmission of the random access preamble, where for an normal uplink (NUL), the carrier is 0, but for a supplementary uplink (SUL), the carrier is 1.

[0197] In the third step, the user transmits a third message (Message 3, Msg3) to the base station based on the information in the RAR. Msg3 contains information such as a user terminal identity and an RRC connection request, where the user terminal identity is unique to the user and is used for conflict resolution.

[0198] In the fourth step, the base station transmits to the user a conflict resolution identity containing the user terminal identity that won in the conflict resolution. The user, after detecting his / her own identity, upgrades the temporary C-RNTI to the C-RNTI and transmits an acknowledge character (ACK) signal to the base station, to complete the random access procedure and wait for scheduling by the base station. Otherwise, the user will start a new random access procedure after a period of delay.

[0199] For the contention-free random access procedure, since the base station has known the user identity, it may allocate a preamble sequence to the user. Therefore, instead of randomly selecting a sequence, the user will use an allocated preamble sequence when transmitting the preamble sequence. After detecting the allocated preamble sequence, the base station transmits a corresponding random access response, including information such as timing advance and uplink resource allocation. After receiving the random access response, the user considers that the uplink synchronization has been completed and waits for further scheduling by the base station. Therefore, the contention-free random access procedure comprises only two steps: step 1 is to transmit the preamble sequence by the UE, and step 2 is to transmit the random access response by the base station.

[0200] In a mobile communication system, the same operator generally has a plurality of available contiguous spectra, and the bandwidth of contiguous spectrain sub-3GHz, especially Sub1 GHz, is generally small. In global sub-3GHz spectra, 95% of contiguous 1.4-2.6 GHz frequency division duplex (FDD) spectra has a bandwidth of no more than 30 MHz, and 90% of the operators have a spectrum of more than one 1.4-2.6 GHz FDD bands. Likewise, the Sub1 GHz (700 / 800 / 900 MHz) spectrum faces the same problem. 93% of contiguous Sub1 GHz FDD spectra has a bandwidth of no more than 15 MHz, and 71% of the operators own a spectrum of more than one Sub1 GHz FDD band. Although these FDD bands are not continuously distributed in the spectra, an aggregated bandwidth of these bands combined together is considerable. Aggregated FDD carriers may provide a downlink (DL) bandwidth similar to C-band time division duplex (TDD) carriers and an uplink (UP) bandwidth of 2.4 times thereof. It's more important that the spectra below 3GHz has coverage advantages. In addition to the FDD bands described above, there are a plurality of SUL bands (e.g., n97, n98, n95, etc.) in Sub-3GHz that may be used to improve the operators' UL coverage and capacity. In the future, the operators will deploy more spectra below 3GHz in order to meet an increasingly growing demand in ToB (To Business) and ToC (To Customer) scenarios. And, as more spectra are allocated for mobile communications, the operators will deploy more spectrain respective bands to meet an increasingly growing demand for data rates.

[0201] For a new spectrum deployment approach, how to communicate on different downlink frequency domain resource groups is a problem needs to be solved.

[0202] With respect to at least one of the above technical problems in related technologies or the needs for improvement, the present disclosure proposes a communication method, a user equipment and a base station, which specifically may be a communication system access (e.g., initial access, random access, etc., hereinafter referred to as a "system access") scheme, which may realize the reliability of communicating on different downlink frequency domain resource groups.

[0203] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure and the technical effects produced by the technical solutions of the present disclosure are described below by describing several exemplary implementations. It should be noted that the following embodiments may be referred to, learned from, or combined with each other, and the same terms, similar features, and similar implementation steps in different embodiments will not be described repeatedly.

[0204] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method performed by a UE in a communication system. As shown in FIG. 5A, the method comprises:

[0205] step S501: Receive a first message, the first message including first configuration information related to at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups;

[0206] step S502: Transmit a preamble to a base station on a PRACH resource; and

[0207] step S503: Monitor a PDCCH in at least one of the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups, wherein the PDCCH includes a random access response related to the preamble.

[0208] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups include a first downlink frequency domain resource group and at least one second downlink frequency domain resource group, and wherein, the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is determined based on at least one of the following: a first frequency domain reference point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, a starting frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, an ending frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, or a center frequency point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group.

[0209] Optionally, when the first configuration information does not include information of a second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is determined based on at least one of the following: a first frequency domain reference point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, a starting frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, an ending frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, or a center frequency point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group. In one example, the processing process may be as shown in FIG. 5B.

[0210] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the first message may further include second configuration information related to at least one uplink frequency domain resource group, wherein the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups and the at least one uplink frequency domain resource group are located in a same serving cell, and each frequency domain resource group includes a segment of consecutive frequency domain resources.

[0211] In the step S502, it is specifically possible to transmit the preamble to the base station on a PRACH resource of the at least one uplink frequency domain resource group.

[0212] According to the case described above, when an operator has multiple contiguous spectra available, they may be used as a cell by arranging one or more consecutive spectrum resources on each segment of the spectra. The physical meaning of consecutive spectrum resources is a set, and the set includes N0 consecutive resource elements or resource blocks in the frequency domain, wherein each resource element may be an OFDM subcarrier. One resource block includes a certain number of consecutive resource elements, and optionally, one resource block includes 12 consecutive resource elements. The resource block may also be a common resource block, a physical resource block, a virtual resource block, etc., wherein the reference location of an index of the common resource block (or, the physical resource block or the virtual resource block) may be a subcarrier with the smallest index of a frequency domain resource group, and may also be a predefined or configured frequency domain reference point, or a subcarrier with the smallest index of another frequency domain resource group.

[0213] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the "frequency domain resource group" is used to refer to a segment of consecutive spectrum resources. The UE may transmit or receive physical channels and / or physical signals on the frequency domain resource group. It can be understood that one frequency domain resource group is a segment of consecutive spectrum resources that can be used by the UE to transmit or receive signals. As shown in FIG. 6, the first downlink frequency domain resource group has a bandwidth of X MHz and includes X0 subcarriers, the second downlink frequency domain resource group has a bandwidth of Y MHz and includes Y0 subcarriers, and there is a certain spacing, e.g., Z MHz, between a subcarrier with the largest index of the first downlink frequency domain resource group and a subcarrier with the smallest index of the second downlink frequency domain resource group.

[0214] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the frequency domain resource group may also be equivalently replaced with one of a carrier, a bandwidth part (BWP), and the like.

[0215] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the physical meaning of being located in the same serving cell includes at least one of the following: the located serving cell has the same physical cell identifier (PCI); the located serving cell has the same NR-Cell identifier (NCI); the located serving cell has the same RRC parameter CellIdentity; the located serving cell has the same master information block (MIB) parameter and system information block 1 (SIB1, unified system message block) parameter; the located serving cell has a set of cell defining SSBs (CDSSBs), the set of CDSSBs indicates that all the CDSSBs have the same center frequency point; or the located serving cell has a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) entity.

[0216] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the functions of the serving cell include at least one of the following: providing RRC connection / RRC re-establishment / handover services for the UE, providing non-access stratum (NAS) mobility information for the UE, providing security input for the UE, providing services related to initial access for the UE, or providing services related to random access for the UE.

[0217] When a cell contains a plurality of frequency domain resource groups, for UEs in idle / inactive state, the system information (e.g., SSB, system information block (SIB), remaining minimum system information (RMSI), and other system information (OSI)) and paging of the serving cell may be broadcast in at least one of a plurality of downlink frequency domain resource groups within the serving cell. The system information may include necessary information for each frequency domain resource group (e.g., the frequency, the bandwidth, the sub-carrier spacing (), the random access channel (RACH) resource, etc.). Therefore, the UE may see and access all frequency domain resource groups. Based on the SSB and the SIB, the UE may select any uplink frequency domain resource group for initial access without adding a secondary cell (SCell) and its activation process (both requiring additional signaling). In this way, the overhead of common signaling can be reduced, load balancing on different uplink frequency domain resource groups can be realized, and access delay can be reduced.

[0218] And in the embodiment of the present disclosure, in a scenario where the cell contains the plurality of downlink frequency domain resource groups, the UE can be supported to correctly determine at least one downlink frequency domain resource group for monitoring or searching for the PDCCH.

[0219] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the first message may also be referred to as a downlink broadcast message, and specifically, may be a system message, e.g., the system information block (SIB). More specifically, the first message may be SIB1, SIB2, SIB3, and SIBn, wherein n is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1. The first message may also be a MIB.

[0220] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the first message may include first configuration information related to the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups and second configuration information related to the at least one uplink frequency domain resource group. The uplink frequency domain resource group may be one of an uplink frequency domain resource group, a supplementary uplink frequency domain resource group, a normal uplink frequency domain resource group, a primary uplink frequency domain resource group, or a non-primary uplink frequency domain resource group (which may be equivalently replaced with a secondary uplink frequency domain resource group). The downlink frequency domain resource group may be one of a downlink frequency domain resource group, a supplementary downlink frequency domain resource group, a normal downlink frequency domain resource group, a primary downlink frequency domain resource group, or a non-primary downlink frequency domain resource group (which may be equivalently replaced with a secondary downlink frequency domain resource group).

[0221] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the frequency domain resource group in which necessary information for providing system access to the UE is located is defined as the primary downlink frequency domain resource group. Optionally, the frequency domain resource group in which the synchronization signal block is located may be the primary downlink frequency domain resource group, and the synchronization signal block may be a cell defining synchronization signal block (CDSSB). Optionally, the frequency domain resource group in which the system information is located is the primary downlink frequency domain resource group, and the system information may be a MIB, a SIB, or the like. Optionally, the uplink frequency domain resource group having the same index as the primary downlink frequency domain resource group is defined as the primary uplink frequency domain resource group. Optionally, the uplink frequency domain resource group configured for the primary downlink frequency domain resource group is the primary uplink frequency domain resource group. The primary uplink frequency domain resource group has an association relationship with the primary downlink frequency domain resource group, and the secondary uplink frequency domain resource group has an association relationship with one uplink frequency domain resource group in the serving cell.

[0222] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the second downlink frequency domain resource group refers to a downlink frequency domain resource group where the first configuration information does not include information of a second frequency domain reference point. For example, the second downlink frequency domain resource group may be the secondary downlink frequency domain resource group, and the first downlink frequency domain resource group may refer to the primary downlink frequency domain resource group, or it may refer to other secondary downlink frequency domain resource group for reference by the second downlink frequency domain resource group. For convenience of description, the introduction is made hereinafter by taking the primary downlink frequency domain resource group as the first downlink frequency domain resource group and the secondary downlink frequency domain resource group as the second downlink frequency domain resource group as an example. For example, the first downlink frequency domain resource group is a frequency domain resource group for transmitting the synchronization information and / or the system information, and the second downlink frequency domain resource group is a downlink frequency domain resource group other than the first downlink frequency domain resource group of the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups, but is not limited thereto. Those skilled in the art should understand that the introduction below is merely an exemplary description and does not constitute a limitation on the embodiments of the present disclosure, and that appropriate variations made based on those examples may also be applicable to the embodiments of the present disclosure, and thus should be included in the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

[0223] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is determined based on at least one of the following.

[0224] (1) Information related to the second frequency domain reference point included in the first configuration information, i.e., the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group may be explicitly indicated. The UE is determined based on the information related to the frequency domain reference point of the downlink frequency resource group in the first configuration information. For example, the first configuration information includes a parameter PointA1_absoluteValue (point A1 absolute value) indicating the frequency domain reference point, taking a value of an absolute radio frequency channel number (ARFCN), frequency point corresponding to the ARFCN is the frequency domain reference point of the downlink frequency domain resource group.

[0225] (2) The first frequency domain reference point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, i.e., the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group may share the frequency domain reference point of the primary downlink frequency domain resource group. The UE determines the frequency domain reference point of the first (primary) downlink frequency domain resource group according to predefined rules or the first configuration information, and uses it as the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group. The first frequency domain reference point of the first (primary) downlink frequency domain resource group may be determined based on broadcast information, e.g., by a frequency domain location of the SSB, and / or may be determined jointly based on information about the offsets included in both the MIB and the SIB1. For example, if the UE determines the first frequency domain reference point PointA of the first downlink frequency domain resource group based on the broadcast information, and a parameter pointA1samewithPointA (point A1 is the same as point A) takes a value of true, the UE determines that the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is the same as the first frequency domain reference point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group based on the parameter, and the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is a frequency point indicated by the PointA. For another example, if the UE determines the first frequency domain reference point PointA of the first downlink frequency domain resource group based on the broadcast information, then the UE determines that the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is the same as the first frequency domain reference point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group based on rules predefined by the protocol, and the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is a frequency point indicated by the PointA.

[0226] (3) The starting frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, i.e., the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group may use the starting location of the primary downlink frequency domain resource group. The UE determines the frequency domain starting location (a subcarrier with the smallest index or a resource block with the smallest index) of the first (primary) downlink frequency domain resource group according to the predefined rules or the first configuration information, as the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group. For example, if the UE determines the resource block with the smallest index of the first downlink frequency domain resource group based on the broadcast information, a parameter pointA1samewithAnchorStarting (point A1 is the same as anchor start) indicates that the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is the resource block with the smallest index of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, and the parameter takes a value of true, the UE determines that the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is the resource block with the smallest index of the first downlink frequency domain resource group. For another example, if the UE determines the resource block with the smallest index of the first downlink frequency domain resource group based on the broadcast information, the UE determines, based on the rules predefined by the protocol, that the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is the resource block with the smallest index of the first downlink frequency domain resource group.

[0227] Optionally, the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group may use a center frequency point of the starting frequency domain unit of the primary downlink frequency domain resource group. For example, if the starting frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group is a carrier resource block (CRB) 3, the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is a center frequency point corresponding to the CRB3.

[0228] (4) The ending frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, i.e., the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group may use the ending location of the primary downlink frequency domain resource group. The UE determines the frequency domain ending location (a subcarrier with the largest index or a resource block with the largest index) of the first (primary) downlink frequency domain resource group according to the predefined rules or the first configuration information, as the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group. For example, if the UE determines the resource block with the largest index of the first downlink frequency domain resource group based on the broadcast information, a parameter pointA1samewithAnchorEnding (point A1 is the same as anchor end) indicates that the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is the resource block with the largest index of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, and the parameter takes a value of true, the UE determines that the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is the resource block with the largest index of the first downlink frequency domain resource group. For another example, if the UE determines the resource block with the largest index of the first downlink frequency domain resource group based on the broadcast information, the UE determines, based on the rules predefined by the protocol, that the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is the resource block with the largest index of the first downlink frequency domain resource group.

[0229] Optionally, frequency domain reference points of one or more second downlink frequency domain resource groups may use a center frequency point of the ending frequency domain unit of the primary downlink frequency domain resource group. For example, if the ending frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group is CRB20, the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is a center frequency point corresponding to the CRB20.

[0230] (5) The next frequency domain unit of the ending frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, i.e., the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group may use the next frequency domain unit of the ending location of the primary downlink frequency domain resource group. The UE determines the next frequency domain unit of the frequency domain ending location (a subcarrier with the largest index or a resource block with the largest index) of the first (primary) downlink frequency domain resource group according to the predefined rules or the first configuration information, as the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group. For example, if the ending frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group is CRB20, the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is the next frequency domain unit CRB21.

[0231] Optionally, when the first configuration information does not include information on the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, for example, when a parameter (e.g., higher-layer parameter) indicating the second frequency domain reference point is defaulted, the second frequency domain reference point may be at least one of the following: a first frequency domain reference point, a starting frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, an ending frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, or a center frequency point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, so that it is possible to reduce the signaling overhead of indicating the location of the second downlink frequency domain resource group.

[0232] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the PDCCH may be used to schedule DL transmissions on a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and UL transmissions on a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), wherein downlink control information (DCI) on the PDCCH includes:

[0233] - a downlink allocation, which contains at least a modulation and coding format, a resource allocation, and HARQ information related to a downlink shared channel (DL-SCH); and

[0234] - an uplink scheduling grant, which contains at least the modulation and coding format, the resource allocation, and HARQ information related to an uplink shared channel (UL-SCH).

[0235] In addition to scheduling, the PDCCH may be used for:

[0236] - activating and deactivating the configured PUSCH transmissions using the configured grant;

[0237] - activating and deactivating PDSCH semi-persistent transmissions;

[0238] - notifying one or more UEs of slot formats;

[0239] - notifying one or more UEs of physical resource blocks (PRBs) and OFDM symbols, in which the UE may assume that no transmissions are intended for the UEs;

[0240] - transmitting transmit power control (TPC) commands for the PUCCH and the PUSCH;

[0241] - transmitting one or more TPC commands for sounding reference signal (SRS) transmission by one or more UEs;

[0242] - switching an active bandwidth part of the UE;

[0243] - initiating the random access procedure;

[0244] - instructing the UE to monitor the PDCCH during the next discontinuous reception (DRX) on-duration;

[0245] - indicating the availability of soft symbols of an integrated access backhaul-distributed unit (IAB-DU) in the IAB context;

[0246] - triggering a single HARQ-ACK codebook feedback;

[0247] - for the operation of shared spectrum channel access, comprising at least one of the following:

[0248] - triggering search space set group switching;

[0249] - indicating to one or more UEs an available resource block (RB) set and channel occupancy duration; or

[0250] - indicating downlink feedback information for a configured grant PUSCH (e.g., CG-DFI, configured grant-downlink feedback information).

[0251] In the step S503 of the embodiment of the present disclosure, the frequency domain resource for monitoring the PDCCH is determined by an association relationship between the selected RACH resource and the downlink resources. The RACH resource may include at least one of a preamble, and a PRACH resource for transmitting the preamble. The PRACH resource may include a time-frequency resource.

[0252] Specifically, the at least one downlink frequency domain resource group is associated with at least one of the following: the preamble, a control resource set (CORESET) associated with the preamble, the PRACH resource, or a CORESET associated with the PRACH resource.

[0253] In other words, the at least one downlink frequency domain resource group includes at least one of the following:

[0254] (1) a downlink frequency domain resource group associated with the preamble;

[0255] (2) a downlink frequency domain resource group in which the CORESET associated with the preamble is located;

[0256] (3) a downlink frequency domain resource group in which the PRACH resource is associated;

[0257] (4) a downlink frequency domain resource group in which the CORESET associated with the PRACH resource is located; or

[0258] (5) a downlink frequency domain resource group associated with an uplink frequency domain resource group in which the PRACH resource is located.

[0259] This may support the UE to correctly determine at least one downlink frequency domain resource group for monitoring or searching for the PDCCH, thereby realizing load balancing on different downlink frequency domain resource groups, to improve network flexibility and even energy efficiency.

[0260] For example, the UE determines the resource for monitoring the PDCCH based on the downlink frequency domain resource group associated with the selected RACH resource, the downlink frequency domain resource group associated with the uplink frequency domain resource group corresponding to the selected RACH resource, or the downlink frequency domain resource group in which the CORESET associated with the RACH resource is located. Optionally, there is a correspondence between the preamble and the resource for monitoring the PDCCH, or, there is a correspondence between the PRACH resource for transmitting the preamble and the resource for monitoring the PDCCH. The UE notifies the base station of the location of the corresponding resource (e.g., the downlink frequency domain resource group or the CORESET) for monitoring the PDCCH, by transmitting a particular preamble or by transmitting the preamble on a particular PRACH resource.

[0261] For another example, the first message may also include information on the resource for monitoring or searching for the PDCCH on the downlink frequency domain resource group. Based on the first message, the UE may determine the resource for monitoring or detecting the PDCCH on the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups. The resource for monitoring or detecting the PDCCH may be a frequency domain resource or a time domain resource. In a scenario where a cell contains a plurality of downlink frequency domain resource groups, this may support the UE in determining the at least one downlink frequency domain resource group that can be used to monitor or search for the PDCCH prior to the initial access, to achieve an effect of downlink load balancing.

[0262] Optionally, the first message (e.g., the second configuration information) includes RACH configuration information (e.g., RACH-ConfigCommon, common RACH configuration), and the RACH configuration information includes a parameter indicating the time-frequency resource corresponding to the PRACH resource (e.g., RACH-ConfigGeneric, generic RACH configuration), a parameter related to available preambles (e.g., totalNumberOfRA-Preambles - total number of random access preambles), and at least one of the following: an index of the at least one downlink frequency domain resource group; or an index of at least one CORESET, wherein the at least one CORESET is on the downlink frequency domain resource group. In this way, the base station may notify the UE of the association relationship between the RACH resource and the downlink resource for monitoring the PDCCH, thereby realizing the downlink load balancing.

[0263] Optionally, the first message (e.g., the first configuration information) includes CORESET configuration information (e.g., ControlResourceSet, a set of control parameters), and the CORESET configuration information includes parameters indicating the locations of the frequency domain resources of the CORESET, and the index of the RACH resource associated with the CORESET. In this way, the base station may also notify the UE of the association relationship between the RACH resource and the downlink resource for monitoring the PDCCH, thereby realizing the downlink load balancing.

[0264] In a specific example, the UE transmits a preamble on a first uplink resource, and monitors or detects the downlink control information on a downlink resource corresponding to the first uplink resource.

[0265] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the uplink resource may refer to an uplink frequency domain resource group, or may also refer to an uplink resource for performing random access, for example, a physical resource for transmitting the preamble, such as a RACH occasion, a RACH occasion group, a PRACH occasion, a PRACH occasion group, the preamble, a preamble sequence, a preamble group, a preamble pool, and the like. Each RACH occasion group contains one or more RACH occasions, and each PRACH occasion group contains one or more PRACH occasions.

[0266] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the downlink resource may refer to a downlink frequency domain resource group, and may also refer to a downlink resource for monitoring or searching for the PDCCH, such as a control resource set (CORESET), a search space, a PDCCH occasion, and the like.

[0267] Optionally, the first message includes an index of each uplink frequency domain resource group and an index of each downlink frequency domain resource group, and the uplink frequency domain resource group and the downlink frequency domain resource group having related indexes have an association relationship. That is, the association relationship may be determined by the index of the uplink frequency domain resource group and the index of each downlink frequency domain resource group, and similarly, the association relationship may be determined by the index of the uplink resource and the index of the downlink resource.

[0268] In a specific example, the UE obtains configuration information of the uplink resource, which includes the index of the uplink resource, and the UE obtains configuration information of the downlink resource, which includes the index of the downlink resource, and there is a mapping relationship between an uplink resource having an index of X2 and a downlink resource having an index of X2. For example, there is a mapping relationship between an uplink frequency domain resource group having an index of 0 and a downlink frequency domain resource group having an index of 0. The UE transmits the preamble on the uplink frequency domain resource group having an index of 0 and monitors the PDCCH on the downlink frequency domain resource group having an index of 0.

[0269] Optionally, the first message includes an association relationship between the at least one downlink frequency domain resource group and the uplink frequency domain resource group corresponding to the RACH resource. That is, the association relationship may be determined by the configured information. Based on this, the UE may transmit the preamble on the uplink resource, and may monitor the PDCCH on the downlink resource having an association relationship with the uplink resource.

[0270] In a specific example, the UE obtains configuration information (e.g., the first configuration information) for the downlink resource, which includes the index of the uplink resource associated with the downlink resource. For example, if the UE obtains configuration information for CORESET#0, which includes an index A of the uplink frequency domain resource group, the UE transmits the preamble on the frequency domain resource group having the index of A and monitors the PDCCH on the CORESET#0.

[0271] In another specific example, the UE obtains configuration information (e.g., the second configuration information) for the uplink resource, which includes the index of the downlink resource associated with the uplink resource. For example, the UE obtains configuration information for the uplink RACH occasion, which includes index information for a CORESET associated therewith, or, which includes index information for a downlink frequency domain resource group in which the CORESET associated therewith is located, or, which includes index information for a downlink frequency domain resource group associated therewith. As another example, the UE obtains configuration information related to an uplink RACH, which includes information on the CORESET associated with the preamble, or, which includes information on the downlink frequency domain resource group in which the CORESET associated with the preamble is located.

[0272] In another optional implementation, the PDCCH is monitored on a CORESET of the at least one downlink frequency domain resource group, and the first message includes configuration information related to the CORESET. That is, the location of the resource for monitoring the PDCCH may be explicitly determined. For example, the UE determines the resource for monitoring the PDCCH based on the configuration information related to the CORESET included in the first message.

[0273] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the resource for monitoring or searching for the PDCCH includes a frequency domain resource for monitoring or searching for the PDCCH, and a time domain resource for monitoring or searching for the PDCCH. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, a CORESET is used in place of the frequency domain resource for monitoring or searching for the PDCCH, and a search space is used in place of the time domain resource for monitoring or searching for the PDCCH.

[0274] As an example, the configuration information related to the CORESET included in the first message may include one of the following:

[0275] - a starting frequency domain unit (e.g., resource block) of the CORESET;

[0276] - an offset between the starting frequency domain unit of the CORESET and the starting frequency domain unit of the downlink frequency domain resource block;

[0277] - the number of frequency domain units occupied by the CORESET;

[0278] - a bitmap indicating the frequency domain resources occupied by the CORESET; or

[0279] - optionally, the number of frequency domain units corresponding to one bit in the bitmap indicative of the frequency domain resources occupied by the CORESET, e.g., the number of resource blocks.

[0280] It can be understood that while the description of the present disclosure mostly refers to the frequency domain resource for monitoring or searching for the PDCCH by the CORESET, the principles disclosed in the present disclosure may be applied equally to other physical channels or physical signals when they have the same role as the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) described in the present disclosure.

[0281] As another example, the first message includes information related to a search space of the downlink frequency domain resource group, wherein the information related to the search space includes one of the following:

[0282] - a periodicity of the search space; or

[0283] - the number of symbols occupied by the search space.

[0284] In yet another optional implementation, the frequency domain resource for monitoring the PDCCH is determined by the CORESET of the at least one downlink frequency domain resource group, and the frequency domain location of the resource for monitoring the PDCCH may be implicitly determined.

[0285] Specifically, a frequency domain location of a second CORESET corresponding to the second downlink frequency domain resource group may be determined according to at least one of the following ways.

[0286] Way 1: determining based on a first offset, first indication information, and a starting frequency domain resource unit of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, wherein the first offset is an offset between a starting frequency domain resource unit of the CORESET corresponding to the first downlink frequency domain resource group and a starting frequency domain resource unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, and wherein the first indication information indicates whether to reuse the first offset as an offset between a starting frequency domain resource unit of the second CORESET and the starting frequency domain resource unit of the second downlink frequency domain resource group.

[0287] For the embodiment of the present disclosure, the first downlink frequency domain resource group may be the primary downlink frequency domain resource group or other secondary downlink frequency domain resource group, and the first downlink frequency domain resource group hereinafter may be analogous, and will not be repeatedly described again.

[0288] The starting frequency domain resource unit may also be referred to as the lowest indexed frequency domain resource unit (similarly hereinafter). For example, if the first indication information indicates that an offset between the starting frequency domain resource unit of the second CORESET and the starting frequency domain resource unit of the second downlink frequency domain resource group may reuse the first offset between a starting frequency domain resource unit of a first CORESET corresponding to the first downlink frequency domain resource group and the starting frequency domain resource unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, and based on the first offset and the lowest indexed resource unit of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, the frequency domain resources occupied by the CORESET corresponding to the second downlink frequency domain resource group may be determined. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, S1 and S2 are equal. An advantage of this implementation is that the UE may reuse some parameters on the primary downlink frequency domain resource group (the first downlink frequency domain resource group) to determine parameters on the non-primary downlink frequency domain resource group (the second downlink frequency domain resource group), to save the signaling overhead and improve the spectrum utilization.

[0289] Way 2: the first offset related to the frequency domain resources in the way 1 above may also be replaced with an offset between center frequency points. Specifically, the frequency domain location of the second CORESET corresponding to the second downlink frequency domain resource group is determined based on a second offset, second indication information, and a center frequency point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, wherein the second offset is an offset between a center frequency point of the CORESET corresponding to the first downlink frequency domain resource group and the center frequency point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, and wherein the second indication information indicates whether to reuse the second offset as an offset between a center frequency point of the second CORESET and the center frequency point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group. A similar process can refer to the description of the way 1, and will not be repeatedly described herein.

[0290] Way 3: determining based on a third offset, third indication information, and a starting frequency domain resource unit of a second reference signal, wherein the second reference signal is a reference signal on the second downlink frequency domain resource group, and wherein the third offset is an offset between a starting frequency domain resource unit of the CORESET corresponding to the first downlink frequency domain resource group and a starting frequency domain resource unit of a reference signal on the first downlink frequency domain resource group, and wherein the third indication information indicates whether to reuse the third offset as an offset between a starting frequency domain resource unit of the second CORESET and the starting frequency domain resource unit of the second reference signal.

[0291] For example, if the third indication information indicates that the offset between the starting frequency domain resource unit of the second CORESET and the starting frequency domain resource unit of the second reference signal may reuse the third offset between the starting frequency domain resource unit of the first CORESET corresponding to the first downlink frequency domain resource group and the starting frequency domain resource unit of the first reference signal on the first downlink frequency domain resource group, i.e., an offset between the starting frequency domain resource unit of the reference signal (first reference signal) transmitted in the first downlink frequency domain resource group and the starting frequency domain resource unit of the CORESET (the first CORESET) corresponding to the first downlink frequency domain resource group, as well as an offset between the starting frequency domain resource unit of the reference signal (the second reference signal) transmitted on the second downlink frequency domain resource group and the starting frequency domain resource unit of the CORESET (the second CORESET) corresponding to the second downlink frequency domain resource group may be the same, then the UE determines an offset between the second reference signal and the second CORESET based on an offset between the first reference signal and the first CORESET. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the UE determines that the offset between the first reference signal and the frequency domain resource unit of the first CORESET in the first downlink frequency domain resource group is Z1 RBs, and, the offset between the second reference signal and the second CORESET in the second downlink frequency domain resource group is Z2 RBs, where Z2 is equal to Z1. An advantage of this implementation is that the UE may reuse some parameters on the first downlink frequency domain resource group to determine parameters on the second downlink frequency domain resource group, to save the signaling overhead and improve the spectrum utilization.

[0292] Way 4: the third offset in the way 1 above may also be replaced with an offset between center frequency points. Specifically, the frequency domain location of the second CORESET corresponding to the second downlink frequency domain resource group may be determined based on a fourth offset, fourth indication information, and a center frequency point of a second reference signal, wherein the fourth offset is an offset between a center frequency point of the CORESET corresponding to the first downlink frequency domain resource group and a center frequency point of a reference signal on the first downlink frequency domain resource group, and wherein the fourth indication information indicates whether to reuse the fourth offset as an offset between a center frequency point of the second CORESET and the center frequency point of the second reference signal. A similar process can refer to the description of the way 3, and will not be repeatedly described herein.

[0293] The above-described way of determining the frequency domain location of the second CORESET may reuse the frequency domain location of CORESETs (such as the first CORESET) of other downlink frequency domain resource groups, which can save the signaling overhead, reduce the number of bits to be received by the UE in an idle state (IDLE) state, and reduce the access delay.

[0294] Way 5: determining based on a fifth offset, and a starting frequency domain resource unit of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, wherein the fifth offset is an offset between a starting frequency domain resource unit of the second CORESET and the starting frequency domain resource unit of the second downlink frequency domain resource group.

[0295] Way 6: determining based on a sixth offset, and a center frequency point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, wherein the sixth offset is an offset between a center frequency point of the second CORESET and the center frequency point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group.

[0296] Way 7: determining based on a seventh offset, and a starting frequency domain resource unit of a second reference signal, wherein the seventh offset is an offset between a starting frequency domain resource unit of the second CORESET and the starting frequency domain resource unit of the second reference signal.

[0297] Way 8: determining based on an eighth offset, and a center frequency point of a second reference signal, wherein the eighth offset is an offset between a center frequency point of the second CORESET and the center frequency point of the second reference signal.

[0298] Optionally, the first message includes at least one of the fifth offset, the sixth offset, the seventh offset, or the eighth offset.

[0299] Optionally, the above-described ways 5 to 8 may be used when at least one of the first indication information, the second indication information, the third indication information, or the fourth indication information is indicative of being not reusable, or they may be used directly, and the embodiment of the present disclosure is not limited herein.

[0300] Optionally, the first message includes at least one of the first indication information, the second indication information, the third indication information, or the fourth indication information.

[0301] Optionally, when the first configuration information does not include information of a second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, for example, when a parameter (higher-layer parameter) indicating the frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is defaulted, it is indicated that: the first indication information indicates to reuse the first offset as the offset between the starting frequency domain resource unit of the second CORESET and the starting frequency domain resource unit of the second downlink frequency domain resource group; the second indication information indicates to reuse the second offset as the offset between the center frequency point of the second CORESET and the center frequency point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group; the third indication information indicates to reuse the third offset as the offset between the starting frequency domain resource unit of the second CORESET and the starting frequency domain resource unit of the second reference signal; or the fourth indication information indicates to reuse the fourth offset as the offset between the center frequency point of the second CORESET and the center frequency point of the second reference signal.

[0302] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the PDCCH is monitored on a CORESET of the at least one downlink frequency domain resource group, and the number of frequency domain resource units occupied by the second CORESET corresponding to the second downlink frequency domain resource group may be determined according to at least one of the following ways.

[0303] Way 1: determining based on the number of frequency domain resource units occupied by the second CORESET indicated in the first message.

[0304] Way 2: determining based on the number of frequency domain resource units occupied by the CORESET corresponding to the first downlink frequency domain resource group, and the fifth indication information, wherein the fifth indication information indicates whether to reuse the number of frequency domain resource units occupied by the CORESET corresponding to the first downlink frequency domain resource group as the number of frequency domain resource units occupied by the second CORESET.

[0305] For example, determining based on the number of frequency domain resource units occupied by the first CORESET corresponding to the first downlink frequency domain resource group, and the fifth indication information, wherein the fifth indication information indicates whether to reuse the number of frequency domain resource units occupied by the first CORESET as the number of frequency domain resource units occupied by the second CORESET.

[0306] Way 3: determining based on the number of frequency domain resource units occupied by the CORESET corresponding to the first downlink frequency domain resource group, the number of frequency domain resource units occupied by the first downlink frequency domain resource group, the number of frequency domain resource units occupied by the second downlink frequency domain resource group, and the sixth indication information, wherein the sixth indication information indicates whether to scale the number of frequency domain resource units occupied by the CORESET corresponding to the first downlink frequency domain resource group, to thereby determine the number of frequency domain resource units occupied by the second CORESET.

[0307] For example, determining based on the number of frequency domain resource units occupied by the first CORESET, the number of frequency domain resource units occupied by the first downlink frequency domain resource group, the number of frequency domain resource units occupied by the second downlink frequency domain resource group, and the sixth indication information, wherein the sixth indication information indicates whether to scale the number of frequency domain resource units occupied by the first CORESET, to thereby determine the number of frequency domain resource units occupied by the second CORESET.

[0308] The above-described way of determining the length of the second CORESET may reuse lengths (the number of the resource units occupied) of CORESETs (e.g. the first CORESET) of other downlink frequency domain resource groups, which can save the signaling overhead, reduce the number of bits to be received by the UE in an IDLE state, and reduce the access delay.

[0309] Optionally, if the first downlink frequency domain resource group is a downlink frequency domain resource group (e.g., the primary downlink frequency domain resource group) that transmits synchronization information and / or system information, configuration information of a first CORESET corresponding to the first downlink frequency domain resource group is determined based on a MIB and / or a CDSSB.

[0310] Optionally, if the first downlink frequency domain resource group is not a downlink frequency domain resource group that transmits synchronization information and / or system information, the first downlink frequency domain resource group and the second downlink frequency domain resource group have the same frequency domain reference point.

[0311] Optionally, for at least one of the above embodiments, the second CORESET is a cell-specific frequency domain resource for monitoring the PDCCH on the second downlink frequency domain resource group.

[0312] In a further optional implementation, the number of frequency domain resource units (e.g., the number of resource blocks) and frequency domain locations for monitoring the PDCCH based on at least one downlink frequency domain resource group are determined based on a bitmap included in the first message, and the number of frequency domain resource units corresponding to one bit in the bitmap.

[0313] Specifically, the UE may receive the first message including a bitmap (bit map) for indicating the resource units occupied by the resources of the PDCCH and the number of resource units corresponding to one bit in the bitmap, and the UE determines, based on the bitmap and the number, the number of frequency domain resource units (e.g., the number of resource blocks) occupied by the resources for monitoring the PDCCH and the frequency domain location. For example, if the bitmap is 00011000, and the number of RBs corresponding to each bit in the bitmap is K, the first three bits are 0s, which means that RB 0 to RB K-1, and RB K to RB 2K-1, and RB 2K to RB 3K-1 are all not the frequency-domain resources corresponding to the CORESET, and RB 3K to RB 4K-1 are the frequency-domain resources corresponding to the CORESET.

[0314] Optionally, the number of frequency domain resource units corresponding to one bit in the bitmap is predefined, is obtained based on the first message, or is determined based on a bandwidth of the at least one downlink frequency domain resource group. For example, the number of resource units corresponding to one bit in the bitmap may be determined based on the bandwidth of the first downlink frequency domain resource group and the bandwidth of the second downlink frequency domain resource group. For example, if the bandwidth of the first downlink frequency-domain resource group is N1 and the bandwidth of the second downlink frequency-domain resource group is N2, as well as the number of resource units corresponding to one bit in the bitmap corresponding to the first CORESET is B1, then the number of resource units corresponding to one bit in the bitmap corresponding to the second CORESET is B2, wherein , or preferably, . In this way, the resource units corresponding to the bit map can be reasonably scaled according to bandwidths of different downlink frequency domain resource groups or the configuration information of the base station, which is more flexible and saves the number of bits required for signaling notification.

[0315] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the first message includes the first configuration information of the plurality of downlink frequency domain resource groups, and a configuration method may be one of the following.

[0316] (1) The first message may include configuration information for the primary downlink frequency domain resource group and configuration information for at least one secondary downlink frequency domain resource group. For example, the SIB1 contains information of DownlinkConfigCommon (common downlink configuration), indicating the configuration information for the primary downlink frequency domain resource group. As another example, the SIB1 contains supplementaryDownlink (supplementary downlink configuration) indicating the secondary downlink frequency domain resource group. For another example, the SIB1 information contains downlinkConfigPrimaryCommon (primary common downlink configuration), which includes the configuration information for the primary downlink frequency domain resource group, and the SIB1 information contains at least one downlinkConfigSecondaryCommon (secondary common downlink configuration), which includes the configuration information for the secondary downlink frequency domain resource group.

[0317] (2) The first message may include the configuration information for the primary downlink frequency domain resource group, wherein the configuration information for the primary downlink frequency domain resource group includes configuration information for a primary downlink frequency domain resource group, and configuration information for at least one secondary downlink frequency domain resource group. For example, the SIB1 information contains downlinkConfigCommonGroup (common downlink group configuration), which includes the configuration information for the downlink frequency domain resource group, and the downlinkConfigCommonGroup information element includes downlinkConfigPrimaryCommon and downlinkConfigSecondaryCommon (which can be at least one), which denote the primary downlink frequency domain resource group and the secondary downlink frequency domain resource group, respectively.

[0318] Optionally, the first downlink frequency domain resource group in the downlink frequency domain resource groups is the primary downlink frequency domain resource group. For example, the SIB1 information contains downlinkConfigCommonList (a common downlink configuration list), which includes the configuration information for the at least one downlink frequency domain resource group, and each element of the downlinkConfigCommonList indicates a downlink frequency domain resource group, wherein an index of the primary downlink frequency domain resource group is configured to be 0, or the index of the primary downlink frequency domain resource group is configured to be 1.

[0319] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the first message may also contain information on one or more uplink frequency domain resource groups. The manner of configuring one or more uplink frequency domain resource groups may refer to the manner of configuring the one or more downlink frequency domain resource groups above.

[0320] In a specific example, the first message contains information on two uplink frequency domain resource groups and information on two downlink frequency domain resource groups, wherein the first uplink frequency domain resource group is a primary uplink frequency domain resource group with an index of 0, and the second uplink frequency domain resource group has an index of 1, and the first downlink frequency domain resource group is a primary downlink frequency domain resource group with an index of 0, and the second downlink frequency domain resource group has an index of 1.

[0321] In another specific example, the first message contains information on two uplink frequency domain resource groups and information on two downlink frequency domain resource groups, wherein the first uplink frequency domain resource group is a primary uplink frequency domain resource group with an index of 1, and the second uplink frequency domain resource group has an index of 2, and the first downlink frequency domain resource group is a primary downlink frequency domain resource group with an index of 1, and the second downlink frequency domain resource group has an index of 2.

[0322] In yet another specific example, the first message contains information on two downlink frequency domain resource groups, wherein the first downlink frequency domain resource group is a primary downlink frequency domain resource group and configured in the downlinkConfigCommon field, and the second downlink frequency domain resource group is a secondary downlink frequency domain resource group and configured in the supplementalDownlink field.

[0323] In a further specific example, the first message contains information on two uplink frequency domain resource groups, wherein the first uplink frequency domain resource group is a primary uplink frequency domain resource group and configured in the uplinkConfigCommon (common uplink configuration) field, and the second uplink frequency domain resource group is a secondary uplink frequency domain resource group and configured in the supplementalUplink (supplementary uplink configuration) field.

[0324] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the downlink frequency domain resource group includes the secondary downlink frequency domain resource group, and the first configuration information includes at least one of the following information.

[0325] a) A type of the downlink frequency domain resource group, which specifically may be a type corresponding to each of the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups. For example, the first configuration information includes whether the downlink frequency domain resource group is the primary downlink frequency domain resource group, or, whether the downlink frequency domain resource group is the non-primary downlink frequency domain resource group.

[0326] b) An index of the downlink frequency domain resource group, which specifically may be an index corresponding to each of the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups. For example, the first downlink frequency domain resource group has an index of 0 and the second downlink frequency domain resource group has an index of 1.

[0327] c) Information related to a frequency domain reference point of the downlink frequency domain resource group, which may specifically be information related to a second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, including at least one of the following.

[0328] i. The second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group: for example, the configuration information of the second downlink frequency domain resource group includes a parameter PointA1_absoluteValue, which takes a value of an ARFCN or a global synchronization channel number (GSCN). Optionally, the frequency corresponding to the ARFCN or the GSCN is the location of the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group. As shown in FIG. 9, the frequency domain reference point A is the first frequency domain reference point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, and the frequency domain reference point A1 is the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, and the configuration information includes the absolute frequency domain location of the frequency domain reference point A and / or A1, for example, an ARFCN value or a GSCN value.

[0329] ii. A ninth offset, which is an offset between the first frequency domain reference point and the second frequency domain reference point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, e.g., an offset between the frequency domain reference point of the first (primary) downlink frequency domain resource group and the frequency domain reference point of the respective downlink frequency domain resource group; and optionally, a unit of the ninth offset: for example, the first configuration information includes a parameter RefPoint-offsetTopointA (offset from each point to point A), indicating an offset (e.g., the number of subcarriers, or the number of resource blocks, etc.) between the frequency domain reference point of the primary frequency domain resource group and the frequency domain reference point of the respective downlink frequency domain resource group. For another example, if the first configuration information includes a parameter RefPoint-offsetTopointA-NumOfRB (the number of RBs from each point to point A) indicating a unit of the offset between the frequency domain reference point of the primary frequency domain resource group and the frequency domain reference point of the respective downlink frequency domain resource group, then the offset between the frequency domain reference point of the primary frequency domain resource group and the frequency domain reference point of the respective downlink frequency domain resource group is the number of subcarriers or resource blocks that is the product of the RefPoint-offsetTopointA and the RefPoint-offsetTopointA-NumOfRB. As shown in FIG. 10, the offset B is the offset between the first frequency domain reference point of the first downlink frequency domain resource block and the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource block.

[0330] iii. A first parameter for indicating whether the first frequency domain reference point is to be used as the second frequency domain reference point, e.g., indicating whether the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is the same as the frequency domain reference point of the first (primary) frequency domain resource group: for example, the first configuration information includes a parameter indicating whether the UE may use the frequency domain reference point pointA of the primary downlink frequency domain resource group as the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group. As shown in FIG. 11, the first frequency domain reference point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group and the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group are the same.

[0331] iv. A second parameter for indicating whether the starting frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group is to be used as the second frequency domain reference point, e.g., indicating whether the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is the same as the starting frequency domain unit of the first (primary) frequency domain resource group.

[0332] v. A third parameter for indicating whether the ending frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group is to be used as the second frequency domain reference point, e.g., indicating whether the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is the same as the ending frequency domain unit of the first (primary) frequency domain resource group.

[0333] vi. A fourth parameter for indicating whether the center frequency point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group is to be used as the second frequency domain reference point, e.g., indicating whether the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is the same as the center frequency point of the first (primary) frequency domain resource group.

[0334] d) The location-related information of the downlink frequency domain resource group, which specifically may be the location-related information of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, for example, includes at least one of the following.

[0335] i. The starting frequency domain unit (minimum numbered subcarrier) of the downlink frequency domain resource group: for example, the first configuration information includes absolute frequency information that indicates the frequency domain starting location of the downlink frequency domain resource group, and in a specific example, the first configuration information includes an ARFCN or a GSCN, and the frequency corresponding to the ARFCN or the GSCN is the location (frequency domain starting location) of the starting frequency domain unit of the second downlink frequency domain resource group.

[0336] ii. A tenth offset, which is the offset between the starting frequency domain unit of the second downlink frequency domain resource group and the corresponding frequency domain reference point. For example, the tenth offset may be an offset offsettopointA1 (offset to point A1) between the starting frequency domain unit (minimum numbered subcarrier) of the second downlink frequency domain resource group and the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group. As shown in FIG. 12, K2 is the offset between the lowest indexed subcarrier of the second downlink frequency domain resource group and the second frequency domain reference point A1 of the second downlink frequency domain resource group. Optionally, the first configuration information may further include a unit of the tenth offset above, e.g., offsettopointA_SCS (SCS to point A1), indicating a unit of the value corresponding to the above tenth offset offsettopointA1, e.g., 15 kHz, 30 kHz, 60 kHz, and the like. Optionally, the unit of the offset may also be one of an ARFCN number, a GSCH number, and a channel raster number. These ways can save system overhead or more flexibly indicate the locations of frequency domain resources. For example, a beneficial effect of using the ARFCN is that the step size is related to the frequency location of the frequency domain resource group, thus allowing the offsets to be indicated in fewer bits when the frequency domain resource group is located in a higher frequency band, and to be indicated more accurately when the frequency domain resource group is located in a lower frequency band.

[0337] iii. The center frequency point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group: for example, as shown in FIG. 13A, when the second downlink frequency domain resource group occupies N subcarriers, its center frequency point indicates a frequency at which the (N / 2+1)-th (or (N / 2-1)-th) lowest indexed subcarrier is located. For another example, as shown in FIG. 13B, when the second downlink frequency domain resource group occupies N resource blocks, its center frequency point indicates the (M / 2+1)-th (or (M / 2-1)-th) lowest indexed subcarrier in the ((N-1) / 2+1)-th lowest indexed resource block, wherein N is an odd number, and M is the number of resource elements (subcarriers) contained in one resource block. For another example, as shown in FIG. 13C, when the second downlink frequency domain resource group occupies N resource blocks and N is an even number, its center frequency point indicates the 1st resource element in the (N / 2+1)-th lowest indexed resource block. It should be noted that the examples above are all a case where the index of the lowest indexed subcarrier is 1, and where the index of the lowest indexed resource block is 1. In case that the index of the lowest indexed subcarrier is 0, and the index of the lowest indexed resource block is 0, it is sufficient to subtract all of the above values involving the number of indexes in question by one.

[0338] iv. An eleventh offset, which is an offset between the center frequency point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group and the center frequency point of the first (primary) downlink frequency domain resource group, wherein the physical meaning of the center frequency point of the downlink frequency domain resource group has been given as an example above. Optionally, the first configuration information may further include a unit of the eleventh offset above.

[0339] vv. A twelfth offset, which is an offset between the starting frequency domain unit of the second downlink frequency domain resource group and the starting frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, e.g., an offset between the smallest numbered subcarrier in the first (primary) frequency domain resource group and the smallest numbered subcarrier in the second downlink frequency domain resource group, or an offset between the smallest numbered resource block in the first (primary) frequency domain resource group and the smallest numbered resource block in the second downlink frequency domain resource group: for example, the first configuration information includes a parameter OffsetToAnchorStart (offset to anchor start) indicating an offset between the smallest numbered subcarrier in the first downlink frequency domain resource group and the smallest numbered subcarrier in the second downlink frequency domain resource group, and the twelfth offset is denoted by K3 in FIG. 14. Optionally, a unit of the twelfth offset may be predefined, or is indicated in the first configuration information, or is the same as the subcarrier spacing of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, or is the same as the subcarrier spacing of the second downlink frequency domain resource group. Optionally, if the subcarrier spacing of the first downlink frequency domain resource group is not the same as the subcarrier spacing of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, the unit of the twelfth offset may take the smaller between the subcarrier spacing of the first downlink frequency domain resource group and the subcarrier spacing of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, or the unit of the twelfth offset may take the larger between the subcarrier spacing of the first downlink frequency domain resource group and the subcarrier spacing of the second downlink frequency domain resource group.

[0340] vi. A thirteenth offset, which is an offset between the ending frequency domain unit of the second downlink frequency domain resource group and the starting frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, e.g., an offset between the smallest numbered subcarrier in the first (primary) frequency domain resource group and the largest numbered subcarrier in the second downlink frequency domain resource group, or an offset between the smallest numbered resource block in the first (primary) frequency domain resource group and the largest numbered resource block in the second downlink frequency domain resource group: for example, the first configuration information includes a parameter OffsetToAnchorStart indicating an offset between the smallest numbered subcarrier in the first downlink frequency domain resource group and the largest numbered subcarrier in the second downlink frequency domain resource group, and the thirteenth offset is denoted by K4 in FIG. 15. Optionally, the way of determining the unit of the thirteenth offset may refer to the description of the unit of the twelfth offset above, and will not be repeatedly described herein.

[0341] vii. A fourteenth offset, which is an offset between the starting frequency domain unit of the second downlink frequency domain resource group and the ending frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, e.g., an offset between the largest numbered subcarrier in the first (primary) frequency domain resource group and the smallest numbered subcarrier in the second downlink frequency domain resource group, or an offset between the largest numbered resource block in the first (primary) frequency domain resource group and the smallest numbered resource block in the second downlink frequency domain resource group: for example, the first configuration information includes a parameter OffsetToAnchorEnd (offset to anchor end) indicating an offset between the largest numbered subcarrier in the first downlink frequency domain resource group and the smallest numbered subcarrier in the second downlink frequency domain resource group, and the fourteenth offset is denoted by K5 in FIG. 16. Optionally, the way of determining the unit of the fourteenth offset may refer to the description of the unit of the twelfth offset above, and will not be repeatedly described herein.

[0342] e) Bandwidth-related information of the downlink frequency domain resource group, which specifically may be bandwidth-related information of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, includes at least one of the following.

[0343] ⅰ?. The number of domain units occupied by the second frequency domain resource group (the number of subcarriers, or the number of RBs): for example, the first configuration information includes a bandwidth information parameter Bandwidth, such as K6 shown in FIG. 17, and the bandwidth-related information indicates a bandwidth of the downlink frequency domain resource group. For example, the bandwidth-related information may be information indicative of the number of frequency domain resource units, e.g., may be information indicative of the number of resource blocks (or physical resource blocks, common resource blocks, etc.).

[0344] ii. Subcarrier spacing of the second downlink frequency domain resource group: for example, the first configuration information includes a parameter scs-SpecificCarrier, which may take one of a range of values predefined by the protocol, such as 15kHz, 30kHz, 60kHz, 120kHz, and the like. Optionally, the first configuration information contains a subcarrier spacing list parameter scs-SpecificCarrierList, and values of the parameter may be at least one of a range of values predefined by the protocol, such as 15kHz, 30kHz, 60kHz, 120kHz, and the like.

[0345] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the UE may determine, based on one or more pieces of information contained in the first configuration information and / or based on the predefined rules, the frequency domain resources corresponding to the downlink frequency domain resource group, which specifically may include the locations and bandwidths of the frequency domain resources. The downlink frequency domain resource group contains consecutive REs (or OFDM subcarriers), and the UE may transmit or receive physical signals and / or physical channels on the frequency domain resources corresponding to the downlink frequency domain resource group.

[0346] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the primary frequency domain resource group and the non-primary downlink frequency domain resource group referred to in the respective information in the first configuration information described above belong to the same serving cell.

[0347] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the UE determines the location of the second downlink frequency domain resource group by any of the methods listed below:

[0348] - [Determined in an explicit manner] the UE determines the smallest (or largest, further explanation is given below by taking the smallest as an example) indexed subcarrier (or resource block) of the second downlink frequency domain resource group based on the first configuration information.

[0349] - [Determined based on the frequency domain reference point and the offset] The UE determines an offset between the smallest (or largest, further explanation is given below by taking the smallest as an example) indexed subcarrier (or resource block) of the second downlink frequency domain resource group and the frequency domain reference point based on the first configuration information, and then determines the location of the second downlink frequency domain resource group based on the frequency domain reference point and the offset.

[0350] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the UE may determine any one of the parameters of the starting frequency domain unit, the ending frequency domain unit, and the occupied frequency domain unit of the second downlink frequency domain resource group according to at least one of the above-described methods, and the UE may determine the frequency domain resources occupied by the second downlink frequency domain resource group based on the above-described parameters. An example of a specific method for the UE to determine the frequency domain resources corresponding to the second downlink frequency domain resource group is given below.

[0351] (1) A case where the reference point is the first downlink frequency domain resource group

[0352] Method 1: The UE receives a first message, and the UE determines an offset between the lowest indexed resource block (or subcarrier, the explanation is given below by taking the resource block as an example) of the first downlink frequency domain resource group and the highest indexed resource block of the second downlink frequency domain resource group (such as the thirteenth offset described above) according to the first message, which may refer to the portion illustrated by K4 in FIG. 18; and the UE determines an offset between the lowest indexed resource block of the second downlink frequency domain resource group and the highest indexed resource block of the first downlink frequency domain resource group (e.g., the fourteenth offset described above) according to the first message, which may refer to the portion illustrated by K5 in FIG. 18, wherein the physical meaning of the portion illustrated by K5 is frequency domain resources that the UE cannot use for transmitting or receiving signals. With the above parameters, the UE may determine the frequency domain resources corresponding to the second downlink frequency domain resource group. In a specific example, as shown in FIG. 18, if the lowest indexed resource block of the first downlink frequency domain resource group is RB X1, and the bandwidth of the first downlink frequency domain resource group is X2 RBs, then the index of the lowest indexed resource block of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is X1+X2-1+K5, and the index of the highest indexed resource block of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is X1+K4-1. Optionally, the index X1 of the lowest indexed resource block of the first downlink frequency domain resource group is equal to an offset K1 between the lowest resource index block of the first downlink frequency domain resource group and the frequency domain reference point A. Or optionally, the index X1 of the lowest indexed resource block of the first downlink frequency domain resource group is equal to an offset K1+1 between the lowest resource index block of the first downlink frequency domain resource group and the frequency domain reference point A. This method has a beneficial effect of reducing the computational complexity of the UE, optionally for a case where the offset between the first downlink frequency domain resource group and the second downlink frequency domain resource group is smaller.

[0353] Method 2: The UE receives a first message, and the UE determines an offset (e.g., the fourteenth offset described above) between the highest indexed resource block of the first downlink frequency domain resource group and the lowest indexed resource block of the second downlink frequency domain resource group according to the first message, which may refer to the portion illustrated by K5 in FIG. 19; and the UE determines the number N2 of resource blocks occupied by the second downlink frequency domain resource group. With the parameters described above, the UE may determine the frequency domain resources corresponding to the second downlink frequency domain resource group. In a specific example, as shown in FIG. 19, if the lowest indexed resource block of the first downlink frequency domain resource group is RB X1, and the bandwidth of the first downlink frequency domain resource group is X2 RBs, then the index of the lowest indexed resource block of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is X1+X2-1+K5, and the index of the highest indexed resource block of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is X1+X2-1+K5+N2-1= X1+X2+K5+N2-2. Optionally, the index X1 of the lowest indexed resource block of the first downlink frequency domain resource group is equal to an offset K1+1 between the lowest resource index block of the first downlink frequency domain resource group and the frequency domain reference point A. This method has a beneficial effect of reducing the computational complexity of the UE, optionally for a case where the offset between the first downlink frequency domain resource group and the second downlink frequency domain resource group is smaller.

[0354] Method 3: The UE determines that the index of the lowest indexed resource block of the first downlink frequency domain resource group is X1, and the UE determines that the index of the lowest indexed resource block of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is X1+K3-1 and the index of the highest indexed resource block is X1+K3-1+N2-1= X1+K3+N2-2, based on the offset between the lowest indexed resource block of the second downlink frequency domain resource group and the lowest indexed resource block of the first downlink frequency domain resource group (e.g., the twelfth offset described above), which may refer to K3 in FIG. 20. This method has a beneficial effect of reducing the computational complexity of the UE, optionally for a case where the offset between the first downlink frequency domain resource group and the second downlink frequency domain resource group is smaller.

[0355] Method 4: The UE determines the center frequency point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, wherein a definition of the center frequency point of the downlink frequency domain resource group has been given above and will not be repeatedly described herein. The UE determines the center frequency point W1+K7 of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, based on the center frequency point W1 of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, and the offset between the center frequency point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group and the center frequency point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group (e.g., the eleventh offset described above), which may refer to K7 in FIG. 21. The UE determines the location of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, e.g., the locations of the lowest indexed resource block and the highest indexed resource block, based on the center frequency point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group and the bandwidth of the second downlink frequency domain resource group. This method has a beneficial effect of reducing the computational complexity of the UE, allowing the UE to first determine the center frequency point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group and thereby adjust the corresponding center frequency point of a radio frequency device, and is preferably applicable to a case where the offset between the first downlink frequency domain resource group and the second downlink frequency domain resource group is smaller, and also applicable to a case where the offset between the first downlink frequency domain resource group and the second downlink frequency domain resource group is larger.

[0356] (2) A case where the reference point is the frequency domain reference point A

[0357] The UE determines a first frequency domain reference point A of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, and based on the frequency domain reference point A and the offset K8 between the lowest indexed subcarrier of the second downlink frequency domain resource group and the frequency domain reference point A, the index of the lowest indexed subcarrier of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is X3.Optionally, X3=K8, or optionally, X3=K8+1. The bandwidth of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is N2, i.e., it occupies N2 resource blocks, then the index of the highest indexed resource block of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is X3+N2-1, as shown in FIG. 22. This method has a beneficial effect of reducing the computational complexity of the UE, and is preferably used in a case where the offset between the first downlink frequency domain resource group and the second downlink frequency domain resource group is smaller, e.g., a case where the first downlink frequency domain resource group and the second downlink frequency domain resource group are in the same frequency band (band).

[0358] (3) A case where the reference point is the frequency domain reference point A1

[0359] The UE receives a first message, and the UE determines an offset B (e.g., the fifth offset described above) between the second frequency domain reference point A1 of the second downlink frequency domain resource group and the first frequency domain reference point A of the first downlink frequency domain resource group based on the first message; the UE determines the location of the second frequency domain reference point A1 based on the offset and the location of the first frequency domain reference point A; and the UE determines the frequency domain resources corresponding to the second downlink frequency domain resource group, based on the second frequency domain reference point A1, the offset between the lowest indexed subcarrier of the second downlink frequency domain resource group and the second frequency domain reference point A1, and the number of resource blocks occupied by the second downlink frequency domain resource group. In a specific example, as shown in FIG. 23, the offset between the second frequency domain reference point A1 and the first frequency domain reference point A is B, the offset between the lowest indexed resource block of the second downlink frequency domain resource group and the second frequency domain reference point A1 is K2, then the index of the lowest indexed resource block of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is B+K2, and the bandwidth of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is N2, i.e., the number of occupied resource blocks, then the index of the highest indexed resource block of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is B+K2+N2-1. This method has a beneficial effect of reducing the computational complexity of the UE, and is preferably used in a case where the offset between the first downlink frequency domain resource group and the second downlink frequency domain resource group is larger, e.g., a case where the first downlink frequency domain resource group and the second downlink frequency domain resource group are in a different frequency band (band).

[0360] The method for the UE to determine the frequency domain resources corresponding to the second downlink frequency domain resource group is given above, and in a practical implementation, the UE may be configured with more than two downlink frequency domain resource groups, and according to the above methods, the UE may determine the frequency domain resources corresponding to a plurality of downlink frequency domain resource groups.

[0361] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the UE determines indexes of the frequency domain resources (e.g., resource blocks) corresponding to one or more downlink frequency domain resource groups. The resource blocks may be a common resource block, a physical resource block, or a virtual resource block. The common resource block is illustrated below as an example, and the common resource block may also be replaced with the physical resource block or the virtual resource block. The following is illustrated by two downlink frequency domain resource blocks as an example, but may be applied to more than two downlink frequency domain resource blocks.

[0362] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, for a case where there is one frequency domain reference point, the frequency domain units in the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups are numbered based on at least one of the following ways.

[0363] (1) For each downlink frequency domain resource group in a serving cell, numbering the frequency domain units in the downlink frequency domain resource group in a first manner based on frequencies of the frequency domain units from low to high, and numbering the frequency domain units in the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups, wherein in two downlink frequency domain resource groups adjacent in the frequencies, a first number of a frequency domain unit with the lowest frequency in the downlink frequency domain resource group with a higher frequency is correlated based on a second number of a frequency domain unit with the highest frequency in the downlink frequency domain resource group with a lower frequency.

[0364] Specifically, the way can be understood to be numbered based on absolute frequencies. For a subcarrier spacing configuration , the resource blocks are numbered from 0 upwards in the frequency domain. A relationship between the number of resource blocks in the frequency domain and the resource elements of the subcarrier spacing configuration is given by where is the number of subcarriers in one resource block. Optionally, the center of subcarrier 0 of the common resource block 0 used for the subcarrier spacing configuration coincide with the frequency domain reference point A. Where k is defined with respect to the frequency domain reference point A such that k=0 corresponds to a subcarrier centered at the frequency domain reference point A, as shown in FIG. 24. Or optionally, the definition ofkin the above equation is relative to the first downlink frequency domain resource group such that k=0 corresponds to a subcarrier with the lowest frequency in the first downlink frequency domain resource group. Or optionally, the definition of k in the above equation is relative to the downlink frequency domain resource group such that k=0 corresponds to a subcarrier with the lowest frequency in all downlink frequency domain resource groups in the serving cell.

[0365] In this numbering approach, the number of RBs reflect the absolute locations of the resource blocks in frequency, and it is simpler to calculate the number of RBs by this approach to reduce the implementation complexity of the UE.

[0366] In an optional implementation, the numbers of the resource blocks between the plurality of downlink frequency domain resource blocks are not consecutive when the plurality of downlink frequency domain resource blocks are not consecutive. For example, the interval between the first number and the second number is a frequency domain unit offset between the two downlink frequency domain resource groups. The following is an example of, but not limited to, a case where the location of the first downlink frequency domain resource group or the second downlink frequency domain resource group is determined by the frequency domain reference point A.

[0367] Optionally, the frequency domain units in at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups specifically may be numbered based on the following manner: starting from the downlink frequency domain resource group with the lowest frequency, numbering the frequency domain units in a first manner based on frequencies of the frequency domain units from low to high, and repeating the numbering of the frequency domain units in the first manner sequentially for remaining downlink frequency domain resource groups in the order of frequencies of the downlink frequency domain resource groups from low to high, wherein in two downlink frequency domain resource groups adjacent in the frequencies, the first number of a frequency domain unit with the lowest frequency in the downlink frequency domain resource group with a higher frequency is determined based on the second number of a frequency domain unit with the highest frequency in the downlink frequency domain resource group with a lower frequency.

[0368] In a specific example, the location of the first downlink frequency domain resource group is determined by the frequency domain reference point A. The numbering of the resource blocks begins with a resource block with a lower frequency (a resource block with the lowest frequency of the first downlink frequency domain resource group). For example, in FIG. 25, the number of the resource block with the lowest frequency of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is greater than the number of the resource block with the highest frequency of the first downlink frequency domain resource group by K5+1, wherein K5 is the offset between the resource block with the lowest frequency of the second downlink frequency domain resource group and the resource block with the highest frequency of the first downlink frequency domain resource group.

[0369] Or optionally, the frequency domain units in at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups specifically may be numbered based on the following manner: starting from the downlink frequency domain resource group with the smallest index, numbering the frequency domain units in a first manner based on frequencies of the frequency domain units from low to high, and repeating the numbering of the frequency domain units in the first manner sequentially for remaining downlink frequency domain resource groups in the order of indexes of the downlink frequency domain resource groups from low to high, wherein in two downlink frequency domain resource groups adjacent in the frequencies, the first number of a frequency domain unit with the lowest frequency in the downlink frequency domain resource group with a higher frequency is determined based on a second number of a frequency domain unit with the highest frequency in the downlink frequency domain resource group with a lower frequency, and wherein all the downlink frequency domain resource groups have a same frequency domain reference point.

[0370] In a specific example, even if the location of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is determined by the frequency domain reference point A. The numbering of the resource blocks begins with a resource block with a lower frequency (a resource block with the lowest frequency of the first downlink frequency domain resource group). For example, in FIG. 26, the number of the resource block with the lowest frequency of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is greater than the number of the resource block with the highest frequency of the first downlink frequency domain resource group by K5+1, wherein K5 is the offset between the resource block with the lowest frequency of the second downlink frequency domain resource group and the resource block with the highest frequency of the first downlink frequency domain resource group.

[0371] In another optional implementation, the first number and the second number described above are consecutive. This scheme can be understood as numbering according to logical indexes of the resource blocks: for a subcarrier spacing configuration μ, the resource blocks are numbered from 0 upwards in the frequency domain. The numbering of the resource blocks between the plurality of downlink frequency domain resource groups is consecutive when the plurality of downlink frequency domain resource groups are not consecutive with each other. This numbering approach only numbers the resource blocks that can actually be used by the UE and requires less storage space.

[0372] Optionally, the frequency domain units in at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups specifically may be numbered based on the following manner: starting from the downlink frequency domain resource group with the lowest frequency, numbering the frequency domain units in a first manner based on frequencies of the frequency domain units from low to high, and repeating the numbering of the frequency domain units in the first manner sequentially for remaining downlink frequency domain resource groups in the order of frequencies of the downlink frequency domain resource groups from low to high, wherein in two downlink frequency domain resource groups adjacent in the frequencies, the first number of a frequency domain unit with the lowest frequency in the downlink frequency domain resource group with a higher frequency is determined based on a second number of a frequency domain unit with the highest frequency in the downlink frequency domain resource group with a lower frequency.

[0373] For example, in FIG. 27, the offset between the resource block with the lowest frequency of the second downlink frequency domain resource group and the resource block with the highest frequency of the first downlink frequency domain resource group is K5, i.e., the two downlink frequency domain resource groups are not consecutive, and the number of the resource block with the lowest frequency of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is greater than the number of the resource block with the highest frequency of the first downlink frequency domain resource group by 1.

[0374] (2) Starting from the downlink frequency domain resource group with the lowest index, numbering the frequency domain units in a second manner based on frequencies of the frequency domain units from low to high, and repeating the numbering of the frequency domain units in the second manner sequentially for remaining downlink frequency domain resource groups in the order of indexes of the downlink frequency domain resource groups from small to large, wherein in two downlink frequency domain resource groups adjacent in the indexes, a third number of a frequency domain unit with the lowest frequency in the downlink frequency domain resource group with a larger index and a fourth number of a frequency domain unit with the highest frequency in the downlink frequency domain resource group with a smaller index are consecutive.

[0375] This scheme may be understood as numbering according to the index of the downlink frequency domain resource group, the first configuration information may include the index of the downlink frequency domain resource group, and the numbers of the resource blocks are numbered first according to the index of the downlink frequency domain resource group from small to large, and then according to the frequencies of the resource blocks in the frequency domain resource group from low to high. The lowest indexed resource block in the frequency domain resource group having the smallest index may be CRB0, or may also be CRB Q1, wherein Q1=K1-1, and the physical meaning of K1 is an offset of the lowest indexed resource block in the frequency domain resource group having the smallest index from the frequency domain reference point A. This implementation method allows for prioritized numbering of the resource blocks in the frequency domain resource group in which the SSB is located, and may be compatible with UEs that do not support the use of the plurality of downlink frequency domain resource groups.

[0376] In a specific example, as shown in FIG. 28, the first downlink frequency domain resource group has an index of d1, and the second downlink frequency domain resource group has an index of d2, wherein d2 is greater than d1, then the resource blocks in the first downlink frequency domain resource group have smaller numbers, and the resource blocks in the second downlink frequency domain resource group have larger numbers. An index of the one with the lowest frequency in the resource blocks in the second downlink frequency domain resource group is greater than an index of the resource block with the highest frequency in the first downlink frequency domain resource group by 1.

[0377] In another specific example, as shown in FIGS. 29A and 29B, the first downlink frequency domain resource group has an index of d2, and the second downlink frequency domain resource group has an index of d1, wherein d2 is greater than d1, then the resource blocks in the second downlink frequency domain resource group have smaller numbers, and the resource blocks in the first downlink frequency domain resource group have larger numbers. The index of the one with the highest frequency in the resource blocks in the second downlink frequency domain resource group is smaller than the index of the resource block with the lowest frequency in the first downlink frequency domain resource group by 1.

[0378] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, for a downlink frequency domain resource group that shares the frequency domain reference point, the indexes of the resource blocks may be determined in accordance with the method illustrated above.

[0379] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, for a case in which there is a plurality of frequency domain reference points, for each downlink frequency domain resource group, numbering the frequency domain units in a third manner based on frequencies of the frequency domain units from low to high according to a frequency domain reference point corresponding to the downlink frequency domain resource group to obtain a first numbering result, and based on a plurality of the first numbering results, re-numbering each frequency domain unit of each downlink frequency domain resource group as virtual resource blocks indexed from low to high in the order of frequencies of the downlink frequency domain resource groups from low to high or the order of indexes from small to large.

[0380] Specifically, a serving cell includes the plurality of frequency domain reference points, and the UE will determine a CRB0 according to each reference point, and the UE may divide the resource blocks in frequency domain resource groups having the same frequency domain reference point into the same resource block group, number the resource blocks in the same resource block group in the order of frequencies of the resource blocks from small to large, or number the resource blocks in each frequency domain resource block group in the order of indexes of the frequency domain resource groups from small to large, and then in the order of the frequencies of the resource blocks in each frequency domain resource group from small to large; and number the resource blocks in different resource block groups according to the size of the frequency domain reference point from small to large.

[0381] In an optional implementation, the numbering may be based on the frequencies of the reference points. For example, in FIG. 30, a cell has two frequency domain reference points, wherein the frequency domain reference point A corresponds to a first downlink frequency domain resource group, then the first downlink frequency domain resource group belongs to a first CRB group, and the available resource blocks (i.e., resource blocks corresponding to the frequency domain resource group) in the first CRB group are numbered from small to large according to the frequencies from low to high; the frequency domain reference point A1 corresponds to a second downlink frequency domain resource group, then the second downlink frequency domain resource group belongs to a second CRB group, and the available resource blocks in the second CRB group are numbered from small to large according to the frequencies from low to high; and then the available CRBs in the two CRB groups are renumbered as the cell virtual resource blocks, and the frequency of the frequency domain reference point A is lower than that of the frequency domain reference point A1, so that the available CRBs in the first CRB group corresponding to the frequency domain reference point A are numbered from 0 first. Assuming that the number of available RBs in the first CRB group is N1, the numbers of the cell virtual resource blocks corresponding to the RBs in the first CRB group are from 0 to N1-1 (or from 1 to N1); and then the available CRBs in the second CRB group corresponding to the frequency-domain reference point A1 are numbered, and the numbers of cell virtual resource blocks corresponding to the available CRBs in the second CRB group starts from N1 (or N1+1), that is, the number of a cell virtual resource block of the RB with the smallest number in the second CRB group is N1 (or N1+1), and assuming that the number of available RBs in the second CRB group is N2, the largest number of available RBs in the second CRB group is N1+N2-1 (or N1+N2). This method may allocate a unique number to each available resource block in case the cell has a plurality of frequency domain reference points, allocate logically consecutive numbers to different resource blocks in a discrete spectrum resource, and occupy less storage space.

[0382] In another optional implementation, the serving cell includes a plurality of frequency domain reference points, and the plurality of frequency domain resource groups may be numbered according to indexes of the downlink frequency domain resource groups. The UE allocates CRB numbers from small to large to the resource blocks in each frequency domain resource group according to frequencies from low to high, and then allocates cell virtual resource block (CVRB) numbers to the RBs therein according to the indexes of the frequency domain resource groups. For example, in an example of FIG. 31, d1<d2<d3, then the CVRB numbering result is: RBs in the second downlink frequency domain resource group are numbered from 0 to N2-1, RBs in the third downlink frequency domain resource group are numbered from N2 to N2+N3-1, and RBs in the first downlink frequency domain resource group are numbered from N2+N3 to N2+N3+N1-1. Optionally, if the CVRB numbers start from 1, the RBs in the second downlink frequency domain resource group are numbered from 1 to N2, the RBs in the third downlink frequency domain resource group are numbered from N2+1 to N2+N3, and the RBs in the first downlink frequency domain resource group are numbered from N2+N3+1 to N2+N3+N1. A beneficial effect of this design is that it is compatible with UEs that do not support the use of the plurality of frequency domain resource groups.

[0383] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the UE determines the frequency domain resources occupied by a bandwidth part (BWP) based on the numbering result of the frequency domain resource units of the downlink frequency domain resource group implemented in at least one of the above embodiments, and the BWP-related configuration. In an optional implementation, the BWP-related configuration information includes the starting location of the frequency domain resources of the BWP and the number of occupied frequency domain resource units. For example, the numbering results of the frequency domain resource units of the first downlink frequency domain resource group are CRB0 to CRB 9, i.e., a total of 10 RBs. The numbering results of the frequency domain resource units of the second downlink frequency domain resource group are CRB 10 to CRB 19, i.e., a total of 10 RBs. The configuration information of the BWP indicates that the starting frequency domain resource unit of the BWP is CRB2, and the number of occupied frequency domain resource units is 13, and the ending frequency domain resource unit of the BWP is CRB14. According to the configuration information of the BWP, it can be seen that the resources occupied by the BWP are located in the first downlink frequency domain resource group and the second downlink frequency domain resource group, and there is a certain spacing between the first downlink frequency domain resource group and the second downlink frequency domain resource group. With this numbering method, a set of resource indication value (RIV) parameters can be used to configure discontinuous frequency domain resources for a BWP to utilize fragmented spectrum resources more efficiently. The set of RIV parameters indicates one starting location and one quantity.

[0384] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the UE may receive a PDSCH, wherein the frequency domain resources occupied by the PDSCH are determined based on a frequency domain resource assignment (FDRA) field in the PDCCH and the numbering result described above. The PDCCH may schedule a PDSCH or a PUSCH. In an optional implementation, the FDRA field includes an indication of the starting location of the frequency domain resource corresponding to the PDSCH and the number of occupied frequency domain resource units, and the starting location of the frequency domain resource corresponding to the PDSCH is relative to the lowest indexed RB or the lowest indexed RB group of the downlink frequency domain resource group, or the lowest indexed RB of the BWP or the lowest indexed RB of the BWP group. A RIV parameter is included in the FDRA, and a method of determining the frequency domain resources corresponding to the PDSCH based on the RIV parameter may refer to the above method of determining the frequency domain resources of the BWP based on the RIV. With this numbering method, a set of RIV parameters can be used to configure discontinuous frequency domain resources for a BWP to utilize fragmented spectrum resources more efficiently. The set of RIV parameters indicates one starting location and one quantity. This may allow scheduling of RB / RE (resource element, resource particle) on the plurality of frequency domain resource groups through a single FDRA filed, and a plurality of frequency domain resource groups can share other parameters, such as a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) and the like, thereby saving the number of bits required to schedule the PDSCH.

[0385] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the first message further includes information related to a serving cell, wherein the information related to the serving cell includes at least one of the following: information indicating whether the serving cell is a multi-frequency domain resource group cell (e.g., information indicating that the serving cell is a single-frequency domain resource group cell, or information indicating that the serving cell is a multi-frequency domain resource group cell); information indicating the number of frequency domain resource groups in the serving cell; information indicating the number of uplink frequency domain resource groups in the serving cell; information indicating the number of downlink frequency domain resource groups in the serving cell; information indicating the uplink frequency domain resource group to which the UE is allowed to have access; information indicating the uplink frequency domain resource group in which the UE is allowed to transmit a preamble; and information indicating the downlink frequency domain resource group for which the UE is allowed to use to monitor the PDCCH.

[0386] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the configuration information (the first configuration information and / or the second configuration information) of the frequency domain resource group includes a frequency domain reference point of the frequency domain resource group. For example, the configuration information of the frequency domain resource group includes an ARFCN or a GSCN, and the frequency corresponding to the ARFCN or the GSCN is the location of the frequency domain reference point of the frequency domain resource group. It should be noted that in NR systems, a cell includes a downlink frequency domain resource group, and the frequency domain reference point pointA of the downlink frequency domain resource group is jointly determined by the frequency domain location of the SSB, as well as the information on the offset included in the MIB and the SIB1. That is, the SIB1 does not directly contain the absolute frequency domain location of the frequency domain reference pointA. However, in the scenario presented in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the UE is unable to determine the frequency domain reference point based on the offset alone when the SSB is not configured on the non-primary frequency domain resource group. Therefore, according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the frequency domain reference point of the frequency domain resource group is included in the configuration information of the frequency domain resource group, and a beneficial effect of such configuration is that it enables the UE to determine the frequency domain reference point of the frequency domain resource group that does not have an SSB configured thereon, and to thereby determine the location of the frequency domain resource group. Optionally, the system information may also include the offset between the frequency domain reference point of the primary frequency domain resource group and the frequency domain reference point of the non-primary frequency domain resource group. Optionally, the system information may also include an offset between the frequency domain reference points of the two non-primary frequency domain resource groups.

[0387] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the configuration information (the first configuration information and / or the second configuration information) of the frequency domain resource group may include information indicating whether the UE may use the frequency domain reference point pointA of the first frequency domain resource group as the frequency domain reference point of the second frequency domain resource group. In a specific example, the configuration information of the frequency domain resource group includes a parameter pointAsamewithAnchor (point A is the same as anchor), which when configured, the UE determines that the frequency domain reference point of the non-primary frequency domain resource group is the frequency domain reference point of the primary frequency domain resource group. In a specific example, the configuration information of the frequency domain resource group includes the parameter pointAsamewithAnchor, which when taking a value of present or 1, the UE determines that the frequency domain reference point of the non-primary frequency domain resource group is the frequency domain reference point of the primary frequency domain resource group. In these cases, a plurality of frequency domain resource groups may share the frequency domain reference point, thereby achieving savings in signaling overhead. Optionally, in this case, the UE may process the plurality of frequency domain resource groups with a single radio frequency channel, and the above method may reduce the computational complexity when the UE calculates the locations of the frequency domain resource groups.

[0388] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the RACH-related configuration information refers to configuration information of cell-specific random access parameters for contention-based and contention-free random access and contention-based beam failure recovery. Optionally, the RACH-related configuration information is included in the first message. Optionally, the RACH-related configuration information is included in the second configuration information, wherein the RACH-related configuration information may include information related to PRACH resources for transmitting a preamble, and / or information on preambles available to the UE.

[0389] Optionally, the second configuration information includes at least one of the following information.

[0390] (1) Information related to frequency domain resources of the RACH resource, which may include one of the following:

[0391] 1. an uplink frequency domain resource group to which the RACH resource belongs, such as an uplink frequency domain resource group to which the PRACH resource for transmitting the preamble belongs; or

[0392] 2. the number of frequency domain units occupied by the RACH resource, such as the resources occupied by each PRACH in the frequency domain (e.g., the number of resource blocks).

[0393] (2) Information related to time domain resources of the RACH resource, which may include one of the following:

[0394] 1. a subframe number of the PRACH resource used for transmitting the preamble;

[0395] 2. a symbol index of the PRACH resource used for transmitting the preamble;

[0396] 3. the number of PRACH slots in each subframe;

[0397] 4. the number of time domain PRACH occasions in each PRACH slot; or

[0398] 5. a PRACH duration (e.g., number of symbols).

[0399] (3) A relationship between the RACH resource and the downlink resource for monitoring the PDCCH, including one of the following:

[0400] 1. an index of the downlink frequency domain resource group associated with the RACH resource; or

[0401] 2. an index of a CORESET associated with the RACH resource.

[0402] (4) A probability associated with the PRACH resource for transmitting the preamble, including one of the following:

[0403] 1. a probability that the UE selects the RACH resource;

[0404] 2. a probability that the UE selects an uplink frequency domain resource group corresponding to the RACH resource;

[0405] 3. a probability that the UE selects each downlink frequency domain resource group; or

[0406] 4. a probability that the UE selects a CORESET corresponding to each downlink frequency domain resource group.

[0407] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the UE selects PRACH resources for transmitting a preamble, and / or a preamble to be transmitted, based on the configured parameters related to the probabilities. For example, the UE receives configuration information related to a frequency domain resource group, which includes a probability parameter instructing the UE to select the frequency domain resource group with a certain probability. In an optional implementation, the UE receives the probability parameter related to the first downlink frequency domain resource group as the UE receives the probability parameter related to the second downlink frequency domain resource group as and the UE receives the probability parameter in the configuration information for the N7-th downlink frequency domain resource group as then the UE has the probability to select the n-th downlink frequency domain resource group.

[0408] (5) An association relationship between the RACH resources and UE service types and / or UE capabilities.

[0409] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the UE determines PRACH resources for transmitting a preamble, and / or a preamble to be transmitted, based on the association relationship between the configured RACH resources and the UE service type and / or the UE capability. For example, the UE uses the PRACH resources on the first uplink frequency domain resource group when using a voice service, while the UE uses the PRACH resources on the second frequency domain resource group when using an ultra reliable low latency communication (URLLC) service. For another example, the UE uses the PRACH resources on the first uplink frequency domain resource group when supporting the first bandwidth, while the UE uses the PRACH resources on the second frequency domain resource group when supporting the second bandwidth. For another example, the UE transmits a preamble in the first preamble pool when supporting the first bandwidth, and transmits a preamble in the second preamble pool when supporting the second bandwidth.

[0410] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the first reference signal is reference information on the first downlink frequency domain resource group, and the second reference signal is a reference signal on the second downlink frequency domain resource group, wherein the first reference signal includes a primary synchronization signal and a secondary synchronization signal for providing a downlink synchronization function, as well as a PBCH that carries the MIB information; and the second reference signal includes a physical reference signal for providing a downlink measurement function, and optionally, the second reference signal may also provide the downlink synchronization function. Optionally, the reference signal on the non-primary downlink frequency domain resource group may be a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), or a non cell defining SSB (NCDSSB). The NCDSSB includes the PSS and the SSS, and the information carried in the NCDSSB is not used to indicate the location of CORESET0.

[0411] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the first message may further include configuration information related to the second reference signal, which specifically may include at least one of the following:

[0412] (1) parameters related to the resources occupied by the second reference signal

[0413] 1. parameters related to time domain resources

[0414] a. an index of a subframe where the second reference signal is located;

[0415] b. an index of a slot where the second reference signal is located;

[0416] c. an index of a symbol where the second reference signal is located; or

[0417] d. a period of the second reference signal;

[0418] 2. parameters related to frequency domain resources

[0419] a. a center frequency point of the second reference signal (e.g., an ARFCN corresponding to the center frequency point);

[0420] b. an offset between the center frequency point of the second reference signal and the second downlink frequency domain resource group; or

[0421] c. an index of a physical resource corresponding to the second reference signal, e.g., an index of the downlink frequency domain resource group corresponding to the second reference signal;

[0422] 3. sequence-related configuration information

[0423] a. an index of a sequence used to generate the second reference signal;

[0424] 4. power-related configuration information

[0425] a. the power of the second reference signal;

[0426] b. a relationship between the power of the second reference signal and the power of the first reference signal, e.g., -3 dB means that the power of the second reference signal is half of the power of the first reference signal, 3 dB means that the power of the second reference signal is twice of the power of the first reference signal, and 0 dB means that the power of the second reference signal is the same as the power of the first reference signal; or

[0427] c. the power of a reference signal associated with the second reference signal, for example, the power of a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) in the second reference signal.

[0428] For the embodiment of the present disclosure, the above configuration can reduce the overhead of blindly checking the PSS and the SSS by the UE, which helps the UE to save energy.

[0429] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the second reference signal may include information related to the first reference signal, the information related to the first reference signal including at least one of the following:

[0430] (1) a first frequency band (band) in which the first reference signal is located;

[0431] (2) an ARFCN in which the first reference signal is located;

[0432] (3) an offset between the ARFCN in which the first reference signal is located and an ARFCN with the lowest frequency in the first frequency band;

[0433] (4) a GSCN in which the first reference signal is located;

[0434] (5) an offset between the GSCN in which the first reference signal is located and a GSCN with the lowest frequency in the first frequency band;

[0435] (6) an offset between an ARFCN corresponding to the first reference signal and an ARFCN corresponding to the second reference signal; or

[0436] (7) an offset between a GSCN corresponding to the first reference signal and a GSCN corresponding to the second reference signal.

[0437] For the embodiment of the present disclosure, the above configuration can reduce the number of times that UE searches, which helps the UE save energy.

[0438] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the second reference signal may further include at least one of the following:

[0439] (1) a type of the second reference signal; for example, when both the first reference signal and the second reference signal are SSBs, the first reference signal is a first type of SSB and the second reference signal is a second type of SSB, and the second reference signal carries a bit of information indicative of the type of SSB to which the second reference signal belongs, and when the bit takes a value of 0, it indicates that the signal is the first type of SSB, and when the bit takes a value of 1, it indicates that the signal is the second type of SSB. The UE determines how to interpret the information in the second reference signal based on the type of SSB. This informs the UE how to interpret the information in the second reference signal, so that the UE may correctly read the information carried in the second reference signal from the second reference signal.

[0440] (2) location information of a CORESET associated with the second reference signal, wherein the CORESET associated with the reference signal is used for the UE to monitor a PDCCH related to at least one of a second step message (MSG2) in a four-step random access procedure, a fourth step message (MSG4) in the four-step random access procedure, a second step message (MSGB) in a two-step random access procedure, or a paging message (paging), the CORESET associated with the second reference signal and the second reference signal being in a same downlink frequency domain resource group; for example, the second reference signal includes information indicative of an offset between a frequency domain location of the CORESET and a frequency domain location of the second reference signal; for another example, the second reference signal includes information indicative of the number of frequency domain resource units occupied by the CORESET, so that when the location of the second CORESET is changed, the UE acquires the location of the second CORESET based on the second reference signal without having to switch to the first downlink frequency domain resource group to receive a system message to read the location of the second CORESET, thereby reducing the delay of the UE in acquiring the second CORESET.

[0441] (3) A quasi co-location (QCL) relationship between the second reference signal and the first reference signal; for example, the second reference signal carries a bit of information indicating whether it has the quasi co-location relationship with the first reference signal, and when the parameter takes a value of 1, it indicates that the second reference signal and the first reference signal have the quasi co-location relationship, and when the parameter takes a value of 0, it indicates that the second reference signal and the first reference signal do not have the quasi co-location relationship. When the second reference signal and the first reference signal have the same QCL relationship, the UE may use one RF link to receive signals of the first downlink frequency domain resource group and signals of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, which helps the UE to save energy.

[0442] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the UE determines a physical resource for transmitting a preamble based on the configuration information or predefined rules.

[0443] In an optional implementation, the UE may randomly select one or more RACH resources on the plurality of uplink frequency domain resource groups. When the PRACH occasions for transmitting the preamble is greater than one, the downlink frequency domain resource groups corresponding to a plurality of the PRACH occasions are the same. This allows the UE to blindly check the PDCCH in one CORESET, which helps the UE to save energy.

[0444] In another optional implementation, the PRACH resources for transmitting the preamble are determined based on at least one of the following:

[0445] (1) at least one threshold related to the random access channel further included in the first message; or

[0446] (2) a measurement quantity related to a first reference signal and a measurement quantity related to at least one second reference signal, and as introduced hereinabove, the first reference signal is reference information on the first downlink frequency domain resource group and the second reference signal is a reference signal on the second downlink frequency domain resource group.

[0447] The measurement quantities may include reference signal receiving power (RSRP), signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), reference signal receiving quality (RSRQ), received signal strength indication (RSSI), etc., but are not limited to thereof. In the following, the RSRP is illustrated as an example.

[0448] It should be noted that when a serving cell contains more than two downlink frequency domain resource groups, the UE selects the uplink resources that can be used for transmitting the PRACH according to N4 measurement quantities corresponding to N4 downlink frequency domain resource groups. In the following, N4=2 is used as an example, but the method of the embodiment of the present disclosure is not limited to the case of N4=2. The measurement quantity related to the second reference signal may be a measurement performed on the second reference signal or a measurement performed on a reference signal (e.g., DMRS) in the second reference signal. The first reference signal may be an SSB, and the measurement quantity related to the first reference signal may be a measurement performed on the SSS in the first reference signal or a measurement performed on the DMRS of a PBCH in the first reference signal.

[0449] Optionally, the first message includes a power threshold related to the RACH. For example, the configuration information includes an SSB RSRP threshold (rsrp-ThresholdSSB) indicating that the UE may select an SSB and corresponding PRACH resources for path loss estimation and (re)transmission based on the SSB satisfying the threshold. Optionally, the first message contains a plurality of thresholds indicating that the UE may select an SSB and corresponding PRACH resources for path loss estimation and (re)transmission based on the SSB satisfying the threshold.

[0450] Optionally, each uplink frequency domain resource group corresponds to a threshold, whether a PRACH resource corresponding to a first uplink frequency domain resource group can be used for transmitting the preamble is determined based on a first threshold corresponding to the first uplink frequency domain resource group and the measurement quantity related to the first reference signal, and whether a PRACH resource corresponding to a second uplink frequency domain resource group can be used for transmitting the preamble is determined based on a second threshold corresponding to the second uplink frequency domain resource group and the measurement quantity related to the second reference signal.

[0451] In a specific example, the configuration information of each uplink frequency domain resource group includes a threshold value. For example, the configuration information of the first uplink frequency domain resource group includes a first threshold rsrp-ThresholdSSB-UL1 (UL1 SSB RSRP threshold), the configuration information of the second uplink frequency domain resource group includes a second threshold rsrp-ThresholdSSB-UL2 (UL2 SSB RSRP threshold), then the UE determines whether it may transmit the preamble on a PRACH resource corresponding to the first uplink frequency domain resource group based on the first threshold and the measurement quantity related to the first reference signal (e.g., the receiving power of SSB), and the UE determines whether it may transmit the preamble on the second uplink frequency domain resource group corresponding to the PRACH resource based on the second threshold and the measurement quantity related to the second reference signal (e.g., the receiving power of SSB).

[0452] Optionally, the UE may transmit a PRACH on a first resource corresponding to the first uplink frequency domain resource group, or may transmit the PRACH on a second resource corresponding to the second uplink frequency domain resource group, then the UE may select a PRACH occasion from the first resource and the second resource to be used for transmitting the preamble with equal probability.

[0453] Optionally, the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups correspond to the at least one threshold, and the PRACH resource used for transmitting the preamble is determined based on at least one of the following.

[0454] (1) Uplink resources corresponding to a downlink frequency domain resource group having the strongest RSRP of the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups.

[0455] In a specific example, the UE selects a first downlink frequency domain resource group, wherein the first downlink frequency domain resource group has the strongest RSRP, and then randomly selects an uplink resource for access on the uplink resources corresponding to the first downlink frequency domain resource group.

[0456] (2) Uplink resources corresponding to one or more downlink frequency domain resource groups having an RSRP greater than a third threshold of the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups.

[0457] In a specific example, the UE selects all downlink frequency domain resource groups with RSRP greater than or not less than the third threshold, and then randomly selects an uplink resource for access on the uplink resources corresponding to this or these downlink frequency domain resource groups, wherein the third threshold is configured by the base station or predefined.

[0458] In another specific example, the UE selects N5 downlink frequency domain resource groups among all the downlink frequency domain resource groups with RSRP greater than or not less than the third threshold, and then randomly selects an uplink resource for access on the uplink resources corresponding to the N5 downlink frequency domain resource groups, wherein the third threshold is configured by the base station or predefined, and N5 is configured by the base station or predefined.

[0459] (3) In case that the RSRPs of the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups are all less than a fourth threshold and / or not less than a fifth threshold, uplink resources corresponding to one or more downlink frequency domain resource groups in a default uplink frequency domain resource group.

[0460] In a specific example, when the RSRPs of all downlink frequency domain resource groups are not greater than or less than a fourth threshold, or when the RSRPs of all downlink frequency domain resource groups are greater than or not less than a fifth threshold, the UE randomly selects N6 RACH resources for random access on a default uplink frequency domain resource group, wherein the default uplink frequency domain resource group may be configured by the base station or may be the primary uplink frequency domain resource group, and may also be an uplink frequency domain resource group corresponding to the primary downlink frequency domain resource group, wherein the fourth threshold and the fifth threshold may be configured by the base station or predefined, and N6 are configured by the base station or predefined.

[0461] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the first message further includes information on a center frequency point of a reference signal, the reference signal being a reference signal for downlink synchronization and / or a reference signal for downlink measurement on downlink frequency domain resource groups other than the first downlink frequency domain resource group, wherein the first downlink frequency domain resource group is used for transmitting the synchronization signal block and / or system information. Optionally, the configuration information of the frequency domain resource group (e.g., the first configuration information and / or the second configuration information) may include parameters indicative of the physical resources where the reference signals of the frequency domain resource group are located. For example, the configuration information of the frequency domain resource group includes frequency domain resources and time domain resources of the reference signal on the non-primary frequency domain resource group. For example, the configuration information of the frequency domain resource group includes at least one of the following for the reference signal on the non-primary frequency-domain resource group: a center frequency point, the number of occupied frequency-domain resource units, the number of occupied time-domain time units, a period, and a parameter related to generating a sequence of the reference signal.

[0462] In some implementations, the reference signal on the non-primary frequency domain resource group may be an NCDSSB, and the UE determines an offset between the frequency domain starting resource unit of the non-primary frequency domain resource group and the frequency domain starting resource unit of the NCDSSB of the non-primary frequency domain resource group based on an offset between the frequency domain starting resource unit of the primary frequency domain resource group and the frequency domain starting resource unit of the NCDSSB of the primary frequency domain resource group, and then determines the frequency domain starting resource unit of the NCDSSB of the non-primary frequency domain resource group based on the frequency domain starting resource unit of the non-primary frequency domain resource group.

[0463] In a specific example, the configuration information of the frequency domain resource group contains a center frequency point of a reference signal for downlink synchronization and / or a reference signal for downlink measurement on the non-primary frequency domain resource group, for example, the center frequency point of the NCDSSB. A beneficial effect of such configuration is that it may allow the UE to complete the downlink synchronization before initial access, and / or, measure the channel states of the plurality of downlink frequency domain resource groups, which helps the UE to select different frequency domain resource groups for monitoring the downlink control information, so as to achieve an effect of downlink load balancing.

[0464] In some implementations, the reference signal on the non-primary frequency domain resource group may be an NCDSSB, and the UE determines an offset between the frequency domain starting resource unit of the non-primary frequency domain resource group and the center frequency point of the NCDSSB of the non-primary frequency domain resource group based on an offset between the frequency domain starting resource unit of the primary frequency domain resource group and the center frequency point of the NCDSSB of the primary frequency domain resource group, and then determines the center frequency point of the NCDSSB of the non-primary frequency domain resource group based on the frequency domain starting resource unit of the non-primary frequency domain resource group.

[0465] In some implementations, the reference signal on the non-primary frequency domain resource group may be an NCDSSB, and the UE determines an offset between the center frequency point of the non-primary frequency domain resource group and the center frequency point of the NCDSSB of the non-primary frequency domain resource group based on an offset between the center frequency point of the primary frequency domain resource group and the center frequency point of the NCDSSB of the primary frequency domain resource group, and then determines the center frequency point of the NCDSSB of the non-primary frequency domain resource group based on the center frequency point of the non-primary frequency domain resource group.

[0466] A time domain unit (also referred to as a time unit) in an embodiment of the present disclosure may be: an OFDM symbol, an OFDM symbol group (comprising a plurality of OFDM symbols), a slot, a slot group (comprising a plurality of slots), a subframe, a subframe group (comprising a plurality of subframes), a system frame, or a system frame group (comprising a plurality of system frames), or it can also be an absolute time unit, such as 1 millisecond, 1 second, and the like. The time unit can also be a combination of multiple granularities, for example, M1 slots plus M2 OFDM symbols, and the like. It may also be the time length of an on-off keying (OOK) code.

[0467] A frequency domain unit (also referred to as a frequency unit) in an embodiment of the present disclosure may be: a subcarrier, a subcarrier group (comprising a plurality of subcarriers), a resource block (RB), which may also be referred to as a physical resource block (PRB), a resource block group (comprising a plurality of RBs), a bandwidth part (BWP), a bandwidth part group (comprising a plurality of BWPs), a frequency band / carrier, or a frequency band group / carrier group; and it can also be an absolute frequency domain unit, such as 1 Hz, 1 kHz, and the like. The frequency domain unit may also be a combination of multiple granularities, such as M3 PRBs plus M4 subcarriers, and the like.

[0468] The system access scheme according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may be applicable to, but is not limited to, the following scenarios:

[0469] 1. initial access in RRC_IDLE (idle state);

[0470] 2. re-establishment of RRC connection;

[0471] 3. cell handover;

[0472] 4. downlink data arrival and request for random access procedure in RRC connection state (when the uplink is in non-synchronization);

[0473] 5. uplink data arrival and request for random access procedure in RRC connection state (when the uplink is in non-synchronization or no resources are allocated to the scheduling request in the PUCCH resources); or

[0474] 6. localization.

[0475] An embodiment of the present disclosure also provides a method performed by a base station in a communication system, the method comprises:

[0476] transmitting a first message, the first message including first configuration information related to at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups;

[0477] monitoring a preamble transmitted by a user equipment (UE), wherein the preamble is transmitted on a physical random access channel (PRACH) resource; and

[0478] transmitting a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in at least one of the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups, wherein the PDCCH includes a random access response related to the preamble.

[0479] Optionally, the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups include a first downlink frequency domain resource group and at least one second downlink frequency domain resource group, and the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is determined based on at least one of the following: a first frequency domain reference point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, a starting frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, an ending frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, or a center frequency point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group.

[0480] Optionally, when the first configuration information does not include information of a second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is determined based on at least one of the following: a first frequency domain reference point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, a starting frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, an ending frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, or a center frequency point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group.

[0481] Optionally, the at least one downlink frequency domain resource group is associated with at least one of the following: the preamble, a control resource set (CORESET) associated with the preamble, the PRACH resource, or a CORESET associated with the PRACH resource.

[0482] Optionally, the first message includes random access channel (RACH) configuration information, the RACH configuration information comprising at least one of the following:

[0483] an index of the at least one downlink frequency domain resource group; or

[0484] an index of at least one CORESET,

[0485] wherein the at least one CORESET is on a downlink frequency domain resource group.

[0486] Optionally, the first message includes control resource set (CORESET) configuration information, the CORESET configuration information including a parameter indicative of a frequency domain resource location of a CORESET, and an index of a RACH resource associated with the CORESET.

[0487] Optionally, the PDCCH is transmitted on the CORESET of the at least one downlink frequency domain resource group,

[0488] wherein a frequency domain location of a second CORESET corresponding to the second downlink frequency domain resource group is determined according to at least one of the following ways:

[0489] determining based on a first offset, first indication information, and a starting frequency domain resource unit of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, wherein the first offset is an offset between a starting frequency domain resource unit of the CORESET corresponding to the first downlink frequency domain resource group and a starting frequency domain resource unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, and wherein the first indication information indicates whether to reuse the first offset as an offset between a starting frequency domain resource unit of the second CORESET and the starting frequency domain resource unit of the second downlink frequency domain resource group;

[0490] determining based on a second offset, second indication information, and a center frequency point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, wherein the second offset is an offset between a center frequency point of the CORESET corresponding to the first downlink frequency domain resource group and the center frequency point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, and wherein the second indication information indicates whether to reuse the second offset as an offset between a center frequency point of the second CORESET and the center frequency point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group;

[0491] determining based on a third offset, third indication information, and a starting frequency domain resource unit of a second reference signal, wherein the second reference signal is a reference signal on the second downlink frequency domain resource group, and wherein the third offset is an offset between a starting frequency domain resource unit of the CORESET corresponding to the first downlink frequency domain resource group and a starting frequency domain resource unit of a reference signal on the first downlink frequency domain resource group, and wherein the third indication information indicates whether to reuse the third offset as an offset between a starting frequency domain resource unit of the second CORESET and the starting frequency domain resource unit of the second reference signal;

[0492] determining based on a fourth offset, fourth indication information, and a center frequency point of a second reference signal, wherein the fourth offset is an offset between a center frequency point of the CORESET corresponding to the first downlink frequency domain resource group and a center frequency point of a reference signal on the first downlink frequency domain resource group, and wherein the fourth indication information indicates whether to reuse the fourth offset as an offset between a center frequency point of the second CORESET and the center frequency point of the second reference signal;

[0493] determining based on a fifth offset, and a starting frequency domain resource unit of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, wherein the fifth offset is an offset between a starting frequency domain resource unit of the second CORESET and the starting frequency domain resource unit of the second downlink frequency domain resource group;

[0494] determining based on a sixth offset, and a center frequency point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, wherein the sixth offset is an offset between a center frequency point of the second CORESET and the center frequency point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group;

[0495] determining based on a seventh offset, and a starting frequency domain resource unit of a second reference signal, wherein the seventh offset is an offset between a starting frequency domain resource unit of the second CORESET and the starting frequency domain resource unit of the second reference signal; or

[0496] determining based on an eighth offset, and a center frequency point of a second reference signal, wherein the eighth offset is an offset between a center frequency point of the second CORESET and the center frequency point of the second reference signal.

[0497] Optionally, the first message includes at least one of the fifth offset, the sixth offset, the seventh offset, or the eighth offset.

[0498] Optionally, the first message includes at least one of the first indication information, the second indication information, the third indication information, or the fourth indication information.

[0499] Optionally, when the first configuration information does not include information of a second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, at least one of the following indication information is indicated:

[0500] the first indication information indicates to reuse the first offset as the offset between the starting frequency domain resource unit of the second CORESET and the starting frequency domain resource unit of the second downlink frequency domain resource group;

[0501] the second indication information indicates to reuse the second offset as the offset between the center frequency point of the second CORESET and the center frequency point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group;

[0502] the third indication information indicates to reuse the third offset as the offset between the starting frequency domain resource unit of the second CORESET and the starting frequency domain resource unit of the second reference signal; or

[0503] the fourth indication information indicates to reuse the fourth offset as the offset between the center frequency point of the second CORESET and the center frequency point of the second reference signal.

[0504] Optionally, the PDCCH is transmitted on the CORESET of the at least one downlink frequency domain resource group,

[0505] wherein the number of frequency domain resource units occupied by the second CORESET corresponding to the second downlink frequency domain resource group is determined according to at least one of the following ways:

[0506] determining based on the number of frequency domain resource units occupied by the second CORESET indicated in the first message;

[0507] determining based on the number of frequency domain resource units occupied by the CORESET corresponding to the first downlink frequency domain resource group, and the fifth indication information, wherein the fifth indication information indicates whether to reuse the number of frequency domain resource units occupied by the CORESET corresponding to the first downlink frequency domain resource group as the number of frequency domain resource units occupied by the second CORESET; or

[0508] determining based on the number of frequency domain resource units occupied by the CORESET corresponding to the first downlink frequency domain resource group, the number of frequency domain resource units occupied by the first downlink frequency domain resource group, the number of frequency domain resource units occupied by the second downlink frequency domain resource group, and the sixth indication information, wherein the sixth indication information indicates whether to scale the number of frequency domain resource units occupied by the CORESET corresponding to the first downlink frequency domain resource group, to thereby determine the number of frequency domain resource units occupied by the second CORESET.

[0509] Optionally, if the first downlink frequency domain resource group is a downlink frequency domain resource group that transmits synchronization information and / or system information, configuration information of a first CORESET corresponding to the first downlink frequency domain resource group is determined based on a MIB and / or a CDSSB; and / or

[0510] if the first downlink frequency domain resource group is not a downlink frequency domain resource group that transmits synchronization information and / or system information, the first downlink frequency domain resource group and the second downlink frequency domain resource group have the same frequency domain reference point; and / or

[0511] the second CORESET is a cell-specific frequency domain resource for transmitting the PDCCH on the second downlink frequency domain resource group.

[0512] Optionally, the number of frequency domain resource units for transmitting the PDCCH and frequency domain locations thereof are determined based on a bitmap included in the first message, and the number of frequency domain resource units corresponding to one bit in the bitmap,

[0513] wherein the number of frequency domain resource units corresponding to one bit in the bitmap is obtained based on the first message, or is determined based on a bandwidth of the at least one downlink frequency domain resource group.

[0514] Optionally, the first configuration information comprises at least one of the following information:

[0515] information related to the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group;

[0516] information related to the location of the second downlink frequency domain resource group; or

[0517] information related to the bandwidth of the second downlink frequency domain resource group.

[0518] Optionally, the information related to the second frequency domain reference point comprises at least one of the following:

[0519] a ninth offset that is an offset between the first frequency domain reference point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group and the second frequency domain reference point;

[0520] a unit of the ninth offset;

[0521] a first parameter for indicating whether to use the first frequency domain reference point as the second frequency domain reference point;

[0522] a second parameter for indicating whether to use the starting frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group as the second frequency domain reference point;

[0523] a third parameter for indicating whether to use the ending frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group as the second frequency domain reference point; or

[0524] a fourth parameter for indicating whether to use the center frequency point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group as the second frequency domain reference point.

[0525] Optionally, the location-related information comprises at least one of the following:

[0526] an absolute radio frequency channel number (ARFCN) corresponding to a frequency that is the location of the starting frequency domain unit of the second downlink frequency domain resource group;

[0527] a global synchronization channel number (GSCN) corresponding to a frequency that is the location of the starting frequency domain unit of the second downlink frequency domain resource group;

[0528] a tenth offset that is an offset between the starting frequency domain unit of the second downlink frequency domain resource group and a corresponding frequency domain reference point;

[0529] a unit of the tenth offset;

[0530] the center frequency point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group;

[0531] an eleventh offset that is an offset between the center frequency point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group and the center frequency point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group;

[0532] a unit of the eleventh offset;

[0533] a twelfth offset that is an offset between the starting frequency domain unit of the second downlink frequency domain resource group and the starting frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group;

[0534] a unit of the twelfth offset;

[0535] a thirteenth offset that is an offset between the ending frequency domain unit of the second downlink frequency domain resource group and the starting frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group;

[0536] a unit of the thirteenth offset;

[0537] a fourteenth offset that is an offset between the starting frequency domain unit of the second downlink frequency domain resource group and the ending frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group; or

[0538] a unit of the fourteenth offset.

[0539] Optionally, the frequency domain units in the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups are numbered based on at least one of the following ways:

[0540] for each downlink frequency domain resource group in a serving cell, numbering the frequency domain units in the downlink frequency domain resource group and numbering the frequency domain units in the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups in a first manner that frequencies of the frequency domain units from low to high, wherein in two downlink frequency domain resource groups adjacent in the frequencies, a first number of a frequency domain unit with the lowest frequency in the downlink frequency domain resource group with a higher frequency is correlated based on a second number of a frequency domain unit with the highest frequency in the downlink frequency domain resource group with a lower frequency;

[0541] starting from the downlink frequency domain resource group with the smallest index, numbering the frequency domain units in a second manner based on frequencies of the frequency domain units from low to high, and repeating the numbering of the frequency domain units in the second manner sequentially for remaining downlink frequency domain resource groups in the order of indexes of the downlink frequency domain resource groups from small to large, wherein in two downlink frequency domain resource groups adjacent in the indexes, a third number of a frequency domain unit with the lowest frequency in the downlink frequency domain resource group with a larger index and a fourth number of a frequency domain unit with the highest frequency in the downlink frequency domain resource group with a smaller index are consecutive; or

[0542] for each downlink frequency domain resource group, numbering the frequency domain units in a third manner based on frequencies of the frequency domain units from low to high according to a frequency domain reference point corresponding to the downlink frequency domain resource group to obtain a first numbering result, and based on a plurality of the first numbering results, re-numbering each frequency domain unit of each downlink frequency domain resource group as virtual resource blocks indexed from low to high in the order of frequencies of the downlink frequency domain resource groups from low to high or the order of indexes of the downlink frequency domain resource groups from small to large.

[0543] Optionally, the frequency domain units in the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups are numbered based on one of the following ways:

[0544] starting from the downlink frequency domain resource group with the lowest frequency, numbering the frequency domain units in a first manner based on frequencies of the frequency domain units from low to high, and repeating the numbering of the frequency domain units in the first manner sequentially for remaining downlink frequency domain resource groups in the order of frequencies of the downlink frequency domain resource groups from low to high, wherein in two downlink frequency domain resource groups adjacent in the frequencies, a first number of a frequency domain unit with the lowest frequency in the downlink frequency domain resource group with a higher frequency is determined based on a second number of a frequency domain unit with the highest frequency in the downlink frequency domain resource group with a lower frequency; or

[0545] starting from the downlink frequency domain resource group with the smallest index, numbering the frequency domain units in a first manner based on frequencies of the frequency domain units from low to high, and repeating the numbering of the frequency domain units in the first manner sequentially for remaining downlink frequency domain resource groups in the order of indexes of the downlink frequency domain resource groups from small to large, wherein in two downlink frequency domain resource groups adjacent in the frequencies, the first number of a frequency domain unit with the lowest frequency in the downlink frequency domain resource group with a higher frequency is determined based on a second number of a frequency domain unit with the highest frequency in the downlink frequency domain resource group with a lower frequency, and wherein all the downlink frequency domain resource groups have a same frequency domain reference point.

[0546] Optionally, the first number and the second number are consecutive; and / or

[0547] the interval between the first number and the second number is a frequency domain unit offset between the two downlink frequency domain resource groups.

[0548] Optionally, the method further comprises:

[0549] transmitting a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), wherein the frequency domain resource units occupied by the PDSCH are determined based on a frequency domain resource allocation (FDRA) field in the PDCCH and the numbering result of the frequency domain units in the downlink frequency domain resource group.

[0550] Optionally, when the number of PRACH occasions for transmitting the preamble is greater than one, the downlink frequency domain resource groups corresponding to a plurality of the PRACH occasions are the same.

[0551] Optionally, the PRACH resource is determined based on at least one of the following:

[0552] at least one threshold related to a random access channel further included in the first message; or

[0553] a reference signal receiving power RSRP related to a first reference signal and an RSRP related to at least one second reference signal, the first reference signal being reference information on the first downlink frequency domain resource group and the second reference signal being a reference signal on the second downlink frequency domain resource group.

[0554] Optionally, each uplink frequency domain resource group corresponds to a threshold, whether a PRACH resource corresponding to a first uplink frequency domain resource group can be used for transmitting the preamble is determined based on a first threshold corresponding to the first uplink frequency domain resource group and the RSRP of the first reference signal, and whether a PRACH resource corresponding to a second uplink frequency domain resource group can be used for transmitting the preamble is determined based on a second threshold corresponding to the second uplink frequency domain resource group and the RSRP of the second reference signal.

[0555] Optionally, the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups correspond to the at least one threshold, and the PRACH resource used for transmitting the preamble is determined based on at least one of the following:

[0556] uplink resources corresponding to a downlink frequency domain resource group having the strongest RSRP of the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups;

[0557] uplink resources corresponding to one or more downlink frequency domain resource groups having an RSRP greater than a third threshold of the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups; or

[0558] in case the RSRPs of the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups are all less than a fourth threshold and / or not less than a fifth threshold, uplink resources corresponding to one or more downlink frequency domain resource groups in a default uplink frequency domain resource group.

[0559] Optionally, the first message further includes configuration information related to the second reference signal, comprising at least one of the following:

[0560] an offset between the center frequency point of the second reference signal and the second downlink frequency domain resource group;

[0561] an index of a sequence used to generate the second reference signal;

[0562] the power of the second reference signal;

[0563] a relationship between the power of the second reference signal and the power of the first reference signal;

[0564] the power of a reference signal related to the second reference signal; or

[0565] a physical resource index corresponding to the second reference signal.

[0566] Optionally, the second reference signal includes information related to the first reference signal, the information related to the first reference signal comprising at least one of the following:

[0567] a first frequency band in which the first reference signal is located;

[0568] an ARFCN in which the first reference signal is located;

[0569] an offset between the ARFCN in which the first reference signal is located and an ARFCN with the lowest frequency in the first frequency band;

[0570] a GSCN in which the first reference signal is located;

[0571] an offset between the GSCN in which the first reference signal is located and a GSCN with the lowest frequency in the first frequency band;

[0572] an offset between an ARFCN corresponding to the first reference signal and an ARFCN corresponding to the second reference signal; or

[0573] an offset between a GSCN corresponding to the first reference signal and a GSCN corresponding to the second reference signal.

[0574] The steps of the method performed by the base station according to the embodiment of the present disclosure correspond to the steps of the method performed by the UE, which have similar implementation principles and have corresponding technical effects. For a detailed functional description of the method performed by the base station, the description in the method performed by the UE shown in the above can be referred to, and will not be repeatedly described herein.

[0575] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides an electronic device comprising a processor, and optionally further comprising a transceiver and / or a memory coupled to the processor, the processor is configured to perform the steps of the method according to any optional embodiment of the present disclosure. Optionally, the electronic device may refer to a UE, whereby the processor is configured to implement the steps of the respective method embodiments performed by the UE, the detailed functional description and beneficial effects resulting therefrom may be specifically described hereinabove in the respective method embodiments performed by the UE, and will not be repeatedly described herein. Optionally, the electronic device may refer to a base station, whereby the processor is configured to implement the steps of the respective method embodiments performed by the base station, the detailed functional descriptions and the beneficial effects resulting therefrom may be referred to hereinabove in the description of the respective method embodiment performed by the base station, and will not be repeatedly described herein. In practical applications, the UE or the base station can be understood as different network nodes.

[0576] An embodiment of the present disclosure further provides an electronic device, including at least one controller / processor, and optionally at least one transceiver coupled to the at least one controller / processor. The processor is configured to implement the method provided in any one of optional embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0577] FIG. 32 shows a schematic structure diagram of an electronic device to which the solution of the embodiment of the present disclosure is applied. As shown in FIG. 32, the electronic device 4000 shown in FIG. 32 may include a processor 4001 and a memory 4003. The processor 4001 is connected to the memory 4003, for example, through a bus 4002. Optionally, the electronic device 4000 may further include a transceiver 4004 that can be used for data exchange, for example, transmission and reception of data, between the electronic device and other electronic device. It should be noted that, in practical applications, the number of transceiver 4004 is not limited to one, and the structure of the electronic device 4000 does not constitute any limitations to the embodiments of the present disclosure. Optionally, the electronic device may be gNB, UE or other entities or node in communication networks.

[0578] The processor 4001 may be a central processing unit (CPU), a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. It may implement or execute various exemplary logical blocks, modules and circuits described in connection with the present disclosure. The processor 4001 may also be a combination for realizing computing functions, for example, a combination of one or more microprocessors, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, etc.

[0579] The bus 4002 may include a path to transfer information between the components described above. The bus 4002 may be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus, or an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, etc. The bus 4002 may be an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of presentation, the bus is represented by only one thick line in FIG. 32. However, it does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of buses.

[0580] The memory 4003 may be, but not limited to, read only memories (ROMs) or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and instructions, random access memories (RAMs) or other types of dynamic storage devices that can store information and instructions, may be electrically erasable programmable read only memories (EEPROMs), compact disc read only memories (CD-ROMs) or other optical disk storages, optical disc storages (including compact discs, laser discs, discs, digital versatile discs, blue-ray discs, etc.), magnetic storage media or other magnetic storage devices, or any other media that can carry or store desired program codes in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by computers.

[0581] The memory 4003 is used to store computer program for executing the solutions of the present disclosure, and is controlled by the processor 4001. The processor 4001 is used to execute the computer program stored in the memory 4003 to implement the solution provided in any method embodiment described above.

[0582] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored on the computer-readable storage medium, the computer program, when executed by a processor, implements the steps and corresponding contents of the foregoing method embodiments.

[0583] Embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a computer program product including a computer program, the computer program when executed by a processor realizing the steps and corresponding contents of the preceding method embodiments.

[0584] The terms "first", "second", "third", "fourth", "1", "2", etc. (if present) in the specification and claims of this disclosure and the accompanying drawings above are used to distinguish similar objects and need not be used to describe a particular order or sequence. It should be understood that the data so used is interchangeable where appropriate so that embodiments of the present disclosure described herein can be implemented in the order other than that illustrated or described in the text.

[0585] It should be understood that while the flow diagrams of embodiments of the present disclosure indicate the individual operational steps by arrows, the order in which these steps are performed is not limited to the order indicated by the arrows. Unless explicitly stated herein, in some implementation scenarios of embodiments of the present disclosure, the implementation steps in the respective flowcharts may be performed in other orders as desired. In addition, some, or all of the steps in each flowchart may include multiple sub-steps or multiple phases based on the actual implementation scenario. Some or all of these sub-steps or stages can be executed at the same moment, and each of these sub-steps or stages can also be executed at different moments separately. The order of execution of these sub-steps or stages can be flexibly configured according to requirements in different scenarios of execution time, and the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto.

[0586] The above-mentioned description and the drawings are provided merely as examples to help readers to understand the present disclosure, and they should not be interpreted or aim to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way. Although some embodiments are provided, it is apparent for those skilled in the art to adopt other similar implementation means based on the technical idea of the present disclosure without departing from the technical concept of the solution of the present disclosure.

Claims

A method performed by a user equipment in a wireless communication system, comprising:receiving a first message including first configuration information related to at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups, wherein the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups include a first downlink frequency domain resource group and at least one second downlink frequency domain resource group, and when the first configuration information does not include information of a second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is determined based on at least one of:a first frequency domain reference point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group,a starting frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, an ending frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, ora center frequency point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group;transmitting a preamble to a base station on a physical random access channel (PRACH) resource; andmonitoring a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in at least one of the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups, wherein the PDCCH includes a random access response related to the preamble.The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one downlink frequency domain resource group is associated with at least one of:the preamble,a control resource set (CORESET) associated with the preamble,the PRACH resource, ora CORESET associated with the PRACH resource.The method of claim 1, wherein the first message includes at least one of:random access channel (RACH) configuration information comprising at least one of:an index of the at least one downlink frequency domain resource group; oran index of at least one CORESET, wherein the at least one CORESET is on a downlink frequency domain resource group; orcontrol resource set (CORESET) configuration information including a parameter indicative of a frequency domain resource location of a CORESET, and an index of a RACH resource associated with the CORESET.The method of claim 1, wherein the PDCCH is monitored on the CORESET of the at least one downlink frequency domain resource group,wherein a frequency domain location of a second CORESET corresponding to the second downlink frequency domain resource group is determined according to at least one of:determining based on a first offset, first indication information, and a starting frequency domain resource unit of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, wherein the first offset is an offset between a starting frequency domain resource unit of the CORESET corresponding to the first downlink frequency domain resource group and a starting frequency domain resource unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, and wherein the first indication information indicates whether to reuse the first offset as an offset between a starting frequency domain resource unit of the second CORESET and the starting frequency domain resource unit of the second downlink frequency domain resource group;determining based on a second offset, second indication information, and a center frequency point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, wherein the second offset is an offset between a center frequency point of the CORESET corresponding to the first downlink frequency domain resource group and the center frequency point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, and wherein the second indication information indicates whether to reuse the second offset as an offset between a center frequency point of the second CORESET and the center frequency point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group;determining based on a third offset, third indication information, and a starting frequency domain resource unit of a second reference signal, wherein the second reference signal is a reference signal on the second downlink frequency domain resource group, and wherein the third offset is an offset between a starting frequency domain resource unit of the CORESET corresponding to the first downlink frequency domain resource group and a starting frequency domain resource unit of a reference signal on the first downlink frequency domain resource group, and wherein the third indication information indicates whether to reuse the third offset as an offset between a starting frequency domain resource unit of the second CORESET and the starting frequency domain resource unit of the second reference signal;determining based on a fourth offset, fourth indication information, and a center frequency point of a second reference signal, wherein the fourth offset is an offset between a center frequency point of the CORESET corresponding to the first downlink frequency domain resource group and a center frequency point of a reference signal on the first downlink frequency domain resource group, and wherein the fourth indication information indicates whether to reuse the fourth offset as an offset between a center frequency point of the second CORESET and the center frequency point of the second reference signal;determining based on a fifth offset, and a starting frequency domain resource unit of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, wherein the fifth offset is an offset between a starting frequency domain resource unit of the second CORESET and the starting frequency domain resource unit of the second downlink frequency domain resource group;determining based on a sixth offset, and a center frequency point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, wherein the sixth offset is an offset between a center frequency point of the second CORESET and the center frequency point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group;determining based on a seventh offset, and a starting frequency domain resource unit of a second reference signal, wherein the seventh offset is an offset between a starting frequency domain resource unit of the second CORESET and the starting frequency domain resource unit of the second reference signal; ordetermining based on an eighth offset, and a center frequency point of a second reference signal, wherein the eighth offset is an offset between a center frequency point of the second CORESET and the center frequency point of the second reference signal.The method of claim 1, wherein the first configuration information includes information related to the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, the information related to the second frequency domain reference point comprising at least one of:a ninth offset that is an offset between the first frequency domain reference point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group and the second frequency domain reference point;a unit of the ninth offset;a first parameter for indicating whether to use the first frequency domain reference point as the second frequency domain reference point;a second parameter for indicating whether to use the starting frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group as the second frequency domain reference point;a third parameter for indicating whether to use the ending frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group as the second frequency domain reference point; ora fourth parameter for indicating whether to use the center frequency point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group as the second frequency domain reference point.The method of claim 1, wherein the first configuration information includes location-related information of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, the location-related information comprising at least one of:an absolute radio frequency channel number (ARFCN) corresponding to a frequency that is the location of the starting frequency domain unit of the second downlink frequency domain resource group;a global synchronization channel number (GSCN) corresponding to a frequency that is the location of the starting frequency domain unit of the second downlink frequency domain resource group;the center frequency point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group;an eleventh offset that is an offset between the center frequency point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group and the center frequency point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group;a unit of the eleventh offset;a twelfth offset that is an offset between the starting frequency domain unit of the second downlink frequency domain resource group and the starting frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group;a unit of the twelfth offset;a thirteenth offset that is an offset between the ending frequency domain unit of the second downlink frequency domain resource group and the starting frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group;a unit of the thirteenth offset;a fourteenth offset that is an offset between the starting frequency domain unit of the second downlink frequency domain resource group and the ending frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group; ora unit of the fourteenth offset.The method claim 1, wherein the frequency domain units in the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups are numbered based on at least one of the following ways:for each downlink frequency domain resource group in a serving cell, numbering the frequency domain units in the downlink frequency domain resource group and numbering the frequency domain units in the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups in a first manner based on frequencies of the frequency domain units from low to high, wherein in two downlink frequency domain resource groups adjacent in the frequencies, a first number of a frequency domain unit with the lowest frequency in the downlink frequency domain resource group with a higher frequency is correlated based on a second number of a frequency domain unit with the highest frequency in the downlink frequency domain resource group with a lower frequency;starting from the downlink frequency domain resource group with the smallest index, numbering the frequency domain units in a second manner based on frequencies of the frequency domain units from low to high, and repeating the numbering of the frequency domain units in the second manner sequentially for remaining downlink frequency domain resource groups in the order of indexes of the downlink frequency domain resource groups from small to large, wherein in two downlink frequency domain resource groups adjacent in the indexes, a third number of a frequency domain unit with the lowest frequency in the downlink frequency domain resource group with a larger index and a fourth number of a frequency domain unit with the highest frequency in the downlink frequency domain resource group with a smaller index are consecutive; orfor each downlink frequency domain resource group, numbering the frequency domain units in a third manner based on frequencies of the frequency domain units from low to high according to a frequency domain reference point corresponding to the downlink frequency domain resource group to obtain a first numbering result, and based on a plurality of the first numbering results, re-numbering each frequency domain unit of each downlink frequency domain resource group as virtual resource blocks indexed from low to high in the order of frequencies of the downlink frequency domain resource groups from low to high or the order of indexes of the downlink frequency domain resource groups from small to large;starting from the downlink frequency domain resource group with the lowest frequency, numbering the frequency domain units in a first manner based on frequencies of the frequency domain units from low to high, and repeating the numbering of the frequency domain units in the first manner sequentially for remaining downlink frequency domain resource groups in the order of frequencies of the downlink frequency domain resource groups from low to high, wherein in two downlink frequency domain resource groups adjacent in the frequencies, a first number of a frequency domain unit with the lowest frequency in the downlink frequency domain resource group with a higher frequency is determined based on a second number of a frequency domain unit with the highest frequency in the downlink frequency domain resource group with a lower frequency; orstarting from the downlink frequency domain resource group with the smallest index, numbering the frequency domain units in a first manner based on frequencies of the frequency domain units from low to high, and repeating the numbering of the frequency domain units in the first manner sequentially for remaining downlink frequency domain resource groups in the order of indexes of the downlink frequency domain resource groups from small to large, wherein in two downlink frequency domain resource groups adjacent in the frequencies, a first number of a frequency domain unit with the lowest frequency in the downlink frequency domain resource group with a higher frequency is determined based on a second number of a frequency domain unit with the highest frequency in the downlink frequency domain resource group with a lower frequency, and wherein all the downlink frequency domain resource groups have a same frequency domain reference point.The method of claim 7, wherein the first number and the second number are consecutive; orwherein an interval between the first number and the second number is a frequency domain unit offset between the two downlink frequency domain resource groups.The method of claim 7, further comprising:receiving a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), wherein the frequency domain resource units occupied by the PDSCH are determined based on a frequency domain resource allocation (FDRA) field in the PDCCH and the numbering result of the frequency domain units in the downlink frequency domain resource group.The method of claim 1, wherein when the PRACH occasions for transmitting the preamble is greater than one, the downlink frequency domain resource groups corresponding to a plurality of the PRACH occasions are the same.The method of claim 1, wherein the PRACH resource is determined based on at least one of:at least one threshold related to a random access channel further included in the first message,wherein each uplink frequency domain resource group corresponds to a threshold, whether a PRACH resource corresponding to a first uplink frequency domain resource group can be used for transmitting the preamble is determined based on a first threshold corresponding to the first uplink frequency domain resource group and the RSRP of the first reference signal, and whether a PRACH resource corresponding to a second uplink frequency domain resource group can be used for transmitting the preamble is determined based on a second threshold corresponding to the second uplink frequency domain resource group and the RSRP of the second reference signal; ora reference signal receiving power (RSRP) related to a first reference signal and an RSRP related to at least one second reference signal,wherein the first reference signal is reference information on the first downlink frequency domain resource group and the second reference signal being a reference signal on the second downlink frequency domain resource group,wherein the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups correspond to the at least one threshold, and the PRACH resource used for transmitting the preamble is determined based on at least one of:uplink resources corresponding to a downlink frequency domain resource group having the strongest RSRP of the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups;uplink resources corresponding to one or more downlink frequency domain resource groups having an RSRP greater than a third threshold of the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups; orin case the RSRPs of the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups are all less than a fourth threshold and / or not less than a fifth threshold, uplink resources corresponding to one or more downlink frequency domain resource groups in a default uplink frequency domain resource group,wherein the first message further includes configuration information related to the second reference signal, comprising at least one of:an offset between the center frequency point of the second reference signal and the second downlink frequency domain resource group;an index of a sequence used to generate the second reference signal;the power of the second reference signal;a relationship between the power of the second reference signal and the power of the first reference signal;the power of a reference signal related to the second reference signal; ora physical resource index corresponding to the second reference signal,wherein the second reference signal comprises at least one of the following:a type of the second reference signal;location information of a CORESET associated with the second reference signal, wherein the CORESET associated with the second reference signal is used to monitor a PDCCH related to at least one of a MSG2 in a four-step random access procedure, a MSG4 in the four-step random access procedure, a MSGB in a two-step random access procedure, or a paging message, the CORESET associated with the second reference signal and the second reference signal being in a same downlink frequency domain resource group; ora quasi co-location (QCL) relationship between the second reference signal and the first reference signal.A method performed by a base station in a wireless communication system, comprising:transmitting a first message including first configuration information related to at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups, wherein the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups include a first downlink frequency domain resource group and at least one second downlink frequency domain resource group, and when the first configuration information does not include information of a second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is determined based on at least one of :a first frequency domain reference point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group,a starting frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, an ending frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, ora center frequency point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group;monitoring a preamble transmitted by a user equipment (UE), wherein the preamble is transmitted on a physical random access channel (PRACH) resource; andtransmitting a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in at least one of the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups, wherein the PDCCH includes a random access response related to the preamble.A user equipment comprising:at least one transceiver;at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one transceiver; andat least one memory, communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, storing instructions executable by the at least one processor individually or in any combination to cause the user equipment to:receive, from a base station, a first message including first configuration information related to at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups, wherein the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups include a first downlink frequency domain resource group and at least one second downlink frequency domain resource group, and when the first configuration information does not include information of a second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is determined based on at least one of:a first frequency domain reference point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group,a starting frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, an ending frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, ora center frequency point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group,transmit a preamble to a base station on a physical random access channel (PRACH) resource, andmonitor a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in at least one of the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups, wherein the PDCCH includes a random access response related to the preamble.A base station comprising:at least one transceiver;at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one transceiver; andat least one memory, communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, storing instructions executable by the at least one processor individually or in any combination to cause the base station to:transmit a first message including first configuration information related to at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups, wherein the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups include a first downlink frequency domain resource group and at least one second downlink frequency domain resource group, and when the first configuration information does not include information of a second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group, the second frequency domain reference point of the second downlink frequency domain resource group is determined based on at least one of :a first frequency domain reference point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group,a starting frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, an ending frequency domain unit of the first downlink frequency domain resource group, ora center frequency point of the first downlink frequency domain resource group;monitor a preamble transmitted by a user equipment (UE), wherein the preamble is transmitted on a physical random access channel (PRACH) resource; andtransmit a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in at least one of the at least two downlink frequency domain resource groups, wherein the PDCCH includes a random access response related to the preamble.

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