Communication method, communication system and related apparatus

Abstract

Disclosed in the present application are a communication method, a communication system and a related apparatus. The communication method comprises: a first mobility management node sending a first message to a subscription data management node; the first mobility management node receiving subscription data of a terminal device that is returned by the subscription data management node, the subscription data comprising capability indication information of the terminal device, wherein the capability indication information is used for indicating that the terminal device supports reception of a network identity (NI); and on the basis of the capability indication information, the first mobility management node making an NI issuance decision for the terminal device. In the embodiments of the present application, whether a terminal device supports reception of a customized NI can be determined on the basis of capability indication information fed back by a subscription data management node, so as to assist a mobility management node in deciding whether to issue an NI to the terminal device and which type of NI to issue, thereby avoiding problems such as incorrect NI display on the terminal device side caused by issuing to the terminal device an NI that is not supported by the terminal device.

Description

A communication method, communication system and related apparatus

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411555663.X, filed on October 31, 2024, entitled "A Communication Method, Communication System and Related Device", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method, communication system and related apparatus. Background Technology

[0003] Existing communication protocols define that core network elements can update network identity and time zone (NITZ) information to the user equipment (UE) through the UE's configuration update process. The network identity (NI) can be the full name or abbreviation of the operator's network identifier, and the time zone (TZ) can be the global time of the UE's current time zone. However, a large number of existing terminals do not fully comply with the protocol implementation. Due to the mobility of these terminals, when they move to a certain area, they may receive NI information sent by the network. NI information sent by the network without proper decision-making may cause the terminal to fail to accurately obtain the required network information, resulting in NI display errors and other problems. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application provides a communication method, communication system, and related apparatus that can determine whether a terminal device supports receiving NI based on capability indication information fed back by the subscription data management node. This assists the mobility management node in deciding whether to send an NI to the terminal device and what type of NI to send, thereby avoiding sending an unsupported NI to the terminal device, which could cause NI display errors or even prevent the terminal device from accessing the network. This is beneficial for improving the user experience.

[0005] Firstly, embodiments of this application provide a communication method applied to a first mobility management node. Unless otherwise specified, the first mobility management node in this application can refer to the first mobility management node itself (e.g., a core network element) or a module within the first mobility management node. For example, the module can be a communication module within the first mobility management node, or a circuit or chip within the first mobility management node responsible for communication functions, such as a modem chip (also known as a baseband chip), or a system-on-a-chip (SoC) chip containing a modem core, or a system-in-package (SIP) chip. Alternatively, it can be a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the first mobility management node. For ease of description, the following uses a first mobility management node as an example. The method includes:

[0006] The first mobility management node sends a first message to the subscription data management node; the first message is used to request the subscription data of the terminal device that initiated the network access request; the first mobility management node receives the subscription data of the terminal device returned by the subscription data management node; the subscription data includes the capability indication information of the terminal device, which is used to indicate that the terminal device supports receiving network identifier (NI); the first mobility management node executes the NI distribution decision of the terminal device based on the capability indication information.

[0007] As can be seen from this embodiment, the subscription data management node can add capability indication information for the terminal device to indicate whether the terminal device supports receiving NIs. When the first mobility management node receives a network access request from the terminal device, it can request the subscription data management node to return the subscription data of the terminal device to obtain the capability indication information from the subscription data. The first mobility management node can refer to the capability indication information to decide whether to send an NI to the terminal device and what type of NI to send. This not only allows for timely updates to the NI displayed by the terminal device but also avoids sending an unsupported NI to the terminal device, which could lead to incorrect NI display.

[0008] In one possible implementation, the first mobility management node executes the NI (National Information Provider) dissemination decision for the terminal device based on capability indication information, including:

[0009] If the capability indication information includes the first indication information, and it is determined based on the NI distribution policy of the terminal device that the first customized NI needs to be distributed to the terminal device, the first customized NI is sent to the terminal device; the first indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device has a subscribed customized NI, or the first indication information is used to indicate that the customized NI can be distributed to the terminal device.

[0010] In this implementation, the first mobile management node can determine that the terminal device supports receiving a customized NI through the first indication information. If it determines that a first customized NI needs to be sent to the terminal device, it can then send the first customized NI to the terminal device. The first indication information helps the first management node decide whether to send a customized NI to the terminal device, thus avoiding the problem of the terminal device being unable to access the network if a customized NI is sent to it when the terminal device does not support it.

[0011] In one possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0012] If the first mobile management node determines that it does not need to send a customized NI to the terminal device based on the NI distribution policy of the terminal device, it sends the operator's default NI to the terminal device.

[0013] In this implementation, the first mobile management node sends a default NI to the terminal device if it determines that a customized NI does not need to be sent to the terminal device, so as to avoid the terminal device continuing to display the previously received NI and causing the user to have a wrong network perception.

[0014] In one possible implementation, the first mobility management node executes the NI (National Information Provider) dissemination decision for the terminal device based on capability indication information, including:

[0015] If the capability indication information includes the second indication information, and the NI distribution policy of the terminal device determines that the first NI needs to be distributed to the terminal device, the first NI is sent to the terminal device; the second indication information is used to indicate the second customized NI or the operator's default NI, the second customized NI or the default NI is the NI distributed by the second mobility management node to the terminal device before the terminal device initiates a network access request; the first NI is different from the second customized NI, or the first NI is different from the default NI;

[0016] If the capability indication information includes the second indication information, and the NI distribution policy of the terminal device determines that it is not necessary to update the NI on the terminal device side, then the NI will not be sent to the terminal device.

[0017] In this implementation, the first mobility management node (MMD) can determine the NI (Network Indicator) previously sent to the terminal device by the second MMD based on the second indication information. Combining this indication information, if the first MMD determines that a different NI needs to be sent to the terminal device, it will send that NI to update the NI displayed on the terminal device in a timely manner, thereby improving the user's network perception experience. If the first MMD determines that the NI displayed on the terminal device does not need to be updated, it will not send an NI to the terminal device, thus avoiding the signaling overhead caused by sending a default NI.

[0018] In one possible implementation, the second customized NI or default NI is stored in the subscription data by the subscription data management node; when sending the first NI to the terminal device, the method further includes:

[0019] The first mobile management node sends the first NI to the subscription data management node so that the subscription data management node updates the second customized NI or default NI stored in the subscription data to the first NI.

[0020] In this implementation, when the first mobility management node sends a first NI that is different from the NI displayed on the terminal device, it reports the first NI to the subscription data management node so that the subscription data management node updates the previously saved second customized NI or default NI to the first NI. This allows the new mobility management node that subsequently connects to the terminal device to determine the terminal device's ability to receive customized NIs based on the first NI and to make NI sending decisions with reference to the first NI.

[0021] In one possible implementation, the first mobility management node executes the NI (National Information Provider) dissemination decision for the terminal device based on capability indication information, including:

[0022] If the capability indication information includes the third indication information, and the NI distribution policy of the terminal device determines that the operator's default NI needs to be distributed to the terminal device, the default NI is sent to the terminal device; the third indication information is used to indicate that the second mobility management node distributed a customized NI to the terminal device before the terminal device initiated a network access request.

[0023] If the capability indication information includes the third indication information, and the NI distribution policy of the terminal device determines that a third customized NI needs to be distributed to the terminal device, the third customized NI is sent to the terminal device; the third customized NI is different from the customized NI distributed by the second mobility management node to the terminal device.

[0024] In this implementation, if the first mobility management node determines, based on the third indication information, that the second mobility management node has issued a customized NI to the terminal device, it can then determine that the terminal device supports receiving customized NIs. If the decision is made to issue a default NI or a different customized NI (a third customized NI) to the terminal device, then the default NI or the third customized NI is issued to the terminal device so that the terminal device can update the customized NI displayed on the user interface, thus avoiding any erroneous perception of the network by the user.

[0025] In one possible implementation, the third instruction information is stored in the contract data by the contract data management node;

[0026] When sending a default NI to the terminal device, the method also includes:

[0027] The first mobile management node sends a fourth instruction message to the subscription data management node, so that the subscription data management node updates the third instruction message stored in the subscription data to the fourth instruction message; the fourth instruction message is used to indicate that the first mobile management node has not issued a customized NI to the terminal device.

[0028] In this implementation, if the first mobile management node decides to send a default NI to the terminal device based on the third indication information, it also needs to request the subscription data management node to update the previously stored third indication information to the fourth indication information, so as to indicate that the first mobile management node has not sent a customized NI to the terminal device. The update of this indication information can indicate that when the subsequent MM node decides that it needs to send a default NI, it does not need to send a default NI to the terminal device to overwrite the NI displayed on the terminal device side, so as to save system signaling overhead.

[0029] In one possible implementation, the first mobility management node executes the NI (National Information Provider) dissemination decision for the terminal device based on capability indication information, including:

[0030] If the capability indication information includes the sixth indication information, and the NI distribution policy of the terminal device determines that the operator's default NI needs to be distributed to the terminal device, then the NI will not be sent to the terminal device; the sixth indication information is used to indicate that the second mobility management node has not distributed the customized NI to the terminal device before the terminal device initiates a network access request.

[0031] If the capability indication information includes the sixth indication information, and the NI distribution policy of the terminal device determines that a fourth customized NI needs to be distributed to the terminal device, then the fourth customized NI is sent to the terminal device.

[0032] In this implementation, the first mobility management node can determine, based on the sixth indication information, that the terminal device supports receiving customized NIs and that the terminal device is currently displaying a default NI. If the decision requires sending a default NI to the terminal device, the sending operation can be skipped to avoid duplicate sending of the default NI, thus saving signaling overhead. If the decision requires sending a customized NI to the terminal device, it is sent to the terminal device so that the terminal device can update the displayed default NI and perceive that it is currently accessing a network corresponding to a specific location, specific service, or specific identity.

[0033] In one possible implementation, the sixth instruction information is stored in the contract data by the contract data management node;

[0034] In the case of sending a fourth custom NI to the terminal device, the method further includes:

[0035] The first mobile management node sends a fifth instruction message to the subscription data management node, so that the subscription data management node updates the sixth instruction message stored in the subscription data to the fifth instruction message; the fifth instruction message is used to instruct the first mobile management node to issue a customized NI to the terminal device.

[0036] In this implementation, if the first mobile management node decides to send a customized NI to the terminal device based on the sixth indication information, it also needs to request the subscription data management node to update the previously stored sixth indication information to the fifth indication information, so as to indicate that the first mobile management node has sent a customized NI to the terminal device. The update of this indication information can instruct subsequent MM nodes to determine the terminal device's ability to receive customized NIs based on the fifth indication information, and to make NI sending decisions with reference to the fifth indication information.

[0037] In one possible implementation, the first message includes a device identifier for the terminal device. The device identifier is used by the subscription data management node to determine whether the terminal device supports receiving customized NIs. If the terminal device does not support receiving customized NIs, the subscription data of the terminal device is modified to avoid sending customized NIs to the terminal device.

[0038] In this implementation, the first mobility management node can report the device identifier of the terminal device to the subscription data management node. Based on the device identifier, the subscription data management node can determine whether the terminal device supports receiving customized NI. If it does not support it, the subscription data of the terminal device is modified to avoid sending customized NI to the terminal device. This prevents the first mobility management node from sending customized NI to the terminal device, thus avoiding problems such as the terminal device being unable to parse the sent customized NI and being unable to connect to the network.

[0039] In one possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0040] The first mobile management node receives a network access request from a terminal device; the network access request includes the device identifier of the terminal device.

[0041] The method also includes:

[0042] The first mobility management node sends a second message to the policy control function node. The second message includes a device identifier, which is used by the policy control function node to determine whether the terminal device supports receiving customized NI. If the terminal device does not support receiving customized NI, the policy control function node changes the NI distribution policy of the terminal device in the first mobility management node to avoid distributing customized NI to the terminal device. The policy control function node also synchronizes the change message of the terminal device's NI distribution policy to the subscription data management node so that the subscription data management node can change the subscription data of the terminal device.

[0043] In this implementation, the first mobility management node can report the device identifier of the terminal device to the policy control function node. Based on this device identifier, the policy control function node can determine whether the terminal device supports receiving customized NIs. If not, the policy control function node modifies the NI distribution policy of the terminal device to avoid distributing customized NIs to the terminal device. The policy control function node can also synchronize the message of the terminal device's NI distribution policy change to the subscription data management node, thereby enabling the subscription data management node to modify the subscription data of the terminal device. This allows the first mobility management node to return subscription data including capability indication information to the first mobility management node, facilitating the first mobility management node to distribute customized NIs to the terminal device based on the capability indication information.

[0044] In one possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0045] The first mobility management node receives a third message from the terminal device; the third message indicates that the terminal device is about to switch to the third mobility management node.

[0046] The first mobility management node sends a context creation request to the third mobility management node, so that the third mobility management node can execute the NI delivery decision for the terminal device based on the seventh indication information in the context creation request; the seventh indication information is used to indicate whether the first mobility management node has delivered a customized NI to the terminal device.

[0047] In this implementation, when the first mobility management node receives a network handover request initiated by the terminal device, it can initiate a context creation request to the new mobility management node to which the terminal device will connect based on the communication interface between network elements. The context creation request carries the seventh indication information so that the new mobility management node can execute the NI-issued decision of the terminal device based on the seventh indication information.

[0048] In one possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0049] The first mobility management node receives a context request from the third mobility management node; the context request is used to request context information from the terminal device at the first mobility management node; the third mobility management node is the target mobility management node to which the terminal device will switch.

[0050] The first mobility management node returns context information to the third mobility management node, so that the third mobility management node can execute the NI delivery decision of the terminal device based on the seventh indication information in the context information; the seventh indication information is used to indicate whether the first mobility management node has delivered a customized NI to the terminal device.

[0051] In this implementation, when the first mobility management node receives a context request from the new side mobility management node (third mobility management node) to which the terminal device is to switch, it can return the context information of the terminal device to the new side mobility management node based on the communication interface between network elements, and carry the seventh indication information in the context information so that the new side mobility management node can execute the NI issuance decision of the terminal device based on the seventh indication information.

[0052] Secondly, embodiments of this application provide a communication method applied to a subscription data management node. Unless otherwise specified, the subscription data management node in this application can refer to the subscription data management node itself (e.g., a UDM network element) or a module within the subscription data management node. For example, the module can be a communication module within the subscription data management node, or a circuit or chip within the subscription data management node responsible for communication functions, such as a modem chip (also known as a baseband chip), or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core. Alternatively, it can be a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the subscription data management node. For ease of description, the following uses a subscription data management node as an example. The method includes:

[0053] The subscription data management node receives a first message from the first mobility management node; the first message is used to request subscription data from the terminal device that initiated the network access request; the subscription data management node sends the subscription data of the terminal device to the first mobility management node; the subscription data includes capability indication information of the terminal device, which is used to indicate that the terminal device supports receiving network identifier (NI), so that the first mobility management node can make NI distribution decisions for the terminal device based on the capability indication information.

[0054] As can be seen from this embodiment, the subscription data management node can add capability indication information of the terminal device to indicate whether the terminal device supports receiving NI. After receiving a request for subscription data from the first mobility management node, the subscription data management node can return the subscription data to the first mobility management node. Since the subscription data includes the capability indication information of the terminal device, the first mobility management node can refer to the capability indication information to decide whether to send an NI to the terminal device and what type of NI to send. This can both update the NI displayed by the terminal device in a timely manner and avoid sending an unsupported NI to the terminal device, which would cause the terminal device to display an incorrect NI.

[0055] In one possible implementation, when the capability indication information includes first indication information, and the first mobility management node determines that it needs to issue a first customized NI to the terminal device based on the NI issuance policy of the terminal device, the first mobility management node sends the first customized NI to the terminal device; the first indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device has a subscribed customized NI, or the first indication information is used to indicate that it can issue a customized NI to the terminal device.

[0056] In this implementation, the contract data management node can instruct the terminal device to support the ability to receive customized NIs through the first instruction information. The first instruction information can assist the first management node in deciding whether to send customized NIs (such as the first customized NI) to the terminal device, so as to avoid the problem that the terminal device cannot access the network if a customized NI is sent to it even though the terminal device does not support sending customized NIs.

[0057] In one possible implementation, if the first mobility management node determines, based on the terminal device's NI distribution policy, that it is not necessary to distribute a customized NI to the terminal device, the first mobility management node sends the operator's default NI to the terminal device.

[0058] In this implementation, a default NI is sent to the terminal device when it is determined that a customized NI does not need to be sent to the terminal device, in order to prevent the terminal device from continuing to display the previously received NI and causing incorrect network perception for the user.

[0059] In one possible implementation, if the capability indication information includes the second indication information, and the first mobility management node determines that it needs to send the first NI to the terminal device based on the NI distribution policy of the terminal device, the first mobility management node sends the first NI to the terminal device; the second indication information is used to indicate the second customized NI or the operator's default NI, which is the NI sent by the second mobility management node to the terminal device before the terminal device initiates a network access request; the first NI is different from the second customized NI, or the first NI is different from the default NI;

[0060] If the capability indication information includes the second indication information, and the first mobility management node determines that it does not need to update the NI on the terminal device side based on the NI distribution policy of the terminal device, the first mobility management node will not perform the operation of sending the NI to the terminal device.

[0061] In this implementation, the contracted data management node can use the second indication information to instruct the terminal device on the NI (Network Indicator) previously sent by the second mobility management node. Based on this indication information, if the first mobility management node determines that a different NI needs to be sent to the terminal device, it will execute the operation of sending that NI to update the NI displayed on the terminal device in a timely manner, thereby improving the user's network perception experience. If the first mobility management node determines that the NI displayed on the terminal device does not need to be updated, it will not send an NI to the terminal device, thus avoiding the signaling overhead caused by sending a default NI.

[0062] In one possible implementation, the second customized NI or default NI is stored in the subscription data by the subscription data management node; in the case where the first mobility management node sends the first NI to the terminal device, the method further includes:

[0063] The contract data management node receives the first NI from the first mobile management node;

[0064] The contract data management node updates the second customized NI or default NI saved in the contract data to the first NI.

[0065] In this implementation, when the first mobile management node decides to issue the first NI, the subscription data management node will receive the first NI reported by the first mobile management node and update the previously saved second customized NI or default NI to the first NI, so that the new mobile management node of the subsequent terminal device can determine the terminal device's ability to receive customized NI based on the first NI and make NI issuance decisions with reference to the first NI.

[0066] In one possible implementation, if the capability indication information includes third indication information, and the first mobile management node determines that it needs to send the operator's default NI to the terminal device based on the terminal device's NI distribution policy, the first mobile management node sends the default NI to the terminal device; the third indication information is used to indicate that the second mobile management node has sent a customized NI to the terminal device before the terminal device initiates a network access request.

[0067] If the capability indication information includes the third indication information, and the first mobility management node determines that it needs to send the third customized NI to the terminal device based on the NI distribution policy of the terminal device, the first mobility management node sends the third customized NI to the terminal device; the third customized NI is different from the customized NI sent by the second mobility management node to the terminal device.

[0068] In this implementation, the contracted data management node can instruct the second mobility management node to send a customized NI to the terminal device via a third instruction message. Based on the third instruction message, the first mobility management node can determine that the terminal device supports receiving customized NIs. If it is decided that a default NI or a different customized NI (a third customized NI) needs to be sent to the terminal device, then the default NI or the third customized NI is sent to the terminal device so that the terminal device can update the customized NI displayed on the user interface, thus avoiding any erroneous perception of the network by the user.

[0069] In one possible implementation, the third indication information is stored in the subscription data by the subscription data management node; in the case where the first mobility management node sends a default NI to the terminal device, the method further includes:

[0070] The contract data management node receives the fourth instruction information from the first mobile management node;

[0071] The contract data management node updates the third instruction information stored in the contract data to the fourth instruction information; the fourth instruction information is used to indicate that the first mobility management node has not issued a customized NI to the terminal device.

[0072] In this implementation, if the first mobile management node decides to send the operator's default NI to the terminal device, the subscription data management node will receive the fourth indication information from the first mobile management node and update the third indication information stored in the subscription data to the fourth indication information, so as to indicate that the first mobile management node has not sent the customized NI to the terminal device. The update of this indication information can instruct subsequent MM nodes that when they decide to send the default NI, they do not need to send the default NI to the terminal device to overwrite the NI displayed on the terminal device side, so as to save system signaling overhead.

[0073] In one possible implementation, if the capability indication information includes the sixth indication information, and the first mobile management node determines that it needs to send the operator's default NI to the terminal device based on the NI distribution policy of the terminal device, the first mobile management node does not perform the operation of sending the NI to the terminal device; the sixth indication information is used to indicate that the second mobile management node has not sent the customized NI to the terminal device before the terminal device initiates a network access request.

[0074] If the capability indication information includes the sixth indication information, and the first mobility management node determines that it needs to send the fourth customized NI to the terminal device, the first mobility management node sends the fourth customized NI to the terminal device.

[0075] In this implementation, the contracted data management node can use the sixth indication information to instruct the second mobility management node not to send a customized NI to the terminal device. Based on the sixth indication information, the first mobility management node can determine that the terminal device supports receiving customized NIs and that the terminal device is currently displaying the default NI. If the decision is made that the default NI needs to be sent to the terminal device, the sending operation can be skipped to avoid duplicate sending of the default NI, thus saving signaling overhead. If the decision is made that the customized NI needs to be sent to the terminal device, it is sent to the terminal device so that the terminal device can update the displayed default NI and perceive that it is currently accessing a network corresponding to a specific location, specific service, or specific identity.

[0076] In one possible implementation, the sixth indication information is stored in the subscription data by the subscription data management node; in the case where the first mobility management node sends the fourth customized NI to the terminal device, the method further includes:

[0077] The contract data management node receives the fifth instruction information from the first mobile management node;

[0078] The contract data management node updates the sixth instruction information stored in the contract data to the fifth instruction information; the fifth instruction information is used to instruct the first mobility management node to issue a customized NI to the terminal device.

[0079] In this implementation, if the first mobile management node decides to send a customized NI to the terminal device based on the sixth instruction information, the subscription data management node will also receive the fifth instruction information from the first mobile management node and update the previously stored sixth instruction information to the fifth instruction information, so as to indicate that the first mobile management node has sent a customized NI to the terminal device. The update of this instruction information can instruct subsequent MM nodes to determine the terminal device's ability to receive customized NIs based on the fifth instruction information and to make NI sending decisions with reference to the fifth instruction information.

[0080] In one possible implementation, the first message includes the device identifier of the terminal device; the method further includes:

[0081] The contract data management node determines whether the terminal device supports receiving customized NI based on the device identifier;

[0082] If the terminal device does not support receiving customized NI, the contract data management node modifies the contract data of the terminal device to avoid sending customized NI to the terminal device.

[0083] In this implementation, the subscription data management node can determine whether the terminal device supports receiving customized NI based on the device identifier reported by the first mobility management node. If it does not support it, the subscription data of the terminal device is modified to indicate that the terminal device does not support receiving customized NI. This helps to avoid the first mobility management node from sending customized NI to the terminal device, and in turn, helps to avoid problems such as the terminal device being unable to parse the sent NI, resulting in network connection failure.

[0084] In one possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0085] The subscription data management node receives a change message from the policy control function node regarding the NI distribution policy of the terminal device. The change message is sent by the policy control function node when it determines, based on the device identifier of the terminal device, that the terminal device does not support receiving customized NIs, and changes the NI distribution policy of the terminal device in the first mobility management node to avoid distributing customized NIs to the terminal device. The device identifier is obtained by the first mobility management node from the network access request and is carried in a second message sent by the first mobility management node to the policy control function node.

[0086] The contract data management node modifies the contract data of the terminal device based on the change message.

[0087] In this implementation, when the policy control function node changes the NI distribution policy of the terminal device, the subscription data management node can receive the message from the policy control function node indicating the change in the NI distribution policy of the terminal device. This triggers the subscription data management node to modify the subscription data of the terminal device, indicating that the terminal device does not support receiving customized NI, thereby avoiding the distribution of customized NI to the terminal device.

[0088] Thirdly, embodiments of this application provide a communication method applied to a policy control function node. Unless otherwise specified, the policy control function node in this application can refer to the policy control function node itself (e.g., a PCF network element) or a module within the policy control function node. For example, the module can be a communication module within the policy control function node, or a circuit or chip responsible for communication functions within the policy control function node, such as a modem chip (also known as a baseband chip), or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core. Alternatively, it can be a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the policy control function node. For ease of description, the following uses a policy control function node as an example. The method includes:

[0089] The policy control function node receives a fourth message from the first mobility management node; the fourth message is used to request the policy control function node to perform a network identifier (NI) issuance decision for the terminal device requesting access to the first mobility management node; the policy control function node performs the NI issuance decision for the terminal device based on the eighth indication information; the NI issuance decision includes an NI issuance indication, which indicates whether to issue an NI to the terminal device; the eighth indication information indicates whether the second mobility management node issued a customized NI to the terminal device before the terminal device requested access to the first mobility management node, or whether the second mobility management node issued a customized NI to the terminal device before the terminal device requested access to the first mobility management node; the policy control function node sends the NI issuance indication to the first mobility management node.

[0090] As can be seen from the embodiments of this application, the policy control function node can add indication information for the NI (Network Indicator) issued by the Mobility Management Node (MLM) to the terminal device. This indication information can indicate whether the second MLM device, which the terminal device accessed before requesting access from the first MLM node, issued a customized NI to the terminal device, or whether the second MLM device issued a customized NI to the terminal device. The policy control function node can refer to this indication information to decide whether to issue an NI to the terminal device and what type of NI to issue. When an NI needs to be issued, the NI issuance indication can be used to instruct the first MLM node to update the NI of the terminal device in a timely manner, which can prevent the terminal device from issuing an NI it does not support, thus avoiding the problem of the terminal device being unable to access the network. When an NI does not need to be issued, the NI issuance indication can be used to instruct the first MLM node not to perform the issuance operation, thereby saving signaling overhead.

[0091] In one possible implementation, when the eighth indication information indicates that the second mobility management node sends a customized NI to the end device and the policy control function node determines that it does not need to update the customized NI on the end device side based on the NI sending policy of the end device, the NI sending indication is used to instruct the first mobility management node not to send the NI to the end device.

[0092] In the case where the eighth instruction information instructs the second mobility management node to send a customized NI to the end device, and the policy control function node determines that it needs to send a second NI to the end device based on the NI sending policy of the end device, the NI sending instruction is used to instruct the first mobility management node to send a second NI to the end device; the second NI is different from the customized NI sent by the second mobility management node to the end device.

[0093] In this implementation, the policy control function node can determine the customized NI sent by the old side mobility management node to the terminal device based on the eighth indication information. On this basis, if the policy control function node determines that it does not need to update the customized NI on the terminal device side, it will instruct the first mobility management node not to send the NI to the terminal device through the NI sending instruction, so as to save signaling overhead; if the policy control function node determines that it needs to send a different NI to the terminal device, it will instruct the first mobility management node to send the NI to the terminal device through the NI sending instruction, so that the terminal device can update the customized NI that was originally displayed.

[0094] In one possible implementation, when the eighth indication information indicates that the second mobility management node has not issued a customized NI to the terminal device and the policy control function node determines that a fifth customized NI needs to be issued to the terminal device based on the NI issuance policy of the terminal device, the NI issuance indication is used to instruct the first mobility management node to send the fifth customized NI to the terminal device.

[0095] If the eighth indication information indicates that the second mobility management node has not issued a customized NI to the terminal device and the policy control function node determines that it does not need to issue a customized NI to the terminal device based on the NI issuance policy of the terminal device, the NI issuance indication is used to instruct the first mobility management node not to send the NI to the terminal device.

[0096] In this implementation, if the policy control function node determines, based on the eighth indication information, that the second mobility management node has not sent a customized NI to the terminal device, and if it determines that a customized NI needs to be sent to the terminal device, it can instruct the first mobility management node to send the customized NI to the terminal device via an NI sending instruction to update the default NI displayed on the terminal device. If it determines that a default NI needs to be sent to the terminal device, it can instruct the first mobility management node not to send the NI to the terminal device via an NI sending instruction to save signaling overhead.

[0097] In one possible implementation, where the NI issues an instruction to instruct the first mobility management node to send a fifth customized NI to the terminal device, the method further includes:

[0098] The policy control function node updates the eighth instruction information to the ninth instruction information; the ninth instruction information is used to instruct the first mobility management node to issue a customized NI to the terminal device.

[0099] In this implementation, if the NI issuance instruction instructs the first mobility management node to send the fifth customized NI to the terminal device, the policy control function node will modify the previously saved instruction information to the new instruction information. The new instruction information instructs the first mobility management node to issue the customized NI to the terminal device, which is beneficial for the policy control function node to refer to the dynamic instruction information to make the NI issuance decision when the mobility management node requests the policy control function node to execute the NI issuance decision of the terminal device.

[0100] In one possible implementation, when the eighth instruction information instructs the second mobility management node to send a customized NI to the terminal device and the policy control function node determines, based on the NI sending policy of the terminal device, that a sixth customized NI needs to be sent to the terminal device, the NI sending instruction is used to instruct the first mobility management node to send the sixth customized NI to the terminal device; the sixth customized NI is different from the customized NI sent by the second mobility management node to the terminal device.

[0101] If the eighth instruction information indicates that the second mobility management node has issued a customized NI to the terminal device and the policy control function node determines that it does not need to issue a customized NI to the terminal device based on the NI issuance policy of the terminal device, the NI issuance instruction is used to instruct the first mobility management node to send the operator's default NI to the terminal device.

[0102] In this implementation, based on the eighth indication information, if the policy control function node determines that the second mobility management node has issued a customized NI to the terminal device, and if it is determined that a customized NI needs to be issued to the terminal device now, and this customized NI is different from the customized NI issued by the second mobility management node, then the first mobility management node can be instructed to send the new customized NI to the terminal device via an NI issuance indication to update the old customized NI on the terminal device side, thereby improving the user's perception of the network. If it is determined that a default NI needs to be issued to the terminal device now, then the first mobility management node can be instructed to send the default NI to the terminal device via an NI issuance indication to update the old customized NI on the terminal device side.

[0103] In one possible implementation, where the NI issues an instruction to instruct the first mobility management node to send the operator's default NI to the terminal device, the method further includes:

[0104] The policy control function node updates the eighth instruction information to the tenth instruction information; the tenth instruction information is used to indicate that the first mobility management node has not issued a customized NI to the terminal device.

[0105] In this implementation, if the NI issuance instruction instructs the first mobility management node to send a default NI to the terminal device, the policy control function node will modify the previously saved instruction information to the new instruction information. The new instruction information indicates that the first mobility management node has not issued a customized NI to the terminal device. This is beneficial for the policy control function node to refer to this dynamic instruction information when the mobility management node requests the policy control function node to execute the NI issuance decision of the terminal device.

[0106] Fourthly, embodiments of this application provide a communication method applied to a first mobility management node. Unless otherwise specified, the first mobility management node in this application can refer to the first mobility management node itself or a module within the first mobility management node. For example, the module can be a communication module within the first mobility management node, or a circuit or chip within the first mobility management node responsible for communication functions, such as a modem chip (also known as a baseband chip), or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core. Alternatively, it can be a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the first mobility management node. For ease of description, the following uses a first mobility management node as an example. The method includes:

[0107] The first mobility management node sends a fourth message to the policy control function node; the fourth message is used to request the policy control function node to execute the network identifier (NI) issuance decision for the terminal device requesting access to the first mobility management node;

[0108] The first mobility management node receives an NI distribution instruction from the policy control function node; the NI distribution instruction is used to indicate whether to distribute an NI to the terminal device; the NI distribution instruction is included in the NI distribution decision of the policy control function node to the terminal device; the NI distribution decision is determined based on the eighth instruction information; the eighth instruction information is used to indicate whether the second mobility management node distributed a customized NI to the terminal device before the terminal device requested access to the first mobility management node, or whether the second mobility management node distributed a customized NI to the terminal device before the terminal device requested access to the first mobility management node.

[0109] As can be seen from the embodiments of this application, the policy control function node can add indication information for the NI (Network Indicator) issued by the Mobility Management Node (MLM) to the terminal device. This indication information can indicate whether the second MLM device, which the terminal device accessed before requesting access from the first MLM node, issued a customized NI to the terminal device, or whether the second MLM device issued a customized NI to the terminal device. The policy control function node can refer to this indication information to decide whether to issue an NI to the terminal device and what type of NI to issue. When an NI needs to be issued, the NI issuance indication can be used to instruct the first MLM node to update the NI of the terminal device in a timely manner, which can prevent the terminal device from issuing an NI it does not support, thus avoiding the problem of the terminal device being unable to access the network. When an NI does not need to be issued, the NI issuance indication can be used to instruct the first MLM node not to perform the issuance operation, thereby saving signaling overhead.

[0110] In one possible implementation, when the eighth indication information indicates that the second mobility management node sends a customized NI to the end device and the policy control function node determines that it does not need to update the customized NI on the end device side based on the NI sending policy of the end device, the NI sending indication is used to instruct the first mobility management node not to send the NI to the end device.

[0111] In the case where the eighth instruction information instructs the second mobility management node to send a customized NI to the end device, and the policy control function node determines that it needs to send a second NI to the end device based on the NI sending policy of the end device, the NI sending instruction is used to instruct the first mobility management node to send a second NI to the end device; the second NI is different from the customized NI sent by the second mobility management node to the end device.

[0112] In this implementation, the policy control function node can determine the customized NI sent by the old side mobility management node to the terminal device based on the eighth indication information. On this basis, if the policy control function node determines that it does not need to update the customized NI on the terminal device side, the NI sending indication received by the first mobility management node is to instruct the first mobility management node not to send the NI to the terminal device, thereby saving signaling overhead; if the policy control function node determines that it needs to send a different NI to the terminal device, the NI sending indication received by the first mobility management node is to instruct the first mobility management node to send the NI to the terminal device so that the terminal device updates the customized NI that was originally displayed.

[0113] In one possible implementation, when the eighth indication information indicates that the second mobility management node has not issued a customized NI to the terminal device and the policy control function node determines that a fifth customized NI needs to be issued to the terminal device based on the NI issuance policy of the terminal device, the NI issuance indication is used to instruct the first mobility management node to send the fifth customized NI to the terminal device.

[0114] If the eighth indication information indicates that the second mobility management node has not issued a customized NI to the terminal device and the policy control function node determines that it does not need to issue a customized NI to the terminal device based on the NI issuance policy of the terminal device, the NI issuance indication is used to instruct the first mobility management node not to send the NI to the terminal device.

[0115] In this implementation, if the policy control function node determines, based on the eighth indication information, that the second mobility management node has not sent a customized NI to the terminal device, and if it determines that a customized NI needs to be sent to the terminal device, then the NI sending indication received by the first mobility management node instructs the first mobility management node to send the customized NI to the terminal device to update the default NI displayed on the terminal device. If it determines that a default NI needs to be sent to the terminal device, then the NI sending indication received by the first mobility management node instructs the first mobility management node not to send the NI to the terminal device to save signaling overhead.

[0116] In one possible implementation, when the NI issues an instruction to instruct the first mobility management node to send a fifth customized NI to the terminal device, the eighth instruction information is updated by the policy control function node to the ninth instruction information; the ninth instruction information is used to instruct the first mobility management node to issue a customized NI to the terminal device.

[0117] In this implementation, if the NI issuance instruction instructs the first mobility management node to send the fifth customized NI to the terminal device, the policy control function node will modify the previously saved instruction information to the new instruction information. The new instruction information instructs the first mobility management node to issue the customized NI to the terminal device, which is beneficial for the policy control function node to refer to the dynamic instruction information to make the NI issuance decision when the mobility management node requests the policy control function node to execute the NI issuance decision of the terminal device.

[0118] In one possible implementation, when the eighth instruction information instructs the second mobility management node to send a customized NI to the terminal device and the policy control function node determines, based on the NI sending policy of the terminal device, that a sixth customized NI needs to be sent to the terminal device, the NI sending instruction is used to instruct the first mobility management node to send the sixth customized NI to the terminal device; the sixth customized NI is different from the customized NI sent by the second mobility management node to the terminal device.

[0119] If the eighth instruction information indicates that the second mobility management node has issued a customized NI to the terminal device and the policy control function node determines that it does not need to issue a customized NI to the terminal device based on the NI issuance policy of the terminal device, the NI issuance instruction is used to instruct the first mobility management node to send the operator's default NI to the terminal device.

[0120] In this implementation, based on the eighth indication information, if the policy control function node determines that the second mobility management node has issued a customized NI to the terminal device, and if it is determined that a customized NI needs to be issued to the terminal device now, and this customized NI is different from the customized NI issued by the second mobility management node, then the NI issuance indication received by the first mobility management node instructs the first mobility management node to send the new customized NI to the terminal device to update the old customized NI on the terminal device side, thereby improving the user's perception of the network. If it is determined that a default NI needs to be issued to the terminal device now, then the NI issuance indication received by the first mobility management node instructs the first mobility management node to send the default NI to the terminal device to update the old customized NI on the terminal device side.

[0121] In one possible implementation, when the NI issues an instruction to instruct the first mobility management node to send the operator's default NI to the terminal device, the eighth instruction information is updated by the policy control function node to the tenth instruction information; the tenth instruction information is used to indicate that the first mobility management node has not issued a customized NI to the terminal device.

[0122] In this implementation, if the NI issuance instruction instructs the first mobility management node to send a default NI to the terminal device, the policy control function node will modify the previously saved instruction information to the new instruction information. The new instruction information indicates that the first mobility management node has not issued a customized NI to the terminal device. This is beneficial for the policy control function node to refer to this dynamic instruction information when the mobility management node requests the policy control function node to execute the NI issuance decision of the terminal device.

[0123] Fifthly, embodiments of this application provide a communication system, which includes a first mobility management node and a subscription data management node; wherein:

[0124] The first mobile management node sends a first message to the subscription data management node; the first message is used to request the subscription data of the terminal device that initiated the network access request;

[0125] The contract data management node receives the first message;

[0126] The subscription data management node sends the subscription data of the terminal device to the first mobile management node; the subscription data includes the capability indication information of the terminal device, which is used to indicate that the terminal device supports receiving network identifier NI.

[0127] The first mobile management node receives the subscription data from the terminal device;

[0128] The first mobile management node executes NI delivery decisions for terminal devices based on capability indication information.

[0129] In a sixth aspect, embodiments of this application provide a communication system, which includes a first mobility management node and a subscription data management node; wherein the first mobility management node is configured to perform the method described in any of the embodiments of the first aspect above; and the subscription data management node is configured to perform the method described in any of the embodiments of the second aspect above.

[0130] It is understood that the specific implementations and beneficial effects of the embodiments described in the fifth to sixth aspects can be referred to the specific implementations and beneficial effects of the methods described in the first to second aspects, and will not be repeated here.

[0131] In a seventh aspect, embodiments of this application provide a communication device, which includes modules for performing the method described in the first aspect, such as a first transceiver unit and a first processing unit; wherein:

[0132] The first transceiver unit is used to send a first message to the subscription data management node; the first message is used to request the subscription data of the terminal device that initiated the network access request; and to receive the subscription data of the terminal device returned by the subscription data management node; the subscription data includes the capability indication information of the terminal device, which is used to indicate that the terminal device supports receiving network identifier NI.

[0133] The first processing unit is used to execute NI delivery decisions for the terminal device based on capability indication information.

[0134] It should be understood that since the method embodiments and the device embodiments are different presentations of the same technical concept, the content of the first aspect of the embodiments of this application should be adapted to the seventh aspect of the embodiments of this application simultaneously, and can achieve the same or similar beneficial effects, which will not be repeated here.

[0135] Eighthly, embodiments of this application provide a communication device, which includes a module for performing the method described in the second aspect above, such as a second transceiver unit; wherein:

[0136] The second transceiver unit is used to receive a first message from the first mobility management node; the first message is used to request the subscription data of the terminal device that initiated the network access request; and to send the subscription data of the terminal device to the first mobility management node; the subscription data includes the capability indication information of the terminal device, which is used to indicate that the terminal device supports receiving network identifier (NI), so that the first mobility management node can make the terminal device's NI distribution decision based on the capability indication information.

[0137] It should be understood that since the method embodiments and the device embodiments are different presentations of the same technical concept, the content of the second aspect of the embodiments of this application should be adapted to the eighth aspect of the embodiments of this application simultaneously, and can achieve the same or similar beneficial effects, which will not be repeated here.

[0138] Ninthly, embodiments of this application provide a communication device for implementing any one of the first, second, third, or fourth aspects described above, or for implementing the communication method in any one of the implementations of the first, second, third, or fourth aspects described above. The device may be a network-side element (such as a core network element), a module applied to a network-side element (such as a processor, chip, or chip system), or a logical node, logical module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the network-side functions.

[0139] In one possible implementation, the communication device in the ninth aspect includes units, modules, or means for respectively executing the methods in any one or any implementation of the first, second, third, or fourth aspect. Specifically, the units, modules, or means may be implemented in software, in hardware, or in a combination of software and hardware.

[0140] In another possible implementation, the communication device in the ninth aspect above includes at least one processor; the at least one processor is configured to perform the corresponding function in the communication method described above.

[0141] Optionally, the at least one processor may be coupled to at least one memory for storing necessary programs (instructions) and / or data (such as one or more computer programs) of the device. Optionally, the communication device may further include a communication interface for enabling communication between the device and other network elements. Optionally, the at least one memory may be located internally or externally to the communication device.

[0142] Optionally, the communication device may further include a transceiver unit, with the processor coupled to the transceiver unit. The processor executes computer programs or instructions to control the transceiver unit to receive and send information. When the processor executes the computer programs or instructions, it is also used to implement the above method through logic circuits or executed code instructions. The transceiver unit may be a transceiver, transceiver circuit, or input / output interface, used to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor, or to send signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device. When the communication device is a chip, the transceiver unit is a transceiver circuit or an input / output interface.

[0143] When the communication device in the ninth aspect above is a chip, the transmitting unit can be an output unit, such as an output circuit or a communication interface; the receiving unit can be an input unit, such as an input circuit or a communication interface. When the communication device is a terminal device, the transmitting unit can be a transmitter or a receiver; the receiving unit can be a receiver or a receiver.

[0144] In a tenth aspect, embodiments of this application provide a chip, including: a processor for calling and running a computer program from a memory, causing a device / apparatus on which the chip is installed to perform the method as described in any one of the embodiments of the first, second, third, or fourth aspects above.

[0145] Eleventhly, embodiments of this application provide a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program for execution by a device / apparatus, wherein the computer program, when executed, implements the method as described in any of the embodiments of the first, second, third, or fourth aspects above.

[0146] In a twelfth aspect, embodiments of this application provide a computer program product that, when run by a device, causes the device to perform the method as described in any of the embodiments of the first, second, third, or fourth aspects above. Attached Figure Description

[0147] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application or the background art, the accompanying drawings used in the embodiments of this application or the background art will be described below.

[0148] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of a 5G mobile communication system provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0149] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a custom NI provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0150] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a location-based update NI provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0151] Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0152] Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0153] Figure 6 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0154] Figure 7 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0155] Figure 8 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0156] Figure 9 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0157] Figure 10 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0158] Figure 11 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0159] Figure 12 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0160] Figure 13 is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0161] Figure 14 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0162] Figure 15 is a schematic diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0163] Figure 16 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0164] Figure 17 is a schematic diagram of a baseband hardware provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0165] The terms "first," "second," "third," and "fourth," etc., used in the specification, claims, and accompanying drawings of this application are used to distinguish different objects, not to describe a specific order. Furthermore, the terms "comprising" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, product, or apparatus that includes a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but may optionally include steps or units not listed, or may optionally include other steps or units inherent to these processes, methods, products, or apparatuses.

[0166] In this document, the term "embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of this application. The appearance of this phrase in various places throughout the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it a mutually exclusive, independent, or alternative embodiment. It will be explicitly and implicitly understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein can be combined with other embodiments.

[0167] The terms “component,” “module,” “system,” etc., used in this specification are used to refer to computer-related entities, hardware, firmware, combinations of hardware and software, software, or software in execution. For example, a component can be, but is not limited to, a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable file, an execution thread, a program, and / or a computer. As illustrated, an application running on a terminal device and the terminal device can both be components. One or more components may reside in a process and / or an execution thread, and components may be located on a single computer and / or distributed among two or more computers. Furthermore, these components can be executed from various computer-readable media on which various data structures are stored. Components can communicate, for example, via local and / or remote processes based on signals having one or more data packets (e.g., data from two components interacting with another component between a local system, a distributed system, and / or a network, such as the Internet interacting with other systems via signals).

[0168] First, a brief introduction to the technical background of this application will be given to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

[0169] (1) Application Function: AF;

[0170] (2) Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF);

[0171] (3) Access Network Discovery and Selection Policy (ANDSP);

[0172] (4) (Wireless) Access Network: (Radio)Access Network, (R)AN;

[0173] (5) Binding Support Function (BSF);

[0174] (6) Data Network: DN;

[0175] (7) Next Generation (Radio) Access Network: NG RAN;

[0176] (8) Generic Public Subscription Identity (GPSI);

[0177] (9) Session Management Function (SMF);

[0178] (10) Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Info, S-NSSAI;

[0179] (11) User Permanent Identifier: Subscription Permanent Identifier, SUPI;

[0180] (12) Operation Administration and Maintenance (OAM);

[0181] (13) Policy Control Function (PCF);

[0182] (14) Unified Data Management (UDM);

[0183] (15) Unified Data Repository (UDR);

[0184] (16) User Plane Function (UPF);

[0185] (17) Mobility management entity (MME);

[0186] (18) General Packet Radio System (GPRS);

[0187] (19) GPRS service support node: Serving GPRS support node, SGSN;

[0188] (20) Home subscriber server: HSS;

[0189] (21) Mobile switching center (MSC);

[0190] (22) Home location register (HLR);

[0191] (23) Circuit switching: CS;

[0192] (24) Protocol data unit: PDU.

[0193] Please refer to Figure 1, which is a schematic diagram of the network architecture of a fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication system provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 1, it mainly includes nodes such as UE, RAN, UPF, AF, PCF, SMF, AMF, UDM, UDR, and DN, wherein the various parts communicate with each other through interface Nx.

[0194] UE: Can be referred to as terminal equipment, terminal, access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, wireless communication equipment, user agent, or user device. Terminal equipment can also be a cellular phone, cordless phone, session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, wireless local loop (WLL) station, personal digital assistant (PDA), handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, vehicle-mounted device, drone, wearable device, terminal equipment in a 5G network, or terminal equipment in an evolved public land mobile network (PLMN), etc., and the embodiments of this application are not limited thereto.

[0195] (R)AN: Provides network access functionality for authorized users in a specific area, and can use transmission tunnels of different quality according to the user's level and service requirements. The access network can be an access network employing different access technologies. Current access network technologies include: radio access network technologies used in 3rd generation (3G) systems, radio access network technologies used in 4th generation (4G) systems, or NG RAN technologies (such as radio access technologies used in 5G systems). Radio access network equipment can be, for example, a base station (NodeB), an evolved NodeB (eNB or eNodeB), a next-generation Node base station (gNB) in a 5G mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access point (AP) in a Wi-Fi hotspot system. It can also be a radio controller in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario, or the radio access network equipment can be a relay station, access point, vehicle-mounted equipment, drone, wearable device, or network equipment in a 5G network or an evolved PLMN. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology or device form used in the wireless access network equipment.

[0196] AF (Application Request): Primarily conveys the application's requirements to the network, such as Quality of Service (QoS) requirements. AF can be a third-party functional entity or an application service deployed by the operator, such as the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) voice call service.

[0197] UDM: Primarily responsible for managing subscription data, user access authorization, and other functions. Specifically, the subscription data management network element for 4G is HSS, while for 2G / 3G it is HLR or HSS.

[0198] AMF (Automatic Mobility Management) primarily performs mobility management, access authentication / authorization, and other functions. It is also responsible for transmitting user policies between the UE and the PCF (Programmable Memory Function). Correspondingly, the mobility management network element in the 4G network architecture is the MME (Mobile Equipment Management) element, while in 2G / 3G it is the SGSN (Signaling Service Node Management). Furthermore, 2G / 3G / 4G also supports UE attachment access via the circuit-switched domain (CS domain), with the corresponding management network element being the MSC (Mobile Switching Center). All of the above mobility management network elements support obtaining user subscription data from the subscription data management node: the AMF obtains it from the UDM (User Device Management), the MME obtains it from the HSS (Hybrid Service Server), the SGSN can obtain user subscription data from the HLR (Hybrid Registry) or HSS, and the MSC obtains user subscription data from the HLR. Typically, to simplify user data management, operators will co-deploy data nodes and have these co-deployed nodes open subscription data to mobility management network elements of different generations. For example, operators may co-deploy UDM+HSS+HLR (based on protocol alignment considerations, the subscription data management node in this application embodiment can be a co-deployed node (such as UDM+HSS), which also integrates HLR capabilities) and support providing subscription data management services to mobility management network elements across generations such as AMF, MME, SGSN, and MSC.

[0199] UDR: Primarily responsible for storing and retrieving data types such as contract data, strategy data, and application data.

[0200] PCF (Policy Control Element): Primarily responsible for policy control functions such as billing at the session and service flow levels, QoS bandwidth assurance, mobility management, and UE policy decision-making. In this architecture, the PCFs connected to the AMF and SMF correspond to the AM PCF (PCF for Access and Mobility Control) and SM PCF (PCF for Session Management), respectively, but may not be the same PCF entity in actual deployment scenarios. It should be understood that in 4G communication systems, the policy control network element can be a Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) network element. In 5G communication systems, the policy control network element can be a PCF network element. In future communication systems, the policy control network element can still be a PCF network element, or it may have other names; this application does not limit this.

[0201] SMF: Primarily used for session management, allocation and management of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses for user equipment, selection of manageable user plane functions, endpoints for policy control and billing function interfaces, and downlink data communication.

[0202] UPF: As the interface with the data network, the UPF performs functions such as user plane data forwarding, session / flow-based billing statistics, and bandwidth limiting. It should be understood that in 5G communication systems, user plane network elements can be UPF network elements. In future communication systems, user plane network elements can still be UPF network elements, or they may have other names; this application does not limit this.

[0203] PDU Session: A session service that enables PDU connectivity between the UE and the DN.

[0204] The communication interfaces between the above nodes are described as follows:

[0205] 1. N7: The interface between PCF and SMF, used to issue PDU session granularity and business data flow granularity control policies.

[0206] 2. N15: The interface between PCF and AMF, used to issue UE policies and access control related policies.

[0207] 3. N5: The interface between AF and PCF, used for issuing application service requests and reporting network events.

[0208] 4. N4: The interface between SMF and UPF, used to transmit information between the control plane and the user plane, including the distribution of forwarding rules, QoS control rules, traffic statistics rules, etc. from the control plane to the user plane, as well as the reporting of information from the user plane.

[0209] 5. N11: The interface between SMF and AMF, used to transmit PDU session tunnel information between RAN and UPF, transmit control messages sent to UE, and transmit radio resource control information sent to RAN, etc.

[0210] 6. N2: The interface between AMF and RAN, used to transmit radio bearer control information from the core network side to the RAN.

[0211] 7. N1: The interface between AMF and UE, access-independent, used to transmit QoS control rules to UE, etc.

[0212] 8. N8: The interface between AMF and UDM, used by AMF to obtain access and mobility management related subscription data and authentication data from UDM, as well as by AMF to register UE's current mobility management information with UDM.

[0213] 9. N10: The interface between SMF and UDM, used by SMF to obtain session management-related subscription data from UDM, and by SMF to register UE current session-related information with UDM.

[0214] 10. N35: The interface between UDM and UDR, used by UDM to obtain user subscription data information from UDR.

[0215] 11. N36: The interface between PCF and UDR, used by PCF to obtain policy-related contract data and application data related information from UDR.

[0216] It should be understood that the network architecture described above for the embodiments of this application is merely an example, and the network architecture applicable to the embodiments of this application is not limited thereto. Any network architecture capable of realizing the functions of the above-described network elements is applicable to the embodiments of this application.

[0217] It should also be understood that the above naming is defined only for the convenience of distinguishing different functions and should not constitute any limitation on this application. This application does not exclude the possibility of using other naming in 5G networks and other future networks. For example, in 6G networks, some or all of the above-mentioned network elements may use the terminology from 5G, or may use other names, etc. The interface names between the various network elements in Figure 1 are just examples, and the interface names in specific implementations may be other names, which this application does not specifically limit. In addition, the names of the messages (or signaling) transmitted between the above-mentioned network elements are also just examples and do not constitute any limitation on the function of the messages themselves.

[0218] Currently, only AMF (Advanced Management Function) decisions by the UE (User Equipment) generate NITZ (Network Information Zone) information, such as decisions based on the UE's current location, accessed PLMN / home PLMN, etc., to generate NITZ information and provide it to the UE. When the UE receives this information, it can display the corresponding information to the user on a visual interface. For example, based on the NI (Network Information Zone) in the NITZ, the terminal device can display the current NI, such as CMCC / China Mobile; or based on the TZ (Time Zone) information in the NITZ, it can display the current time. In some scenarios, operators hope to expand the aforementioned NI identifiers to explicitly enhance the user's perception of the network. For example, based on the NI identifier, they can display the user's identity NI, location-related NI, time-related NI, or service status-related NI. As shown in Figure 2, for example, by customizing and issuing corresponding identity identifiers to Global Pass users, users' sense of identity with the operator can be enhanced; for the status of specific services (game acceleration service, live streaming acceleration service), corresponding service status reports can be issued, so that users can perceive the guarantee status carried out by the network; or for users in specific scenarios (such as high-speed rail VIP guarantee scenario, concert guarantee scenario), regional related identifiers can be issued to indicate the differentiated services provided by the network to users in that region.

[0219] Due to the mobility of the terminal, it may move to a 5G network that does not support dynamic NI identification decision-making, or a 2G / 3G / 4G network where this feature cannot be enabled. Since the protocol requires the terminal to retain this information even after powering off or changing SIM cards, this may lead to the terminal incorrectly displaying the NI name received during 5G access. As shown in Figure 3, the Business & Operation Support System (BOSS) in the AM-PCF enables the feature of switching the corresponding NI based on location information. The AMF issues the corresponding NI to the terminal based on its location (via base station), such as the NI inside shopping mall A being China Mobile-Shopping Mall A, and the NI outside shopping mall A being China Mobile. Normally, the terminal modifies the previously displayed NI based on the received NITZ information and displays the newly issued NI by the AMF. However, the terminal may fail to update the NI in a timely manner; for example, the terminal may have moved out of shopping mall A, but the displayed NI may still be for shopping mall A. To address this issue, an alternative solution is to enable NI (Network Indicator) delivery capabilities across all Mobility Management (MME) network elements and deliver it by default upon terminal access. That is, when a terminal accesses the network through a new AMF / MME / SGSN / MSC node, even if the new node determines that a customized NI is not needed, it will still trigger the delivery of a default NI to overwrite any previously received customized NIs by the UE, thus preventing incorrect display of operator identifiers. While this solution can resolve the issue of timely NI updates on the terminal side, it still has the following drawbacks: 1. Currently, NI delivery is accomplished through separate Non-Access Stratum (NAS) signaling. Delivering a default NI to all users by default from all MME / MS nodes increases downlink NAS signaling by a factor of the number of users, resulting in significant signaling overhead. 2. Some existing terminals do not support NITZ (Not fully complying with the protocol implementation and unable to be upgraded to support it, such as smartwatches and power bank devices with SIM card capabilities). Default NITZ delivery will cause these terminals to be unable to correctly parse or process the newly delivered NITZ information, leading to incorrect NI display on the terminal device side, and potentially even preventing network access.

[0220] To overcome the shortcomings of related technologies, this application provides a communication method that can be applied to various communication systems, such as 5G mobile communication systems, future evolution systems, or multi-communication convergence systems, as well as existing communication systems. The application scenarios of the technical solution provided in this application can include various scenarios, such as machine-to-machine (M2M), macro-micro communication, enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable and low-latency communication (uRLLC), and massive machine-type communication (mMTC).

[0221] The technical solution provided in this application will be described in detail below with reference to specific implementation methods.

[0222] Please refer to Figure 4, which is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. This method can be implemented based on the system architecture shown in Figure 1, or it can be implemented based on other communication systems. As shown in Figure 4, the method includes steps 401-403:

[0223] 401: The first mobile management node sends the first message to the contracted data management node.

[0224] Correspondingly, the subscription data management node receives a first message from the first mobility management node. This first message requests the subscription data of the terminal device that initiated the network access request. For example, the first message may be sent by the first mobility management node upon receiving a network access request from the terminal device, such as when the terminal device initiates network handover, mobility registration, or initial registration. Network handover, for example, can be the process of a UE switching from one base station to another while maintaining communication. Handover ensures that the UE's connection is not interrupted during movement. Mobility registration is the process by which the UE reports its location change to the network during movement. It ensures that the network can locate the UE's position, thereby maintaining connection continuity during handover or other management operations. Initial registration is the process by which the UE connects to the 5G network for the first time. In this process, the UE sends a connection request to the network, completing the necessary authentication and network access.

[0225] For example, in a 5G network architecture, the first mobile management node can be an AMF network element; in a 4G network architecture, the first mobile management node can be an MME network element; in a 2G / 3G network architecture, the first mobile management node can be an SGSN network element; in a scenario where the UE accesses the network through the CS domain, the first mobile management node can be an MSC network element, and this application does not limit this.

[0226] For example, corresponding to the first mobility management node, the subscription data management node can be a UDM network element, an HSS network element, an HLR network element, or a combined network element with one or more subscription data management functions.

[0227] 402: The contract data management node sends the contract data of the terminal device to the first mobile management node.

[0228] Accordingly, the first mobility management node receives the subscription data of the terminal device returned by the subscription data management node. This subscription data includes capability indication information for the terminal device, which indicates that the terminal device supports receiving Network Identifiers (NIs). This capability indication information can be represented by a new field added to the subscription data management node. Specifically, the capability indication information indicating that the terminal device supports receiving Network Identifiers (NIs) can indicate that the terminal device supports receiving customized NIs and the operator's default NI; or, if the terminal device supports receiving the operator's default NI, the capability indication information can indicate that the terminal device supports receiving customized NIs; or, if the terminal device does not support receiving customized NIs, the capability indication information can indicate that the terminal device supports receiving the default NI.

[0229] In one possible implementation, the capability indication information is static. For example, the capability indication information includes first indication information, which indicates that the terminal device has a subscribed customized NI, or that it can send customized NIs to the terminal device. For instance, the BOSS adds a whitelist of terminal devices that support receiving customized NIs in the subscription data management node. This whitelist indicates that the terminal device has subscribed to a customized NI. Alternatively, the first indication information can be a customized NI that the terminal device has subscribed to, and the subscription data returned by the subscription data management node to the terminal device may include the customized NI that the terminal device has subscribed to, thus indicating that the terminal device supports receiving customized NIs. Or, the first indication information can be an NI sending indication. For example, the UDM network element uses this indication information to instruct the AMF to send customized NIs to the terminal device, indicating that the terminal device supports receiving customized NIs.

[0230] In another possible implementation, the capability indication information is dynamic. For example, the capability indication information may include second indication information, which indicates the NI (Not Indicator) issued by the second mobility management node to the terminal device before the terminal device initiates a network access request. The second mobility management node is the mobility management node that the terminal device accesses before initiating the network access request. The NI issued by the second mobility management node to the terminal device can be a customized NI (such as China Mobile-High-Speed ​​Rail VIP) or the operator's default NI (such as China Mobile). After issuing the NI to the terminal device, the second mobility management node reports the NI to the subscription data management node, which persists it, for example, by updating it in the terminal device's subscription data. Regardless of the type of NI issued by the second mobility management node to the terminal device, as long as the subscription data management node saves the second indication information in the terminal device's subscription data, it indicates that the terminal device supports dynamically updated NIs, which also means that the terminal device supports receiving customized NIs. For example, the capability indication information may include third indication information, which indicates that the second mobility management node issued a customized NI to the terminal device before the terminal device initiated a network access request; or the capability indication information may include sixth indication information, which indicates that the second mobility management node did not issue a customized NI to the terminal device before the terminal device initiated a network access request. The subscription data management node uses a newly added field to indicate whether the mobility management node issued a customized NI to the terminal device before the terminal device initiated a network access request, implicitly indicating that the terminal device supports receiving customized NIs.

[0231] 403: The first mobile management node executes the NI delivery decision of the terminal device based on the capability indication information of the terminal device.

[0232] In this embodiment, the first mobility management node can determine which NI needs to be sent to the terminal device based on the NI sending policy of the terminal device. The NI sending policy of the terminal device can be understood as the NI sending determination condition of the terminal device, such as sending a location-related customized NI to a UE at a specific location, or sending a service-related customized NI to a UE that has enabled a specific service. The NI sending policy of the terminal device can be pre-configured locally on the first mobility management node by the policy control function node (such as AM PCF), i.e., it exists in the local configuration information of the first mobility management node; or the NI sending policy of the terminal device can be obtained by the first mobility management node from the policy control function node through interaction with the policy control function node when it receives a network access request from the terminal device; or the NI sending policy of the terminal device can also exist in the policy control function node, and the first mobility management node can request the policy control function node to determine which NI needs to be sent to the terminal device based on the NI sending policy of the terminal device when it needs to send an NI.

[0233] (a) Scenarios involving static indication of terminal device capabilities:

[0234] (1) The first mobility management node determines that it needs to send a first customized NI to the terminal device based on the NI delivery policy of the terminal device, and the capability indication information includes the first indication information. Then, the first mobility management node sends the first customized NI to the terminal device, and the terminal device updates the operator NI displayed on the user interface based on the received first customized NI. The first customized NI refers to a customized NI determined for the terminal device based on its identity, location, or service, combined with the terminal device's NI delivery policy. For example, the first customized NI can be decided autonomously by the first mobility management node or by the policy control function node. For instance, the policy control function node may be configured in the first mobility management node to send the first customized NI when the UE is in a certain location. Relatively speaking, the customized NI configured by the policy control function node has a higher priority than the customized NI autonomously decided by the first mobility management node.

[0235] In this implementation, the first mobile management node can determine that the terminal device supports receiving a customized NI through the first indication information. If it determines that a first customized NI needs to be sent to the terminal device, it can then send the first customized NI to the terminal device. The first indication information helps the first management node decide whether to send a customized NI to the terminal device, thus avoiding the problem of the terminal device being unable to access the network if a customized NI is sent to it when the terminal device does not support it.

[0236] (2) When the first mobile management node determines that it does not need to send a customized NI to the terminal device based on the NI distribution policy of the terminal device, it sends the operator's default NI to the terminal device. The terminal device displays the default NI (e.g., China Mobile) on the user interface based on the received default NI.

[0237] In this implementation, the first mobile management node sends a default NI to the terminal device if it determines that a customized NI does not need to be sent to the terminal device, so as to avoid the terminal device continuing to display the previously received NI and causing the user to have a wrong network perception.

[0238] (3) If the terminal device does not support receiving a customized NI, the capability indication information may also include eleventh indication information, which indicates that the terminal device only supports receiving the default NI (only the default NI can be sent to the terminal device). For example, the eleventh indication information may be obtained by the subscription data management node modifying the subscription data of the terminal device. The first mobility management node performs the NI sending decision of the terminal device based on the capability indication information, which may also include: the first mobility management node sending the default NI to the terminal device based on the eleventh indication information.

[0239] The following example illustrates the process of the first Mobility Management Node (IMM) issuing an Indicator (NI) to the terminal device in a scenario where the capabilities of the terminal device are statically indicated. In this example, the first IMM is an AMF, MME, or SGSN (hereinafter referred to as an MM node), and the subscription data management node is a combined UDM+HSS node. As shown in Figure 5, the main steps include:

[0240] 0: A new field has been added to UDM+HSS: First Indication Information;

[0241] 1: The UE initiates a mobility procedure through the RAN;

[0242] The mobility process can include the aforementioned handover, mobility registration, and initial registration. A typical user registration process can be described as follows: The UE sends a registration request to the Mobility Management Node (MML) via the AN (Application Not Registry). The MML retrieves subscription data from a specific Subscription Data Management Node (SDM) based on the user identifier. Upon receiving the request, the SDM retrieves the actual subscription data from the Subscription Data Repository Node. Furthermore, the MML can initiate User Policy Control Establishment Requests (UEPolicyControl_Create) and Access Management Policy Control Establishment Requests (AMPolicyControl_Create) to the Policy Control Function Node (PCF) to obtain UE policies and access control policies, respectively. During this process, the PCF returns the access control policy to the MML, and the MML then provides the UE policy to the UE.

[0243] 2: The MM node receives the network access request initiated by the UE;

[0244] The network access request includes the UE's device identifier, and may also include the user identifier (such as SUPI). If the MM node determines that it has not obtained the UE's subscription data, it proceeds to step 3.

[0245] 3: The MM node sends the first message to the UDM+HSS node;

[0246] The first message can be either a subscription data request or a location update request. In the UDM scenario, it's a subscription data request (Nudm_SDM_Get Request), carrying a user identifier (such as SUPI) and the user's subscription data type (such as Access and Mobility Management Subscription Data (AM Subscription Data)). In the HSS scenario, it's a location update request (Update Location Request). The user identifier can be used to determine whether the user bound to the UE supports customized NI; in this example, it's assumed that the user bound to the UE supports customized NI.

[0247] 4: The UDM+HSS node returns the UE's subscription data to the MM node;

[0248] The contract data includes the first instruction information. In the UDM scenario, the response message returned by the UDM+HSS node is a Nudm_SDM_Get Response message, which carries the contract data requested by the MM node; in the HSS scenario, the response message returned by the UDM+HSS node is an Update Location Answer message, which also carries the contract data requested by the MM node.

[0249] 5: If the MM node determines that the UE supports receiving customized NI based on the first indication information, then it will execute the UE's NI delivery decision;

[0250] Specifically, if the MM node determines that a customized NI needs to be issued, it determines the customized NI identifier based on local configuration information and AM PCF interaction (only applicable to AMF scenarios) and issues the customized NI identifier to the UE. If the MM node determines that a customized NI does not need to be issued, it issues a default NI identifier to the UE. This default NI can be configured in the MM node or indicated to the MM node by the UDM+HSS node. The MM node issues the determined NI to the UE through a configuration update process.

[0251] 6: The UE updates the NI displayed on the user interface based on the received NI.

[0252] (ii) Scenarios involving dynamically indicating the capabilities of terminal devices:

[0253] (1) Capability indication information includes second indication information, which is used to indicate the second customized NI or default NI issued by the second mobile management node to the terminal device before the terminal device initiates a network access request. For example, it directly instructs the old MM node to issue: China Mobile-High-Speed ​​Rail VIP (customized NI) or China Mobile (default NI) to the terminal device. The first mobile management node determines that it needs to issue a first NI to the terminal device based on the NI issuance policy of the terminal device. The first NI is different from the second customized NI or different from the default NI. That is, if the second mobile management node issues a second customized NI to the terminal device, the first NI can be a customized NI different from the second customized NI or a default NI. If the second mobile management node issues a default NI to the terminal device, the first NI is a customized NI. If the first mobile management node determines that it does not need to update the NI on the terminal device side based on the NI issuance policy of the terminal device, it does not send an NI to the terminal device. If the second mobility management node has issued a second customized NI to the terminal device, and it is currently determined that the second customized NI needs to be issued to the terminal device, then no NI will be issued to the terminal device; if the second mobility management node has issued a default NI to the terminal device, and it is currently determined that the default NI needs to be issued to the terminal device, then no NI will be issued to the terminal device.

[0254] In this implementation, the first mobility management node (MMD) can determine the NI (Network Indicator) previously sent to the terminal device by the second MMD based on the second indication information. Combining this indication information, if the first MMD determines that a different NI needs to be sent to the terminal device, it will send that NI to update the NI displayed on the terminal device in a timely manner, thereby improving the user's network perception experience. If the first MMD determines that the NI displayed on the terminal device does not need to be updated, it will not send an NI to the terminal device, thus avoiding the signaling overhead caused by sending a default NI.

[0255] For example, when the first NI is sent to the terminal device, the first mobility management node sends the first NI to the subscription data management node. The subscription data management node receives the first NI and updates the NI (such as the second customized NI or the default NI) that was previously reported by the second mobility management node and stored by the subscription data management node in the subscription data of the terminal device.

[0256] In this implementation, when the first mobility management node sends a first NI that is different from the NI displayed on the terminal device, it reports the first NI to the subscription data management node so that the subscription data management node updates the previously saved second customized NI or default NI to the first NI. This allows the new mobility management node that subsequently connects to the terminal device to determine the terminal device's ability to receive customized NIs based on the first NI and to make NI sending decisions with reference to the first NI.

[0257] (2) Capability indication information includes third indication information. The first mobile management node determines, based on the terminal device's NI distribution strategy, that a default NI needs to be distributed to the terminal device, and then sends the default NI to the terminal device. Since the third indication information indicates that the old-side MM node (second mobile management node) of the terminal device has distributed a customized NI to the terminal device, the default NI can be distributed now to update the customized NI displayed on the terminal device side. The first mobile management node determines, based on the terminal device's NI distribution strategy, that a third customized NI needs to be distributed to the terminal device, and determines that the third customized NI is different from the customized NI distributed by the second mobile management node to the terminal device, then the first mobile management node sends the third customized NI to the terminal device. For example, if the user was previously on the subway, and the customized NI distributed by the old-side MM node was China Mobile—Metro, when the user moves to the high-speed rail station, the new-side MM node decides that China Mobile—High-Speed ​​Rail VIP needs to be distributed, and then distributes this NI. It should be understood that if the first mobile management node decides that the customized NI to be distributed now is the same as the customized NI distributed by the old-side MM node, then no NI needs to be distributed.

[0258] In this implementation, if the first mobility management node determines, based on the third indication information, that the second mobility management node has issued a customized NI to the terminal device, it can then determine that the terminal device supports receiving customized NIs. If the decision is made to issue a default NI or a different customized NI (a third customized NI) to the terminal device, then the default NI or the third customized NI is issued to the terminal device so that the terminal device can update the customized NI displayed on the user interface, thus avoiding any erroneous perception of the network by the user.

[0259] Furthermore, the third indication information is stored in the subscription data of the terminal device by the subscription data management node after the second mobility management node sends the customized NI to the terminal device and reports the corresponding indication to the subscription data management node. If the first mobility management node decides to send the default NI to the terminal device, the first mobility management node also needs to send the fourth indication information to the subscription data management node so that the subscription data management node updates the third indication information stored in the subscription data to the fourth indication information. The fourth indication information is used to indicate that the first mobility management node has not sent the customized NI to the terminal device, that is, in this scenario, it indicates that the default NI has been sent to the terminal device. It should be understood that if the first mobility management node decides to send the third customized NI to the terminal device, the third indication information in the subscription data management node does not need to be updated, that is, it still indicates that the old-side MM node has sent the customized NI to the terminal device.

[0260] In this implementation, if the first mobile management node decides to send a default NI to the terminal device based on the third indication information, it also needs to request the subscription data management node to update the previously stored third indication information to the fourth indication information, so as to indicate that the first mobile management node has not sent a customized NI to the terminal device. The update of this indication information can indicate that subsequent MM nodes do not need to send a default NI to the terminal device when they decide that a default NI needs to be sent, so as to save system signaling overhead.

[0261] (3) The capability indication information includes the sixth indication information. Since the sixth indication information indicates that the second mobility management node has not issued a customized NI to the terminal device, the terminal device displays the default NI. If the first mobility management node determines that it needs to issue a default NI to the terminal device based on the terminal device's NI issuance policy, it will not send any NI to the terminal device, meaning that the NI on the terminal device side does not need to be updated. If the first mobility management node determines that it needs to issue a new customized NI (i.e., the fourth customized NI) to the terminal device based on the terminal device's NI issuance policy, it will execute the issuance operation of that customized NI.

[0262] In this implementation, the first mobility management node can determine, based on the sixth indication information, that the terminal device supports receiving customized NIs and that the terminal device is currently displaying a default NI. If the decision requires sending a default NI to the terminal device, the sending operation can be skipped to avoid duplicate sending of the default NI, thus saving signaling overhead. If the decision requires sending a customized NI to the terminal device, it is sent to the terminal device so that the terminal device can update the displayed default NI and perceive that it is currently accessing a network corresponding to a specific location, specific service, or specific identity.

[0263] Furthermore, the sixth instruction information is stored in the subscription data of the terminal device by the subscription data management node after the second mobility management node sends the customized NI to the terminal device and reports the corresponding instruction to the subscription data management node. If the first mobility management node decides to send the fourth customized NI to the terminal device, the first mobility management node also needs to send the fifth instruction information to the subscription data management node so that the subscription data management node updates the sixth instruction information stored in the subscription data to the fifth instruction information. The fifth instruction information is used to indicate that the first mobility management node has sent the customized NI to the terminal device.

[0264] In this implementation, if the first mobile management node decides to send a customized NI to the terminal device based on the sixth indication information, it also needs to request the subscription data management node to update the previously stored sixth indication information to the fifth indication information, so as to indicate that the first mobile management node has sent a customized NI to the terminal device. The update of this indication information can instruct subsequent MM nodes to determine the terminal device's ability to receive customized NIs based on the fifth indication information, and to make NI sending decisions with reference to the fifth indication information.

[0265] (4) If the terminal device does not support receiving a customized NI, the capability indication information may also include a twelfth indication information, which indicates that the terminal device only supports receiving the default NI (only the default NI can be sent to the terminal device). For example, the twelfth indication information may be obtained by the subscription data management node modifying the subscription data of the terminal device. The first mobility management node's NI issuance decision based on the capability indication information may also include: the first mobility management node not issuing an NI to the terminal device if the second mobility management node has issued a default NI to the terminal device; and issuing a default NI to the terminal device if the terminal device initiates an initial registration request.

[0266] The following example illustrates the process of the first Mobility Management Node (IMM) issuing an Indicator (NI) to the terminal device in a scenario where the capabilities of the terminal device are dynamically indicated. In this example, the first IMM is an AMF, MME, or SGSN (hereinafter referred to as an MM node), and the subscription data management node is a combined UDM+HSS node. As shown in Figure 6, the main steps include:

[0267] 0: The UE registers with the 2G / 3G / 4G / 5G network through the corresponding MM node and establishes the corresponding context;

[0268] 1: The old-side MM node sends NI to the UE;

[0269] Among them, the old-side MM node can determine which NI to send to the UE based on the locally configured NI sending policy, the instruction sent by AM PCF, or the service instruction carried in UDM+HSS, and send it to the UE through the configuration update process.

[0270] 2: The old-side MM node reports the NI it has issued or the indication information of the issued NI to the UDM+HSS node;

[0271] Specifically, the old-side MM node can directly report the issued NI, or report an indication of the issued NI, to indicate whether a customized NI identifier has been issued to the UE, so that the new-side MM node can perceive whether a default NI or a customized NI needs to be issued to the UE, so as to achieve the correct display of the UE-side NI.

[0272] 3: The UDM+HSS node stores the NI or NI indication information reported by the old-side MM node in the UE's subscription data;

[0273] Specifically, this process can be achieved by internally constructing configuration commands after receiving uplink signaling from UDM+HSS to trigger the update of the corresponding fields in the subscription data, or by directly updating the corresponding fields based on the signaling message. This invention does not limit the specific method used.

[0274] 4: The UE triggers the mobility procedure;

[0275] Such as switching, mobility registration, or initial registration processes, and requesting network access through the new side MM node.

[0276] 5: The new MM node initiates a subscription data acquisition request to the UDM+HSS node based on the UE request message;

[0277] 6: The UDM+HSS node returns the contract data in the response message;

[0278] The contract data includes NI or NI indication information reported by the old-side MM node.

[0279] 7: The new-side MM node executes the UE's NI distribution decision based on the NI or NI indication information returned by the UDM+HSS node:

[0280] 1) If the UDM+HSS node returns NI:

[0281] A: If it is determined that a different NI needs to be issued, the NI identifier will be reported to the UDM+HSS node after the NI is issued to the UE, so as to update the NI originally stored in the UDM+HSS node.

[0282] B: If it is determined that the original NI identifier needs to be retained unchanged, then there is no need to send the NI identifier to the UE, nor is it necessary to update the NI stored in the UDM+HSS node.

[0283] 2) If the UDM+HSS node returns NI's indication information:

[0284] A: If it is determined that a default NI needs to be issued and the NI indication information shows that the old side MM node has issued a customized NI, then the default NI can be issued to the UE, and the UDM+HSS node can be requested to update the NI indication information to show that a customized NI has not been issued.

[0285] B: If it is determined that a new customized NI needs to be issued and the indication information of the NI shows that the old side MM node has already issued a customized NI, then a new customized NI can be issued to the UE, but there is no need to update the indication information of the NI in progress.

[0286] C: If it is determined that a default NI needs to be issued and the NI indication information shows that the old side MM node has not issued a customized NI, then there is no need to issue a default NI, nor is it necessary to request the UDM+HSS node to update the indication information of the saved NI.

[0287] D: If it is determined that a customized NI needs to be issued, but the NI indication information shows that the old side MM node has not issued a customized NI, then a customized NI can be issued to the UE, and the UDM+HSS node can be requested to update the saved NI indication information, indicating that the new side MM node has issued a customized NI to the UE.

[0288] In this process, the new MM node sends the NI to the UE through a configuration update procedure.

[0289] As can be seen from this embodiment, the subscription data management node can add capability indication information for the terminal device to indicate whether the terminal device supports receiving NIs. When the first mobility management node receives a network access request from the terminal device, it can request the subscription data management node to return the subscription data of the terminal device to obtain the capability indication information from the subscription data. The first mobility management node can refer to the capability indication information to decide whether to send an NI to the terminal device and what type of NI to send. This not only allows for timely updates to the NI displayed by the terminal device but also avoids sending an unsupported NI to the terminal device, which could lead to incorrect NI display.

[0290] Please refer to Figure 7, which is a flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 7, the method includes steps 701-705:

[0291] 701: The first mobile management node sends the first message to the contracted data management node.

[0292] Accordingly, the contracted data management node receives a first message from the first mobile management node. This first message includes the user identifier of the user bound to the terminal device and the device identifier of the terminal device. For example, the user identifier could be an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) or SUPI, and the device identifier could be an International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) or a Permanent Equipment Identifier (PEI).

[0293] 702: The contracted data management node determines whether the terminal device supports receiving customized NI based on the device identifier.

[0294] In this embodiment, the subscription data management node can determine that the user has subscribed to a customized NI based on the user identifier, or it can determine that a customized NI has been sent to the terminal device previously bound to the user. If the subscription data management node determines that the terminal device does not have the ability to receive customized NIs based on the device identifier, for example, by determining that the device identifier is not included in the whitelist of device identifiers that support receiving customized NIs, or by confirming based on other configuration information such as terminal manufacturer / device type in the device identifier, it can further determine that the user has changed the bound terminal device, such as a SIM card that has subscribed to a customized NI being used on a weakly functional terminal that does not comply with the protocol implementation.

[0295] 703: If the terminal device does not support receiving customized NI, the contract data management node modifies the contract data of the terminal device to avoid sending customized NI to the terminal device.

[0296] In this embodiment, if it is determined based on the device identifier that the terminal device does not support receiving a customized NI, the subscription data management node will be triggered to update the terminal device's subscription data. For example, an eleventh indication message may be added to the subscription data to indicate that the terminal device only supports receiving the default NI. After modifying the terminal device's subscription data, the subscription data management node can also synchronize it to other network elements, such as UDR network elements.

[0297] 704: The contract data management node sends the contract data of the terminal device to the first mobile management node.

[0298] Correspondingly, the first mobile management node receives the contract data of the terminal device returned by the contract data management node.

[0299] 705: The first mobile management node executes the NI delivery decision of the terminal device based on the capability indication information of the terminal device.

[0300] The specific implementation of steps 704-705 can be referred to the corresponding descriptions in steps 402-403 above, and can achieve the same or similar beneficial effects, so they will not be repeated here.

[0301] In this implementation, the first mobility management node can report the device identifier of the terminal device to the subscription data management node. Based on the device identifier, the subscription data management node can determine whether the terminal device supports receiving customized NI. If it does not support it, the subscription data of the terminal device is modified to avoid sending customized NI to the terminal device. This prevents the first mobility management node from sending customized NI to the terminal device, thus avoiding problems such as the terminal device being unable to parse the sent customized NI and being unable to connect to the network.

[0302] Please refer to Figure 8, which is a flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 8, the method includes steps 801-807:

[0303] 801: The first mobile management node sends a second message to the policy control function node.

[0304] Correspondingly, the policy control function node (such as AM PCF) receives the second message. The second message includes the user identifier of the user bound to the terminal device and the device identifier of the terminal device. Based on the user identifier, the policy control function node can determine that the user has subscribed to a customized NI, or that a customized NI has been sent to the terminal device previously bound to the user. Based on the device identifier, the policy control function node can determine that the terminal device does not have the capability to receive customized NIs. For example, it can determine that the device identifier is not included in the whitelist of device identifiers that support receiving customized NIs, or it can confirm this based on other configuration information such as the terminal manufacturer / device type in the device identifier. Therefore, it can further determine that the user has changed the bound terminal device.

[0305] 802: The policy control function node changes the NI distribution policy of the terminal device in the first mobility management node to avoid distributing customized NI to the terminal device.

[0306] For example, modify all the decision conditions in the NI distribution strategy of the terminal device to the default NI.

[0307] 803: The policy control function node sends a policy change message from the NI of the terminal device to the contracted data management node.

[0308] Correspondingly, the contract data management node receives policy change messages from the NI of the terminal devices of the policy control function node.

[0309] 804: The contract data management node changes the contract data of the terminal device based on the change message.

[0310] For example, add an eleventh instruction to the contract data to indicate that the terminal device only supports receiving the default NI, so as to avoid sending a customized NI to the terminal device.

[0311] 805: The first mobile management node sends the first message to the contracted data management node.

[0312] The first message includes the user identifier of the user bound to the terminal device and the device identifier of the terminal device. Based on the device identifier, the contract data of the terminal device can be found.

[0313] 806: The contract data management node sends the contract data of the terminal device to the first mobile management node.

[0314] 807: The first mobile management node executes the NI delivery decision of the terminal device based on the capability indication information of the terminal device.

[0315] The specific implementation methods of steps 805-807 can be referred to the corresponding descriptions in steps 401-403 above, and can achieve the same or similar beneficial effects, which will not be repeated here.

[0316] In this implementation, the first mobility management node can report the device identifier of the terminal device to the policy control function node. Based on this device identifier, the policy control function node can determine whether the terminal device supports receiving customized NIs. If not, the policy control function node modifies the NI distribution policy of the terminal device to enable it to receive customized NIs. The policy control function node can also synchronize the message of the terminal device's NI distribution policy change to the subscription data management node, thereby enabling the subscription data management node to modify the subscription data of the terminal device. This allows the first mobility management node to return subscription data including capability indication information to the first mobility management node, facilitating the first mobility management node to distribute customized NIs to the terminal device based on this capability indication information.

[0317] Please refer to Figure 9, which is a flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 9, the method includes steps 901-907:

[0318] 901: The first mobile management node sends the first message to the contracted data management node.

[0319] 902: The contract data management node sends the contract data of the terminal device to the first mobile management node.

[0320] 903: The first mobile management node executes the NI delivery decision of the terminal device based on the capability indication information of the terminal device.

[0321] The specific implementation methods of steps 901-903 can be referred to the corresponding descriptions in steps 401-403 above, and can achieve the same or similar beneficial effects, which will not be repeated here.

[0322] 904: The first mobile management node receives a third message from the terminal device.

[0323] The third message is triggered by the terminal device initiating a mobility procedure (to the old MM node), such as a handover request. The third message indicates that the terminal device is about to hand over to the third mobility management node, such as when the terminal device initiates a network handover request to the old MM node.

[0324] 905: The first mobile management node sends a context creation request to the third mobile management node.

[0325] Accordingly, the third mobility management node receives a context creation request. This context creation request includes a seventh indication, which indicates whether the first mobility management node has sent a NI to the terminal device, or whether it has sent a customized NI to the terminal device. The specific content of this indication can be found in the aforementioned second and third indications. In other scenarios, the context creation request may also be a forward redirection request.

[0326] The communication between the first mobile management node and the third mobile management node is implemented based on the inter-network element interface. For example, the first mobile management node and the third mobile management node can be: AMF and AMF, AMF and MME, MME and MME, MME and SGSN, SGSN and SGSN, respectively.

[0327] 906: The third mobile management node sends a response message to the first mobile management node.

[0328] 907: The third mobile management node executes the NI-issued decision of the terminal device based on the seventh instruction information.

[0329] In this embodiment of the application, the function of the seventh instruction information is equivalent to that of the second or third instruction information in the contract data management node, and can be understood as a dynamic instruction.

[0330] The specific implementation of the third mobile management node executing the NI issuance decision of the terminal device based on the seventh instruction information can refer to the relevant description in step 403 of the first mobile management node executing the NI issuance decision of the terminal device based on the second or third instruction information.

[0331] In this implementation, when the first mobility management node receives a network handover request initiated by the terminal device, it can initiate a context creation request to the new side mobility management node (third mobility management node) to which the terminal device will connect, based on the communication interface between network elements. The context creation request carries the seventh indication information so that the new side mobility management node can execute the NI-issued decision of the terminal device based on the seventh indication information.

[0332] Please refer to Figure 10, which is a flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 10, the method includes steps 1001-1006:

[0333] 1001: The first mobile management node sends the first message to the contracted data management node.

[0334] 1002: The contract data management node sends the contract data of the terminal device to the first mobile management node.

[0335] 1003: The first mobile management node executes the NI delivery decision of the terminal device based on the capability indication information of the terminal device.

[0336] The specific implementation methods of steps 1001-1003 can be referred to the corresponding descriptions in steps 401-403 above, and can achieve the same or similar beneficial effects, which will not be repeated here.

[0337] 1004: The first mobility management node receives a context request from the third mobility management node.

[0338] The context request is triggered by the terminal device initiating a mobility process (to the new MM node), such as a mobility registration process or an initial registration process. The third mobility management node is the target mobility management node that the terminal device will switch to, and the context request is used to request the context information of the terminal device from the first mobility management node.

[0339] 1005: The first mobile management node returns context information to the third mobile management node.

[0340] Accordingly, the third mobility management node receives context information. This context information includes a seventh indication, which indicates whether the first mobility management node has sent a NI to the terminal device, or whether the first mobility management node has sent a customized NI to the terminal device. The specific content of this indication can be found in the aforementioned second and third indications.

[0341] The communication between the first mobile management node and the third mobile management node is implemented based on the inter-network element interface. For example, the first mobile management node and the third mobile management node can be: AMF and AMF, AMF and MME, MME and MME, MME and SGSN, SGSN and SGSN, respectively.

[0342] 1006: The third mobile management node executes the NI delivery decision of the terminal device based on the seventh instruction information in the context information.

[0343] The specific implementation of the third mobile management node executing the NI issuance decision of the terminal device based on the seventh instruction information can refer to the relevant description in step 403 of the first mobile management node executing the NI issuance decision of the terminal device based on the second instruction information or the third instruction information.

[0344] In this implementation, when the first mobility management node receives a context request from the new side mobility management node (third mobility management node) to which the terminal device is to switch, it can return the context information of the terminal device to the new side mobility management node based on the communication interface between network elements, and carry the seventh indication information in the context information so that the new side mobility management node can execute the NI issuance decision of the terminal device based on the seventh indication information.

[0345] (III) The policy control function node executes the NI-issued decisions of the terminal device:

[0346] Please refer to Figure 11, which is a flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. This method can be implemented based on the system architecture shown in Figure 1, or it can be implemented based on other communication systems. As shown in Figure 11, the method includes steps 1101-1103:

[0347] 1101: The first mobile management node sends the fourth message to the policy control function node.

[0348] The fourth message is used to request the policy control function node to execute the network identifier (NI) issuance decision for the terminal device requesting access to the first mobility management node. This fourth message is triggered during the UE's mobility procedure to the AMF (Advanced Mobility Function), such as when the UE moves from a 4G network to a 5G network coverage area or accesses the 5G network through an initial registration procedure. In this scenario, the first mobility management node will trigger a policy association establishment request or update request to the policy control function node. If the UE initially accesses via 5G or in an AM PCF change scenario, and the AM PCF has no historical context of the terminal device, an establishment request is triggered; if the UE switches from the old AMF to the new AMF, and the AM PCF has not changed, an update request is triggered.

[0349] 1102: The policy control function node executes the NI issuance decision of the terminal device based on the eighth instruction information; wherein, the NI issuance decision includes the NI issuance instruction.

[0350] 1103: The policy control function node sends an NI instruction to the first mobility management node.

[0351] In this embodiment, the eighth indication information is the indication information stored locally or in another network element (such as a UDR) by the policy control function node after the old-side MM node (second mobility management node) of the terminal device sends the corresponding NI to the terminal device. The eighth indication information is used to indicate whether the second mobility management node sent a customized NI to the terminal device before the terminal device requested access from the first mobility management node, or whether the second mobility management node sent a customized NI to the terminal device before the terminal device requested access from the first mobility management node. The eighth indication information can indicate that the terminal device supports receiving customized NIs. When the NI sending indication indicates that the first mobility management node needs to send an NI to the terminal device, the NI sending indication can be explicit, such as carrying the NI to be sent, or implicit, such as carrying the index of the NI to be sent, without carrying the corresponding plaintext information. The first mobility management node can also send the NI to the terminal device with explicit or implicit indication.

[0352] (1) The eighth instruction information refers to the customized NI sent by the second mobility management node to the terminal device:

[0353] If the policy control function node determines, based on the terminal device's NI distribution policy, that it is not necessary to update the customized NI on the terminal device side (e.g., the currently determined customized NI is the same), the NI distribution instruction is used to instruct the first mobility management node not to send any NI to the terminal device. If the policy control function node determines, based on the terminal device's NI distribution policy, that it is currently necessary to distribute a second NI to the terminal device, and this second NI is different from the customized NI distributed by the second mobility management node to the terminal device, then the NI distribution instruction is used to instruct the first mobility management node to send the second NI to the terminal device. For example, the second NI can be a new customized NI or the operator's default NI.

[0354] In this implementation, the policy control function node can determine the customized NI sent by the old side mobility management node to the terminal device based on the eighth indication information. On this basis, if the policy control function node determines that it does not need to update the customized NI on the terminal device side, it will instruct the first mobility management node not to send the NI to the terminal device through the NI sending instruction, so as to save signaling overhead; if the policy control function node determines that it needs to send a different NI to the terminal device, it will instruct the first mobility management node to send the NI to the terminal device through the NI sending instruction, so that the terminal device can update the customized NI that was originally displayed.

[0355] (2) Regarding the eighth instruction message indicating that the second mobile management node did not send a customized NI to the terminal device:

[0356] If the policy control function node determines, based on the NI distribution policy of the terminal device, that it needs to distribute a fifth customized NI to the terminal device, and since the second mobility management node has not distributed a customized NI to the terminal device, it indicates that the terminal device is displaying the default NI. In this case, the policy control function node can instruct the first mobility management node to send the fifth customized NI to the terminal device through an NI distribution instruction. If the policy control function node determines, based on the NI distribution policy of the terminal device, that it does not need to distribute a customized NI to the terminal device (i.e., it determines that the default NI is being distributed), it can instruct the first mobility management node not to send any NI to the terminal device through an NI distribution instruction.

[0357] In this implementation, if the policy control function node determines, based on the eighth indication information, that the second mobility management node has not sent a customized NI to the terminal device, and if it determines that a customized NI needs to be sent to the terminal device, it can instruct the first mobility management node to send the customized NI to the terminal device via an NI sending instruction to update the default NI displayed on the terminal device. If it determines that a default NI needs to be sent to the terminal device, it can instruct the first mobility management node not to send the NI to the terminal device via an NI sending instruction to save signaling overhead.

[0358] Furthermore, when the NI issues an instruction to instruct the first mobility management node to send the fifth customized NI to the terminal device, the policy control function node updates the stored eighth instruction information to the ninth instruction information. The ninth instruction information is used to instruct the first mobility management node to send the customized NI to the terminal device.

[0359] In this implementation, if the NI issuance instruction instructs the first mobility management node to send the fifth customized NI to the terminal device, the policy control function node will modify the previously saved instruction information to the new instruction information. The new instruction information instructs the first mobility management node to issue the customized NI to the terminal device, which is beneficial for the policy control function node to refer to the dynamic instruction information to make the NI issuance decision when the mobility management node requests the policy control function node to execute the NI issuance decision of the terminal device.

[0360] (3) The second mobile management node was instructed to issue a customized NI to the terminal device in response to the eighth instruction information:

[0361] If the policy control function node determines, based on the NI distribution policy of the terminal device, that it needs to distribute a sixth customized NI to the terminal device, and determines that the sixth customized NI is different from the customized NI distributed by the second mobility management node to the terminal device, it can instruct the first mobility management node to send the sixth customized NI to the terminal device through an NI distribution instruction. If the policy control function node determines, based on the NI distribution policy of the terminal device, that it does not need to distribute a customized NI to the terminal device, that is, it determines that it needs to distribute the operator's default NI, it can instruct the first mobility management node to send the default NI to the terminal device through an NI distribution instruction.

[0362] In this implementation, based on the eighth indication information, if the policy control function node determines that the second mobility management node has issued a customized NI to the terminal device, and if it is determined that a customized NI needs to be issued to the terminal device now, and this customized NI is different from the customized NI issued by the second mobility management node, then the first mobility management node can be instructed to send the new customized NI to the terminal device via an NI issuance indication to update the old customized NI on the terminal device side, thereby improving the user's perception of the network. If it is determined that a default NI needs to be issued to the terminal device now, then the first mobility management node can be instructed to send the default NI to the terminal device via an NI issuance indication to update the old customized NI on the terminal device side.

[0363] Furthermore, if the NI issues an instruction instructing the first mobility management node to send a new customized NI to the terminal device, the policy control function node does not need to update the eighth instruction information.

[0364] Furthermore, if the NI issues an instruction instructing the first mobility management node to send a default NI to the terminal device, the policy control function node will update the eighth instruction information to the tenth instruction information. The tenth instruction information is used to indicate that the first mobility management node has not sent a customized NI to the terminal device.

[0365] In this implementation, if the NI issuance instruction instructs the first mobility management node to send a default NI to the terminal device, the policy control function node will modify the previously saved instruction information to the new instruction information. The new instruction information indicates that the first mobility management node has not issued a customized NI to the terminal device. This is beneficial for the policy control function node to refer to this dynamic instruction information when the mobility management node requests the policy control function node to execute the NI issuance decision of the terminal device.

[0366] As can be seen from the embodiments of this application, the policy control function node can add indication information for the NI (Network Indicator) issued by the Mobility Management Node (MLM) to the terminal device. This indication information can indicate whether the second MLM device, which the terminal device accessed before requesting access from the first MLM node, issued a customized NI to the terminal device, or whether the second MLM device issued a customized NI to the terminal device. The policy control function node can refer to this indication information to decide whether to issue an NI to the terminal device and what type of NI to issue. When an NI needs to be issued, the NI issuance indication can be used to instruct the first MLM node to update the NI of the terminal device in a timely manner, which can prevent the terminal device from issuing an NI it does not support, thus avoiding the problem of the terminal device being unable to access the network. When an NI does not need to be issued, the NI issuance indication can be used to instruct the first MLM node not to perform the issuance operation, thereby saving signaling overhead.

[0367] The following example illustrates a scenario where the first mobility management node requests the policy control function node to execute an NI decision. In this example, the first mobility management node is an AMF, MME, or SGSN (hereinafter referred to as an MM node), and the subscription data management node is a combined UDM+HSS node. As shown in Figure 12, the main steps include:

[0368] 0: The UE registers with the 2G / 3G / 4G / 5G network through the corresponding MM node and establishes the corresponding context;

[0369] 1: The old-side MM node sends NI to the UE;

[0370] 2: The AM PCF node saves the instruction information of the NI issued by the old side MM node based on the customized NI issued by the old side MM node;

[0371] In terms of specific implementation, this instruction information can be referred to the eighth instruction information mentioned above.

[0372] 3: The UE initiates a mobility procedure;

[0373] If a UE moves to a 5G coverage area via 4G or accesses the 5G network through the initial registration process, the new MM node will receive a network access request from the terminal device or the old MM node.

[0374] 4: The new MM node sends a policy creation or modification request for the terminal device to the AM PCF node;

[0375] 5: AM PCF nodes make decisions based on the NI issued by the execution terminal device;

[0376] The process of NI issuing decisions can be referred to in the corresponding descriptions of steps 1102 and 1103 in the embodiment shown in Figure 11.

[0377] 6: AM PCF nodes respond to policy creation or modification requests;

[0378] The response message carries an instruction issued by NI.

[0379] 7: The new side MM node executes the NI-issued instruction.

[0380] The methods of the embodiments of this application have been described above. The communication system and apparatus of the embodiments of this application are provided below.

[0381] Please refer to Figure 13, which is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 13, the communication system includes a first mobility management node 1301 and a subscription data management node 1302. The first mobility management node 1301 executes the steps implemented by the first mobility management node in the communication methods shown in Figures 4-10, and the subscription data management node 1302 executes the steps implemented by the subscription data management node in the communication methods shown in Figures 4-10. The specific implementation and beneficial effects can be found in the corresponding descriptions in Figures 4-10.

[0382] Please refer to Figure 14, which is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. This device is applied to a first mobility management node. As shown in Figure 14, the device includes at least a first transceiver unit 1401 and a first processing unit 1402. Wherein:

[0383] The first transceiver unit 1401 is used to send a first message to the subscription data management node; the first message is used to request the subscription data of the terminal device that initiated the network access request; and to receive the subscription data of the terminal device returned by the subscription data management node; the subscription data includes the capability indication information of the terminal device, which is used to indicate that the terminal device supports receiving network identifier NI.

[0384] The first processing unit 1402 is used to execute NI distribution decisions for the terminal device based on capability indication information.

[0385] In one possible implementation, in making NI (Information Technology) dissemination decisions for the terminal device based on capability indication information, the first processing unit 1402 is specifically used for:

[0386] When the capability indication information includes the first indication information, and it is determined based on the NI distribution policy of the terminal device that the first customized NI needs to be distributed to the terminal device, the first customized NI is sent to the terminal device through the first transceiver unit 1401; the first indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device has a subscribed customized NI, or the first indication information is used to indicate that the customized NI can be distributed to the terminal device.

[0387] In one possible implementation, the first transceiver unit 1401 is further configured to:

[0388] If the NI delivery strategy based on the terminal device determines that it is not necessary to deliver a customized NI to the terminal device, then the operator's default NI is sent to the terminal device.

[0389] In one possible implementation, in making NI (Information Technology) dissemination decisions for the terminal device based on capability indication information, the first processing unit 1402 is specifically used for:

[0390] If the capability indication information includes the second indication information, and it is determined based on the NI distribution policy of the terminal device that the first NI needs to be distributed to the terminal device, the first NI is sent to the terminal device through the first transceiver unit 1401; the second indication information is used to indicate the second customized NI or the operator's default NI, the second customized NI or the default NI is the NI distributed by the second mobility management node to the terminal device before the terminal device initiates a network access request; the first NI is different from the second customized NI, or the first NI is different from the default NI;

[0391] If the capability indication information includes the second indication information, and the NI distribution policy of the terminal device determines that it is not necessary to update the NI on the terminal device side, then the NI will not be sent to the terminal device.

[0392] In one possible implementation, the second customized NI or default NI is stored in the subscription data by the subscription data management node; when sending the first NI to the terminal device, the first transceiver unit 1401 is further configured to:

[0393] Send the first NI to the contract data management node so that the contract data management node updates the second customized NI or default NI stored in the contract data to the first NI.

[0394] In one possible implementation, in making NI (Information Technology) dissemination decisions for the terminal device based on capability indication information, the first processing unit 1402 is specifically used for:

[0395] When the capability indication information includes the third indication information, and the NI distribution policy of the terminal device determines that the operator's default NI needs to be distributed to the terminal device, the default NI is sent to the terminal device through the first transceiver unit 1401; the third indication information is used to indicate that the second mobility management node distributed a customized NI to the terminal device before the terminal device initiated a network access request.

[0396] If the capability indication information includes the third indication information, and the NI distribution policy of the terminal device determines that a third customized NI needs to be distributed to the terminal device, the third customized NI is sent to the terminal device through the first transceiver unit 1401; the third customized NI is different from the customized NI distributed to the terminal device by the second mobility management node.

[0397] In one possible implementation, the third indication information is stored in the subscription data by the subscription data management node; when sending the default NI to the terminal device, the first transceiver unit 1401 is also used for:

[0398] Send a fourth instruction message to the contract data management node so that the contract data management node updates the third instruction message stored in the contract data to the fourth instruction message; the fourth instruction message is used to indicate that the first mobility management node has not issued a customized NI to the terminal device.

[0399] In one possible implementation, in making NI (Information Technology) dissemination decisions for the terminal device based on capability indication information, the first processing unit 1402 is specifically used for:

[0400] If the capability indication information includes the sixth indication information, and the NI distribution policy of the terminal device determines that the operator's default NI needs to be distributed to the terminal device, then the NI will not be sent to the terminal device; the sixth indication information is used to indicate that the second mobility management node has not distributed the customized NI to the terminal device before the terminal device initiates a network access request.

[0401] If the capability indication information includes the sixth indication information, and it is determined based on the NI distribution strategy of the terminal device that a fourth customized NI needs to be distributed to the terminal device, the fourth customized NI is sent to the terminal device through the first transceiver unit 1401.

[0402] In one possible implementation, the sixth indication information is stored in the subscription data by the subscription data management node; in the case of sending the fourth customized NI to the terminal device, the first transceiver unit 1401 is also used for:

[0403] The fifth instruction information is sent to the contract data management node so that the contract data management node updates the sixth instruction information stored in the contract data to the fifth instruction information; the fifth instruction information is used to instruct the first mobility management node to issue a customized NI to the terminal device.

[0404] In one possible implementation, the first message includes a device identifier for the terminal device. The device identifier is used by the subscription data management node to determine whether the terminal device supports receiving customized NIs. If the terminal device does not support receiving customized NIs, the subscription data of the terminal device is modified to avoid sending customized NIs to the terminal device.

[0405] In one possible implementation, the first transceiver unit 1401 is further configured to: receive a network access request from a terminal device; the network access request includes a device identifier of the terminal device; send a second message to a policy control function node; the second message includes a device identifier, which is used by the policy control function node to determine whether the terminal device supports receiving a customized NI, and, if the terminal device does not support receiving a customized NI, change the NI distribution policy of the terminal device in the first mobility management node to avoid distributing a customized NI to the terminal device, and synchronize the change message of the NI distribution policy of the terminal device to the subscription data management node so that the subscription data management node changes the subscription data of the terminal device.

[0406] It should be noted that the implementation of each unit described in FIG14 can also be described with reference to the corresponding descriptions of the embodiments shown in FIG4 to FIG10. Furthermore, the beneficial effects of the communication device described in FIG14 can be described with reference to the corresponding descriptions of the embodiments shown in FIG4 to FIG10, and will not be repeated here.

[0407] Please refer to Figure 15, which is a schematic diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. This device is applied to a contracted data management node. As shown in Figure 15, the device includes at least a second transceiver unit 1501 and a second processing unit 1502. Wherein:

[0408] The second transceiver unit 1501 is used to receive a first message from the first mobility management node; the first message is used to request the subscription data of the terminal device that initiated the network access request; and to send the subscription data of the terminal device to the first mobility management node; the subscription data includes capability indication information of the terminal device, which is used to indicate that the terminal device supports receiving network identifier (NI), so that the first mobility management node can make a decision on the NI distribution of the terminal device based on the capability indication information.

[0409] In one possible implementation, when the capability indication information includes first indication information, and the first mobility management node determines that it needs to issue a first customized NI to the terminal device based on the NI issuance policy of the terminal device, the first mobility management node sends the first customized NI to the terminal device; the first indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device has a subscribed customized NI, or the first indication information is used to indicate that it can issue a customized NI to the terminal device.

[0410] In one possible implementation, if the first mobility management node determines, based on the terminal device's NI distribution policy, that it is not necessary to distribute a customized NI to the terminal device, the first mobility management node sends the operator's default NI to the terminal device.

[0411] In one possible implementation, if the capability indication information includes the second indication information, and the first mobility management node determines that it needs to send the first NI to the terminal device based on the NI distribution policy of the terminal device, the first mobility management node sends the first NI to the terminal device; the second indication information is used to indicate the second customized NI or the operator's default NI, which is the NI sent by the second mobility management node to the terminal device before the terminal device initiates a network access request; the first NI is different from the second customized NI, or the first NI is different from the default NI;

[0412] If the capability indication information includes the second indication information, and the first mobility management node determines that it does not need to update the NI on the terminal device side based on the NI distribution policy of the terminal device, the first mobility management node will not perform the operation of sending the NI to the terminal device.

[0413] In one possible implementation, the second customized NI or default NI is stored in the subscription data by the subscription data management node; when the first mobility management node sends the first NI to the terminal device, the second transceiver unit 1501 is further configured to: receive the first NI from the first mobility management node; the second processing unit 1502 is configured to: update the second customized NI or default NI stored in the subscription data to the first NI.

[0414] In one possible implementation, if the capability indication information includes third indication information, and the first mobile management node determines that it needs to send the operator's default NI to the terminal device based on the terminal device's NI distribution policy, the first mobile management node sends the default NI to the terminal device; the third indication information is used to indicate that the second mobile management node has sent a customized NI to the terminal device before the terminal device initiates a network access request.

[0415] If the capability indication information includes the third indication information, and the first mobility management node determines that it needs to send the third customized NI to the terminal device based on the NI distribution policy of the terminal device, the first mobility management node sends the third customized NI to the terminal device; the third customized NI is different from the customized NI sent by the second mobility management node to the terminal device.

[0416] In one possible implementation, the third indication information is stored in the subscription data by the subscription data management node; when the first mobility management node sends a default NI to the terminal device, the second transceiver unit 1501 is further configured to: receive a fourth indication information from the first mobility management node; the second processing unit 1502 is further configured to: update the third indication information stored in the subscription data to the fourth indication information; the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the first mobility management node has not issued a customized NI to the terminal device.

[0417] In one possible implementation, if the capability indication information includes the sixth indication information, and the first mobile management node determines that it needs to send the operator's default NI to the terminal device based on the NI distribution policy of the terminal device, the first mobile management node does not perform the operation of sending the NI to the terminal device; the sixth indication information is used to indicate that the second mobile management node has not sent the customized NI to the terminal device before the terminal device initiates a network access request.

[0418] If the capability indication information includes the sixth indication information, and the first mobility management node determines that it needs to send the fourth customized NI to the terminal device, the first mobility management node sends the fourth customized NI to the terminal device.

[0419] In one possible implementation, the sixth indication information is stored in the subscription data by the subscription data management node; when the first mobility management node sends the fourth customized NI to the terminal device, the second transceiver unit 1501 is further configured to: receive the fifth indication information from the first mobility management node; the second processing unit 1502 is further configured to: update the sixth indication information stored in the subscription data to the fifth indication information; the fifth indication information is used to instruct the first mobility management node to send the customized NI to the terminal device.

[0420] In one possible implementation, the first message includes a device identifier of the terminal device; the second processing unit 1502 is further configured to: determine whether the terminal device supports receiving a customized NI based on the device identifier; and, if the terminal device does not support receiving a customized NI, modify the subscription data of the terminal device to avoid sending a customized NI to the terminal device.

[0421] In one possible implementation, the second transceiver unit 1501 is further configured to: receive a change message of the NI distribution policy from the terminal device of the policy control function node; the change message is sent by the policy control function node when it determines, based on the device identifier of the terminal device, that the terminal device does not support receiving customized NIs, and changes the NI distribution policy of the terminal device in the first mobility management node to avoid distributing customized NIs to the terminal device; the device identifier is obtained by the first mobility management node from the network access request and is carried in a second message sent by the first mobility management node to the policy control function node; the second processing unit 1502 is further configured to: change the subscription data of the terminal device based on the change message.

[0422] It should be noted that the implementation of each unit described in FIG15 can also be referred to the corresponding descriptions of the embodiments shown in FIG4 to FIG10. Furthermore, the beneficial effects of the communication device described in FIG15 can be referred to the corresponding descriptions of the embodiments shown in FIG4 to FIG10, and will not be repeated here.

[0423] Based on the description of the above method and device embodiments, this application also provides a communication device. Please refer to FIG16, which is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in this application embodiment. The communication device includes at least one processor 1601. Optionally, the communication device may further include an interface circuit 1602 (shown as dashed lines in the figure), with the processor 1601 and the interface circuit 1602 coupled to each other. It is understood that the interface circuit 1602 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, the communication device may further include at least one memory 1603 (shown as dashed lines in the figure), which is used to store instructions (such as one or more computer programs) executed by at least one processor 1601, or to store input data required for at least one processor 1601 to execute instructions, or to store data generated after at least one processor 1601 executes instructions. This communication device can be used in related steps of a communication method. The at least one processor 1601 in the communication device is used to read the computer program code stored in the at least one memory 1603 and execute the method of any one of the embodiments shown in FIG4 to FIG12.

[0424] At least one memory 1603 includes, but is not limited to, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), or compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM).

[0425] At least one processor 1601 may be one or more central processing units (CPUs). If processor 1601 is a CPU, the CPU may be a single-core CPU or a multi-core CPU.

[0426] For example, when the communication device is used to implement the functions of the first mobility management node, at least one processor 1601 in the communication device can be used to read one or more programs stored in the at least one memory 1603 and perform the following operations:

[0427] Send the first message to the contract data management node; the first message is used to request the contract data of the terminal device that initiated the network access request;

[0428] Receive subscription data from the terminal device returned by the subscription data management node; the subscription data includes the terminal device's capability indication information, which indicates that the terminal device supports receiving network identifier (NI);

[0429] The NI (Information Technology) decision-making process for terminal devices is based on capability indication information.

[0430] For example, when the communication device is used to implement the functions of a subscription data management node, at least one processor 1601 in the communication device can be used to read one or more programs stored in the at least one memory 1603 and perform the following operations:

[0431] Receive a first message from the first mobility management node; the first message is used to request the subscription data of the terminal device that initiated the network access request;

[0432] The terminal device's subscription data is sent to the first mobility management node. The subscription data includes the terminal device's capability indication information, which indicates that the terminal device supports receiving network identifiers (NIs), so that the first mobility management node can make NI distribution decisions for the terminal device based on the capability indication information.

[0433] It should be noted that the implementation of each operation can also correspond to the description of the method in any of the embodiments shown in Figures 4 to 10.

[0434] It should be noted that although the communication device shown in FIG16 only illustrates at least one processor 1601, interface circuit 1602, and at least one memory 1603, those skilled in the art should understand that in specific implementations, the communication device may also include other devices necessary for normal operation. Furthermore, depending on specific needs, those skilled in the art should understand that the communication device may also include hardware devices for implementing other additional functions. Moreover, those skilled in the art should understand that the communication device may only include the devices necessary for implementing the embodiments of this application, and not necessarily all the devices shown in FIG16.

[0435] This application also provides a chip, including: a processor for calling and running a computer program from a memory, causing a device with the chip installed to perform the method described in any of the embodiments shown in Figures 4 to 12 above. This chip may be a chip in a communication device.

[0436] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium (memory) storing a computer program that, when executed, implements the method described in any of the embodiments shown in Figures 4 to 12. It is understood that the computer-readable storage medium here may include built-in storage media in a device, or it may include extended storage media supported by the device. The computer-readable storage medium provides storage space containing the device's operating system. Furthermore, one or more computer programs suitable for loading and execution by the device's processor are also stored in this storage space. It should be noted that the computer-readable storage medium here may be high-speed RAM, or non-volatile memory, such as at least one disk storage device; optionally, it may also be at least one computer-readable storage medium located remotely from the aforementioned processor.

[0437] This application also provides a computer program product, which includes computer program code. When the computer program code is run by a communication device, the method flow described in any one of the embodiments in Figures 4 to 12 is implemented.

[0438] Please refer to Figure 17, which is a schematic diagram of a baseband hardware provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 17, the baseband can be implemented using a processing system including one or more processors. The processor may include a microprocessor, microcontroller, CPU, graphics processing unit (GPU), or other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), state machines, gated logic, discrete hardware circuits, and other suitable hardware configured to various functions. That is, the processor used in the baseband can be used to implement any one or more of the processes described below. It should be understood that the communication device shown in Figure 16 can be the baseband shown in Figure 17.

[0439] Processing systems can be implemented using a bus architecture, typically represented by a bus. A bus can include any number of interconnect buses and bridges, depending on the specific application and overall design constraints of the processing system. The bus couples various circuits together, including one or more processors (typically represented by a processor), memory, and computer-readable media (typically represented by a computer-readable storage medium). The bus can also link various other circuits, such as timing sources, peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well-known in the art and will not be described further here. The bus interface provides the interface between the bus and transceivers, as well as between the bus and the interface.

[0440] A transceiver provides a communication interface or means for communicating with various other devices via a wireless transmission medium. The transceiver may be coupled to an antenna array, and the transceiver and antenna array may be used together for communication with a corresponding network type. At least one interface (e.g., a network interface and / or a user interface) provides a communication interface or means for communication via an internal bus or via an external transmission medium.

[0441] The processor is responsible for managing the bus and general processing, including executing software stored on a computer-readable storage medium. When the processor executes the software, it causes the processing system to perform the various functions described below for any particular device. The functions that can be implemented by the processor, memory, and computer-readable medium can include: encoding, decoding, rate matching, rate dematching, scrambling, descrambling, modulation, demodulation, layer mapping, fast Fourier transform (FFT), inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT), inverse discrete Fourier transform (IDFT), precoding, resource element (RE) mapping, channel equalization, RE demapping, digital beamforming (BF), and so on.

[0442] In the above embodiments, the descriptions of each embodiment have different focuses. For parts not described in detail in a certain embodiment, please refer to the relevant descriptions in other embodiments.

[0443] It should be understood that the processor mentioned in the embodiments of this application can be a CPU, or other general-purpose processors, DSPs, ASICs, FPGAs, or other PLDs, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc.

[0444] It should also be understood that the memory mentioned in the embodiments of this application can be volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memory. Non-volatile memory can be ROM, Programmable Read-Only Memory (PROM), EPROM, Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory can be RAM, which is used as an external cache. By way of example, but not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), Double Data Rate Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (DDR SDRAM), Enhanced Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (ESDRAM), Synchlink Dynamic Random Access Memory (SLDRAM), and Direct Rambus RAM (DR RAM).

[0445] It should be noted that when the processor is a general-purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA, or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, or discrete hardware component, the memory (storage module) is integrated into the processor.

[0446] It should be noted that the memories described herein are intended to include, but are not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memories.

[0447] It should be understood that in the various embodiments of this application, the order of the above-mentioned processes does not imply the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of this application.

[0448] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatuses, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely exemplary. For instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces; the indirect coupling or communication connection between apparatuses or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0449] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0450] Furthermore, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit. If the integrated unit is implemented as a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium.

[0451] In this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "more than one" means two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A alone, A and B simultaneously, or B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In the textual description of this application, the character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects have an "or" relationship.

[0452] The steps in the method of this application embodiment can be adjusted, combined, or deleted according to actual needs.

[0453] The modules in the device of this application embodiment can be merged, divided, and deleted according to actual needs.

[0454] The above-described embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of this application, and are not intended to limit it. Although this application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some of the technical features. Such modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to the first mobility management node; the method includes: Send a first message to the contract data management node; the first message is used to request the contract data of the terminal device that initiated the network access request; The terminal device receives subscription data returned by the subscription data management node; the subscription data includes capability indication information of the terminal device, which indicates that the terminal device supports receiving network identifiers (NIs). The NI delivery decision of the terminal device is executed based on the capability indication information and the NI delivery strategy of the terminal device.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The step of executing the NI delivery decision for the terminal device based on the capability indication information and the NI delivery strategy of the terminal device includes: If the capability indication information includes first indication information, and it is determined based on the NI distribution policy of the terminal device that a first customized NI needs to be distributed to the terminal device, the first customized NI is sent to the terminal device; the first indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device has a subscribed customized NI, or the first indication information is used to indicate that a customized NI can be distributed to the terminal device.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The method further includes: If the NI delivery policy for the terminal device determines that it is not necessary to deliver a customized NI to the terminal device, the operator's default NI is sent to the terminal device.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The step of executing the NI delivery decision for the terminal device based on the capability indication information and the NI delivery strategy of the terminal device includes: If the capability indication information includes the second indication information, and it is determined based on the NI distribution policy of the terminal device that a first NI needs to be distributed to the terminal device, the first NI is sent to the terminal device; the second indication information is used to indicate a second customized NI or the operator's default NI, the second customized NI or the default NI being a NI distributed to the terminal device by the second mobility management node before the terminal device initiates the network access request; the first NI is different from the second customized NI, or the first NI is different from the default NI; If the capability indication information includes the second indication information, and it is determined based on the NI distribution policy of the terminal device that there is no need to update the NI on the terminal device side, then no NI will be sent to the terminal device.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The second customized NI or the default NI is stored in the subscription data by the subscription data management node; when sending the first NI to the terminal device, the method further includes: The first NI is sent to the contract data management node so that the contract data management node updates the second customized NI or the default NI stored in the contract data to the first NI.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The step of executing the NI delivery decision for the terminal device based on the capability indication information and the NI delivery strategy of the terminal device includes: If the capability indication information includes third indication information, and it is determined based on the NI distribution policy of the terminal device that the default NI of the operator needs to be distributed to the terminal device, the default NI is sent to the terminal device; the third indication information is used to indicate that the second mobility management node distributed a customized NI to the terminal device before the terminal device initiated the network access request. If the capability indication information includes the third indication information, and it is determined based on the NI distribution policy of the terminal device that a third customized NI needs to be distributed to the terminal device, the third customized NI is sent to the terminal device; the third customized NI is different from the customized NI distributed by the second mobility management node to the terminal device.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The third indication information is stored in the contract data by the contract data management node; When sending the default NI to the terminal device, the method further includes: Send a fourth instruction message to the contract data management node so that the contract data management node updates the third instruction message stored in the contract data to the fourth instruction message; The fourth indication information is used to indicate that the first mobile management node has not issued a customized NI to the terminal device.

8. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The step of executing the NI delivery decision for the terminal device based on the capability indication information and the NI delivery strategy of the terminal device includes: If the capability indication information includes the sixth indication information, and the NI distribution policy of the terminal device determines that the operator's default NI needs to be distributed to the terminal device, then the NI is not sent to the terminal device; the sixth indication information is used to indicate that the second mobility management node did not distribute the customized NI to the terminal device before the terminal device initiates the network access request. If the capability indication information includes the sixth indication information, and it is determined based on the NI distribution policy of the terminal device that a fourth customized NI needs to be distributed to the terminal device, then the fourth customized NI is sent to the terminal device.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The sixth indication information is stored in the contract data by the contract data management node; When sending the fourth customized NI to the terminal device, the method further includes: Send a fifth instruction message to the contract data management node so that the contract data management node updates the sixth instruction message stored in the contract data to the fifth instruction message; The fifth instruction information is used to indicate that the first mobile management node has issued a customized NI to the terminal device.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that, The first message includes the device identifier of the terminal device. The device identifier is used by the subscription data management node to determine whether the terminal device supports receiving customized NIs. If the terminal device does not support receiving customized NIs, the subscription data of the terminal device is modified to avoid sending customized NIs to the terminal device.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive the network access request from the terminal device; the network access request includes the device identifier of the terminal device; The method further includes: A second message is sent to the policy control function node; the second message includes the device identifier, which is used by the policy control function node to determine whether the terminal device supports receiving customized NI, and if the terminal device does not support receiving customized NI, to change the NI distribution policy of the terminal device in the first mobility management node.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that, The method further includes synchronizing the policy change message issued by the NI of the terminal device to the subscription data management node by the policy control function node, so that the subscription data management node changes the subscription data of the terminal device.

13. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to the contract data management node; the method includes: Receive a first message from the first mobility management node; the first message is used to request the subscription data of the terminal device that initiated the network access request; The first mobility management node sends the subscription data of the terminal device to the first mobility management node. The subscription data includes the capability indication information of the terminal device, which indicates that the terminal device supports receiving network identifiers (NIs), so that the first mobility management node can execute the NI distribution decision of the terminal device based on the capability indication information and the NI distribution policy of the terminal device.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that, When the capability indication information includes the first indication information, and the first mobility management node determines that it needs to issue the first customized NI to the terminal device based on the NI issuance policy of the terminal device, the first mobility management node sends the first customized NI to the terminal device. The first indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device has a contracted custom NI, or the first indication information is used to indicate that a custom NI can be issued to the terminal device.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that, If the first mobility management node determines, based on the NI distribution policy of the terminal device, that it is not necessary to distribute a customized NI to the terminal device, the first mobility management node shall send the operator's default NI to the terminal device.

16. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that, When the capability indication information includes the second indication information, and the first mobility management node determines that it needs to send the first NI to the terminal device based on the NI distribution policy of the terminal device, the first mobility management node sends the first NI to the terminal device. The second indication information is used to indicate a second customized NI or the operator's default NI, wherein the second customized NI or the default NI is an NI issued by the second mobility management node to the terminal device before the terminal device initiates the network access request; the first NI is different from the second customized NI, or the first NI is different from the default NI; If the capability indication information includes the second indication information, and the first mobility management node determines that it does not need to update the NI on the terminal device side based on the NI distribution policy of the terminal device, the first mobility management node will not perform the operation of sending the NI to the terminal device.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that, The second customized NI or the default NI is stored in the subscription data by the subscription data management node; when the first mobility management node sends the first NI to the terminal device, the method further includes: Receive the first NI from the first mobility management node; Update the second customized NI or the default NI stored in the contract data to the first NI.

18. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that, If the capability indication information includes third indication information, and the first mobility management node determines that it needs to send the operator's default NI to the terminal device based on the NI distribution policy of the terminal device, the first mobility management node sends the default NI to the terminal device. The third indication information is used to indicate that the second mobility management node issued a customized NI to the terminal device before the terminal device initiated the network access request; If the capability indication information includes the third indication information, and the first mobility management node determines that it needs to issue a third customized NI to the terminal device based on the NI issuance policy of the terminal device, the first mobility management node shall send the third customized NI to the terminal device. The third customized NI is different from the customized NI issued by the second mobile management node to the terminal device.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that, The third indication information is stored in the subscription data by the subscription data management node; when the first mobility management node sends the default NI to the terminal device, the method further includes: Receive fourth indication information from the first mobility management node; The third indication information stored in the contract data is updated to the fourth indication information; the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the first mobile management node has not issued a customized NI to the terminal device.

20. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that, If the capability indication information includes the sixth indication information, and the first mobility management node determines that it needs to send the operator's default NI to the terminal device based on the NI distribution policy of the terminal device, the first mobility management node will not perform the operation of sending the NI to the terminal device. The sixth indication information is used to indicate that the second mobility management node did not issue a customized NI to the terminal device before the terminal device initiated the network access request; If the capability indication information includes the sixth indication information, and the first mobility management node determines that it needs to send the fourth customized NI to the terminal device, the first mobility management node sends the fourth customized NI to the terminal device.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that, The sixth indication information is stored in the subscription data by the subscription data management node; when the first mobility management node sends the fourth customized NI to the terminal device, the method further includes: Receive the fifth instruction information from the first mobility management node; The sixth instruction information stored in the contract data is updated to the fifth instruction information; the fifth instruction information is used to indicate that the first mobile management node has issued a customized NI to the terminal device.

22. The method according to any one of claims 13-21, characterized in that, The first message includes the device identifier of the terminal device; the method further includes: Based on the device identifier, determine whether the terminal device supports receiving a customized NI; If the terminal device does not support receiving a customized NI, modify the subscription data of the terminal device.

23. The method according to any one of claims 13-21, characterized in that, The method further includes: The system receives a change message from the policy control function node regarding the NI distribution policy of the terminal device. The change message is sent by the policy control function node when it determines, based on the device identifier of the terminal device, that the terminal device does not support receiving customized NIs, and changes the NI distribution policy of the terminal device in the first mobility management node. The device identifier is obtained by the first mobility management node from the network access request and is carried in a second message sent by the first mobility management node to the policy control function node. The subscription data of the terminal device is changed based on the change message.

24. A communication system, characterized in that, This includes the first mobile management node and the contract data management node; among which: The first mobile management node sends a first message to the subscription data management node; the first message is used to request the subscription data of the terminal device that initiated the network access request; The contract data management node receives the first message; The subscription data management node sends the subscription data of the terminal device to the first mobility management node; the subscription data includes the capability indication information of the terminal device, which is used to indicate that the terminal device supports receiving network identifiers (NIs); The first mobile management node receives the subscription data from the terminal device; The first mobile management node executes the NI delivery decision for the terminal device based on the capability indication information and the NI delivery policy of the terminal device.

25. A communication system, characterized in that, It includes a first mobility management node and a subscription data management node; wherein the first mobility management node is used to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-12; and the subscription data management node is used to perform the method as described in any one of claims 13-23.

26. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes a module for performing the method as described in any one of claims 1-12; or, it includes a module for performing the method as described in any one of claims 13-23.

27. A communication device, characterized in that, The device includes at least one processor coupled to at least one memory for storing one or more computer programs; the at least one processor is configured such that when the communication device executes the one or more computer programs, it implements the method as claimed in any one of claims 1-12 or 13-23.

28. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program for execution by the device, which, when executed, implements the method as claimed in any one of claims 1-12 or 13-23.

29. A computer program product, characterized in that, When the computer program product is run by the device, the device performs the method as claimed in any one of claims 1-12 or 13-23.

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