Communication method, apparatus and system

Abstract

Embodiments of the present application relate to the technical field of communications, and provide a communication method, apparatus and system. The method comprises: a first cell selects a beam set on the basis of first information, wherein the first information is capable of indicating predicted user distribution in the first cell, and the first cell transmits beams on the basis of the beam set. In the embodiments of the present application, by selecting the beam set on the basis of the first information, the first cell can select, as the beam set, beams having user distribution, and transmit the beams comprised in the beam set, which can provide services for terminal devices in areas covered by the beams. In this way, a limited number of beams can be used to provide services on demand, so that the first cell can cover a greater distance and provide services for terminal devices over a larger area.

Description

Communication methods, devices and systems

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411647846.4, filed on November 15, 2024, entitled "Communication Method, Apparatus and System", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of communications, and more particularly to a communication method, apparatus, and system. Background Technology

[0003] In wireless communication networks, base stations can use specific frequencies and bandwidths to cover a certain geographical area, enabling them to provide services to user equipment (UE) within the coverage area.

[0004] For example, a base station can include a high-frequency millimeter-wave base station. Millimeter-wave base stations can communicate with user equipment using millimeter waves. Because millimeter waves have the characteristics of high frequency, short wavelength, and abundant spectrum resources, millimeter-wave base stations have the advantages of high data transmission rate, low communication latency, and support for a large number of users. However, millimeter-wave base stations may suffer from insufficient regional coverage. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a communication method, apparatus, and system to improve the coverage distance of millimeter-wave base stations.

[0006] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, the method comprising: first information for indicating a predicted user distribution in a first cell; selecting a beam set according to the first information, the beam set including some or all of the beams provided by the first cell; and transmitting the beams according to the beam set.

[0007] In one possible implementation, the method is performed by a first access network device or a module (such as a chip, chip system, software, or logic circuit) configured in (or used in) the first access network device. The following description uses the first access network device as an example.

[0008] The first cell is the area that provides services to the first access network device.

[0009] The communication method of this application embodiment includes a first information indicating a predicted user distribution, whereby the user distribution includes the user distribution in a first cell.

[0010] By selecting a beam set based on the first information, the first access network device can select beams with user distribution as the beam set and transmit the beams contained in the beam set, so as to provide services to terminal devices in the area covered by these beams. In this way, services can be provided on demand with a limited number of beams, so that the first cell can cover a greater distance and provide services to terminal devices in a larger area.

[0011] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first information is also used to indicate one or more of the following: the predicted signal quality of the first cell, the predicted amount of data to be transmitted by each user, the predicted air interface transmission delay for each user, and the predicted air interface transmission rate for each user. Signal quality can be reflected by information related to signal quality.

[0012] In conjunction with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the first information is further used to indicate one or more first correspondences, wherein any one first correspondence indicates one or more of the following: the first cell beam identifier corresponding to the first user identifier, information related to the signal quality of the first cell corresponding to the first user identifier, the amount of data to be transmitted corresponding to the first user identifier, the air interface transmission delay corresponding to the first user identifier, or the air interface transmission rate corresponding to the first user identifier. The signal quality-related information may include one or more of the following: signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), carrier-to-interference ratio (C / I), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), reference signal received power (RSRP), received signal strength indicator (RSSI), bit error rate (BER), channel quality indicator (CQI), frame error rate (FER), latency, or spectral efficiency.

[0013] In conjunction with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the first cell receives second information from its neighboring cells, the second information being used to indicate prediction information of the neighboring cells. The prediction information may include one or more of the following second correspondences: the first cell beam identifier corresponding to the second user identifier, information related to the signal quality of the first cell corresponding to the second user identifier, the amount of data to be transmitted corresponding to the second user identifier, the air interface transmission delay corresponding to the second user identifier, or the air interface transmission rate corresponding to the second user identifier.

[0014] It should be understood that the user distribution, signal quality, signal quality-related information, or beam identifier of the first cell mentioned above are used to explain the association between the user distribution, signal quality, signal quality-related information, or beam identifier and the first cell. In specific implementations, when the first information is used to indicate information, it may not indicate the concept of the first cell. The user distribution in the first cell can be understood as the distribution of any device that may access the first cell. Thus, when the first cell obtains the first information based on the second information, it can not only obtain the predicted user distribution of the first cell, but also obtain information related to the user's first cell signal quality, amount of data to be transmitted, air interface transmission delay, or air interface transmission rate based on the second information. When the first cell selects a beam set based on the first information, in addition to selecting beams based on the predicted user distribution of the first cell, it can also select beams based on the predicted user's first cell signal quality-related information and / or service demand-related information. Service demand-related information may include one or more of the following: amount of data to be transmitted, air interface transmission delay, or air interface transmission rate, thereby helping to select a more suitable beam set.

[0015] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the neighboring cells of the first cell include one or more second cells. The frequency of the second cells may be lower than the frequency of the first cell.

[0016] In this way, by taking advantage of the low frequency, wide coverage, and strong penetration of the second cell signal, it is possible to predict the distribution of users in the first cell over a larger area, the signal quality of the first cell, and the amount of data to be transmitted by more users, as well as user service needs such as air interface transmission delay or air interface transmission rate. This makes the prediction information obtained by the first cell richer and more accurate. The beam set selected by combining this information can enable the millimeter wave cell to more accurately cover a wider range of users, thereby improving the quality of user service transmission.

[0017] In conjunction with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the first cell obtains capability information from neighboring cells to determine whether the neighboring cells have the capability to predict user distribution. If some or all of the one or more second cells included in the neighboring cells have the capability to predict user distribution, the first cell instructs the neighboring cells to perform predictions, including predicting the user distribution of the first cell. The information obtained from the predictions by the second cells can be second information.

[0018] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the target model has the function of predicting the user distribution of the first cell. The way the first cell obtains capability information of neighboring cells may include: if it is determined that the second cell has a target model, then it is determined that the second cell has the capability to predict user distribution; and / or, if it is determined that the second cell does not have a target model, then it is determined that the second cell does not have the capability to predict user distribution.

[0019] In this way, the first cell can decide whether to instruct the second cell to make predictions based on the prediction capabilities of the second cell, and selectively execute predictions based on the capabilities of neighboring cells, making the prediction instructions more effective.

[0020] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first information is maintained in a beam information table, and the beam information table is maintained based on the second information. Specific methods may include adding, updating, and / or deleting. If a user identifier does not exist in the beam information table but exists in the second information, the corresponding relationship from the second information is added to the beam information table. If a user identifier exists in both the beam information table and the second information, the corresponding relationship from the second information is updated in the beam information table. Upon receiving a user deletion instruction, the corresponding relationship for the user identifier indicated in the user deletion instruction is deleted from the beam information table.

[0021] In this way, the first cell can obtain more accurate first information based on the second information, thereby improving the accuracy of beam selection by the first cell.

[0022] Furthermore, when the contents of the beam information table change, the first cell can reselect the beam set.

[0023] In this way, beam selection can change according to changes in the first information, and the selected beam set can be adjusted according to user distribution, signal quality-related information, and / or service demand-related information, making beam selection flexible and better covering users.

[0024] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first cell obtains a candidate beam set based on the first information, and the candidate beam set includes N beams. The process by which the first cell selects a beam set from the candidate beam set includes determining the number of beams M to be selected, where M can be a network preset value. When N is less than or equal to M, all N beams in the candidate beam set are selected to obtain the beam set. When N is greater than M, M beams are selected from the N beams in the candidate beam set to obtain the beam set.

[0025] In this way, the number of beams is limited by the network's preset M, which keeps the SSB channel overhead within a certain range and ensures the overall performance of the communication system.

[0026] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method of selecting M beams from N beams in the candidate beam set to obtain a beam set can be as follows: selecting M beams with high total user data volume from N beams to obtain a beam set; and / or selecting M beams with high average user transmission rate from N beams to obtain a beam set; and / or selecting M beams with low air interface transmission delay from N beams to obtain a beam set.

[0027] In this way, when selecting beams, in addition to considering user distribution, one or more of the following factors are also taken into account: the signal quality of each user's first cell, the amount of data each user is waiting to transmit, the air interface transmission delay for each user, and the air interface transmission rate for each user. This allows the selected beam set to better meet the user's needs. Combining user distribution with one of these predictive information factors, such as combining user distribution with the signal quality of each user's first cell, can result in better signal transmission quality for the selected beam set. For example, combining user distribution with the amount of data each user is waiting to transmit in the future can result in a higher total amount of data transmitted by the network in the future. Or, combining user distribution with the air interface transmission rate for each user can result in a higher average user transmission rate for the selected beam set. Or, combining user distribution with the air interface transmission delay for each user can result in a lower air interface transmission delay for the selected beam set. If we combine user distribution with multiple factors from these predictions, and simultaneously consider one or more of the following factors based on user distribution: the first cell signal quality of each user, the amount of data to be transmitted, the predicted air interface transmission delay of each user, and the predicted air interface transmission rate of each user, then we can meet one or more of the requirements for signal transmission quality, data transmission volume, transmission delay, and transmission rate.

[0028] Secondly, another communication method is provided, comprising: acquiring second information indicating a predicted user distribution, the user distribution including the user distribution in a first cell; and sending the second information to the first cell for the first cell to select a beam set based on the second information.

[0029] In one possible implementation, the method is performed by a second access network device or a module (such as a chip, chip system, software, or logic circuit) configured in (or used in) the second access network device. The following description uses a second access network device as an example.

[0030] The second cell serves the area of ​​the second access network equipment. In this way, the second cell can provide predictions of the user distribution in the first cell, allowing the first cell to select beam sets as needed. A similar effect can be referred to the first aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0031] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the second information is also used to indicate one or more of the following: the predicted first cell signal quality of each user, the predicted amount of data to be transmitted by each user, the predicted air interface transmission delay of each user, and the predicted air interface transmission rate of each user.

[0032] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the second information is acquired by the second cell, and the second information is used to indicate one or more of the following second correspondences predicted by the second cell: the first cell beam identifier corresponding to the second user identifier, information related to the signal quality of the first cell corresponding to the second user identifier, the amount of data to be transmitted corresponding to the second user identifier, the air interface transmission delay corresponding to the second user identifier, or the air interface transmission rate corresponding to the second user identifier.

[0033] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the frequency of the second cell is lower than the frequency of the first cell.

[0034] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the second information is obtained based on measurement information, which includes information obtained by one or more terminal devices performing synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel block (SSB) measurements in the second cell, information obtained by one or more terminal devices performing channel state-related information measurements in the second cell, and / or information obtained by one or more terminal devices performing SSB measurements in neighboring cells of the second cell.

[0035] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the measurement information includes information obtained by measurement triggered by a target event, the target event including: one or more terminal devices completing any of the following in the second cell: cell access procedure, handover access procedure, or re-access procedure; and / or, the measurement information includes information obtained by periodic measurement by one or more terminal devices accessing the second cell.

[0036] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the terminal device has the ability to access cells in a first frequency range and cells in a second frequency range, wherein the first frequency range includes the frequency range corresponding to the first cell and the second frequency range includes the frequency range corresponding to the second cell.

[0037] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, a target model is set in the second cell. The target model is used to predict one or more of the following: user distribution in the first cell, signal quality of each user in the first cell, amount of data to be transmitted by each user, air interface transmission delay of each user, or air interface transmission rate of each user. The second information is obtained by the second cell based on measurement information and the target model.

[0038] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, capability query information is received from the first cell, and based on the capability query information, the first cell is instructed to have the capability to predict one or more of the following information: user distribution in the first cell, first cell signal quality of each user, amount of data to be transmitted by each user, air interface transmission delay of each user, or air interface transmission rate of each user.

[0039] Thirdly, a communication device is provided. In one design, the device may include modules corresponding to the methods / operations / steps / actions described in the first aspect or any embodiment of the first aspect. These modules may be hardware circuits, software, or a combination of hardware circuits and software. In one design, the device includes: a processing unit for acquiring first information indicating a predicted user distribution in a first cell; an acquisition unit further for transmitting beams according to a beam set; and a processing unit further for selecting a beam set according to the first information, the beam set including some or all of the beams provided by the first cell. Optionally, the acquisition unit may be a transceiver unit.

[0040] Fourthly, a communication device is provided. In one design, the device may include modules corresponding to the methods / operations / steps / actions described in the second aspect or any of the embodiments of the second aspect. These modules may be hardware circuits, software, or a combination of hardware circuits and software. In one design, the device includes: a processing unit for acquiring second information, the second information indicating a predicted user distribution, the user distribution including the user distribution in a first cell; and a transceiver unit for transmitting the second information to the first cell, the first cell selecting a beamset based on the second information.

[0041] Fifthly, a communication device is provided, including a processor. The processor can implement the methods of the first to second aspects and any possible implementations thereof. Optionally, the communication device further includes a memory, and the processor is coupled to the memory and can be used to execute instructions in the memory to implement the methods of the first to second aspects and any possible implementations thereof. Optionally, the communication device further includes a communication interface, and the processor is coupled to the communication interface. In the embodiments of this application, the communication interface may be a transceiver, a pin, a circuit, a bus, a module, or other types of communication interface, and is not limited thereto.

[0042] In one implementation, the communication device is a communication equipment (such as a terminal device or access network equipment). When the communication device is a communication equipment, the communication interface can be a transceiver, or an input / output interface.

[0043] In another implementation, the communication device is a chip configured within a communication device. When the communication device is a chip configured within a communication device, the communication interface can be an input / output interface.

[0044] Optionally, the transceiver can be a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the input / output interface can be an input / output circuit.

[0045] A sixth aspect provides a processor, comprising: an input circuit, an output circuit, and a processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to receive signals through the input circuit and transmit signals through the output circuit, causing the processor to execute the methods described in the first to second aspects and any possible implementation thereof.

[0046] In specific implementation, the processor can be one or more chips, the input circuit can be input pins, the output circuit can be output pins, and the processing circuit can be transistors, gate circuits, flip-flops, and various logic circuits. The input signal received by the input circuit can be received and input by, for example, but not limited to, a receiver, and the signal output by the output circuit can be, for example, but not limited to, output to and transmitted by a transmitter. Furthermore, the input circuit and the output circuit can be the same circuit, which is used as both the input circuit and the output circuit at different times. This application does not limit the specific implementation of the processor and various circuits.

[0047] In a seventh aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided that stores a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions) that, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform the methods described in the first to second aspects and any possible implementation thereof.

[0048] Eighthly, a computer program product is provided, comprising: a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions) that, when run, causes a computer to perform the methods described in the first to second aspects and any possible implementation thereof.

[0049] A ninth aspect provides a communication system including a first communication device and a second communication device. The first communication device is used to perform the methods of the first aspect and any possible implementation thereof, and the second communication device is used to perform the methods of the second aspect and any possible implementation thereof. In some implementations, the first communication device includes a first access network device according to embodiments of this application, and the second communication device includes a second access network device according to embodiments of this application. Optionally, the communication system may further include at least one terminal.

[0050] It should be understood that the beneficial effects of the features corresponding to the first aspect in the second to ninth aspects can be referred to the relevant description of the first aspect above, and will not be repeated here. Attached Figure Description

[0051] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of the communication system provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0052] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of wide beam coverage;

[0053] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of narrow beam coverage;

[0054] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of another type of narrow beam coverage;

[0055] Figure 5 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0056] Figure 6 is another schematic flowchart of the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0057] Figure 7 is another schematic flowchart of the communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0058] Figure 8 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0059] Figure 9 is another schematic block diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0060] The technical solutions in the embodiments of this application will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0061] In the embodiments of this application, terms such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish identical or similar items with essentially the same function and effect. For example, the first value and the second value are only used to distinguish different values ​​and do not limit their order. Those skilled in the art will understand that terms such as "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity or execution order, and that terms such as "first" and "second" do not necessarily imply that they are different.

[0062] It should be noted that in the embodiments of this application, the words "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or explanations. Any embodiment or design scheme described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of this application should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or design schemes. Specifically, the use of the words "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a specific manner.

[0063] In this application embodiment, "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. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0064] In this application embodiment, "sending information" only indicates the direction of information transmission, including direct transmission via the device's communication interface (such as an air interface, or simply air interface). "Sending" can also be understood as the "output" of a module interface. "Sending" can include indirect transmission by the processing unit through the communication interface, that is, after the processing unit outputs information through the module interface, it is transmitted to the device's communication interface and then sent out. "Receiving information" only indicates the direction of information transmission, including direct reception via the communication interface. "Receiving" can also be understood as the "input" of a module interface. "Receiving information" can include indirect reception by the processing unit through the communication interface, that is, after the communication interface receives information, it is transmitted to the module interface of the processing unit and then input to the processing unit. "Sending information to... (e.g., a terminal)" can be understood as the destination of the information being a terminal. It can include sending information to a terminal directly or indirectly. "Receiving information from... (e.g., a terminal)" can be understood as the source of the information being a terminal, and can include receiving information from a terminal directly or indirectly. Information may undergo necessary processing between the source and destination of information transmission, such as format changes, but the destination can understand the valid information from the source. Similar expressions in the embodiments of this application can be understood in a similar way, and will not be repeated here.

[0065] The technical solutions of this application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, 5th Generation (5G) communication systems, satellite communication systems, Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) systems, as well as Open Radio Access Networks (O-RAN or ORAN), Cloud Radio Access Networks (CRAN), and communication systems that integrate two or more of the above systems. Furthermore, the solutions provided in this application can also be applied to future communication systems or other communication systems. This application does not limit these applications in this regard.

[0066] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system applicable to the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application. Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of a possible, non-limiting system architecture. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system may include multiple access network devices and multiple terminals (UEs in Figure 1). Access network devices communicate with each other via wired or wireless means. For example, in the case of wireless communication between access network devices, they can communicate with each other through the Xn interface in Figure 1. Multiple access network devices can be deployed at the same physical site, for example, access network device 1 and access network device 2 are deployed in the same equipment room. Multiple access network devices can also be deployed at different physical sites, for example, access network device 1 and access network device 3 are deployed in different equipment rooms. Access network devices can cover one or more cells, such as: access network device 1 covers cell 1, access network device 2 covers cell 2, and access network device 3 covers cells 3.1 and 3.2. Cells may overlap, for example, cell 1 overlaps with cell 2, cell 3.1, and cell 3.2. Access network equipment can support different frequency bands for communication. For example, access network equipment 1 supports the millimeter wave band, while access network equipment 2 and 3 support the sub-6GHz band. Terminals can camp in a cell and perform uplink and / or downlink transmissions with the access network equipment. Terminals can be located in overlapping areas of multiple cells. For example, if UE1 and UE2 are located in the overlapping area of ​​cell 1 and cell 2, access network equipment 1 and access network equipment 2 can cover terminals UE1 and UE2.

[0067] It should be noted that Figure 1 is merely an exemplary framework diagram, and the number of access network devices, terminals, cells, and connection states between devices included in Figure 1 are not limited. In addition to the devices shown in Figure 1, other network devices may also be included, such as core network devices, gateway devices, application servers, etc., without limitation. Access network devices communicate with core network devices via wired or wireless means, such as through next-generation (NG) interfaces.

[0068] Access network equipment is primarily used to implement at least one function of resource management and resource control for terminals, and is part of the communication system to help terminals achieve network access. Specifically, access network equipment can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB), a next-generation base station in a 6G mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system, etc. In this application embodiment, the device used to implement the function of the access network equipment can be the access network equipment itself; it can also be a device that supports the access network equipment in implementing this function, such as a chip system, which can be installed in the access network equipment or used in conjunction with the access network equipment. In the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application are described using the example of the device used to implement the function of the access network equipment being the access network equipment. Access network equipment and terminals are sometimes referred to as communication devices. For example, in Figure 1, the access network equipment can be understood as a communication device with base station functions, and the terminal can be understood as a communication device with terminal functions.

[0069] In one possible scenario, multiple access nodes collaborate to assist a terminal in achieving wireless access, with each access node performing a portion of the base station's functions. For example, an access node can be a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU), etc. The CU and DU can be configured separately or included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in radio frequency equipment or radio frequency units, such as a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0070] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU may have different names, but those skilled in the art will understand their meaning. For example, in an ORAN system, CU can also be called O-CU (open CU), DU can also be called O-DU, CU-CP can also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP can also be called O-CU-UP, and RU can also be called O-RU. For ease of description, this application uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU, and RU as examples in its embodiments. Any of the units among CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, and RU in the embodiments of this application can be implemented through software modules, hardware modules, or a combination of software modules and hardware modules.

[0071] A terminal can also be called a terminal device, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal, etc. Terminals can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grids, smart furniture, smart offices, smart wearables, smart transportation, smart cities, etc. Terminals can be mobile phones, tablets, computers with wireless transceiver capabilities, wearable devices, vehicles, drones, helicopters, airplanes, ships, robots, robotic arms, smart home devices, etc.

[0072] In this application embodiment, the terminal and / or access network device can be a hardware device, or a software function running on dedicated hardware or general-purpose hardware. For example, the terminal and / or access network device can be a virtualization function instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform), or an entity that includes dedicated or general-purpose hardware devices and software functions. This application embodiment does not limit the specific form of the terminal and / or access network device.

[0073] To better understand the methods provided in the embodiments of this application, the terms involved in the embodiments of this application will be briefly explained below.

[0074] 1. Sub-6G base station: A base station that can communicate using frequency bands below 6 GHz (Sub-6 GHz, also known as Sub-6G or sub6G). For example, the frequency band below 6 GHz can be Frequency Range 1 (FR1) in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) protocol, which includes the frequency range from 450 MHz to 6 GHz.

[0075] 2. Millimeter wave base station: A base station that uses millimeter wave frequency bands for communication. For example, the millimeter wave frequency band can be frequency range 2 (FR2) in the 3GPP protocol, which includes a frequency range from 24 GHz to 100 GHz.

[0076] 3. Carrier aggregation (CA): Carrier aggregation allows the combination of multiple component carrier (CC) frequency bands, enabling a total bandwidth of 100MHz or even higher, thereby significantly improving data throughput. Each carrier frequency band can be called a component carrier, and the bandwidth of a component carrier can, for example, include 5MHz, 10MHz, and / or 20MHz. By aggregating multiple component carriers, the device can obtain a larger total bandwidth. Carrier aggregation can be performed within the same frequency band (called "in-band aggregation") or between different frequency bands (called "inter-band aggregation"), providing flexibility in the utilization of spectrum resources.

[0077] 4. High- and low-frequency carrier aggregation terminal equipment: This can refer to user equipment that aggregates multiple component carriers from both high-frequency and low-frequency carrier bands. For example, high- and low-frequency carrier aggregation terminal equipment can have the capability to access both low-frequency (e.g., sub6G) base stations and high-frequency (millimeter-wave) base stations.

[0078] 5. Cell, Serving Cell, and Neighboring Cell: A cell refers to an area covered by a base station, which can be circular or fan-shaped. A cell can be the smallest coverage unit in a mobile communication system. A serving cell is the area where a cell currently providing service to a terminal is located. A neighboring cell, also known as a neighboring cell, refers to a cell adjacent to the current serving cell. In this embodiment, neighboring cells and serving cells can belong to the same base station coverage area, or they can belong to different base station coverage areas; there is no limitation.

[0079] 6. Beam: Refers to the shape of light, electromagnetic waves, or sound waves propagating in a specific direction within space. It can be used to describe the shape and direction of light, electromagnetic waves, or sound signals during transmission or reception. For example, antenna beam can refer to the shape and direction of the signal transmitted by an antenna.

[0080] 7. Beamwidth, Wide Beam, Narrow Beam: Beamwidth refers to the angular range of an antenna beam from its peak radiation intensity to half its power (the 3dB drop point). It can also be called 3dB beamwidth or half-power beamwidth, and is measured in degrees (°). In some cases, beamforming technology allows base stations to flexibly adjust beamwidth to adapt to different coverage areas and environmental conditions. Beamwidth affects the angular coverage of the beam. During beam scanning, the base station transmits multiple beams in different beam directions. The choice of beamwidth determines how many beams are needed to cover the entire area.

[0081] Wide beam refers to an antenna beam with a large beamwidth, which can cover a wider angular range. Such beams can cover a wider area, but the signal energy is more dispersed in space. The beamwidth of a wide beam can range from tens of degrees to more than 180 degrees. For example, the omnidirectional beam used by an omnidirectional base station can have a beamwidth of 360 degrees, or the sector beam used by a three-sector base station can have a beamwidth of 180 degrees.

[0082] Narrow beams refer to antenna beams with a small beamwidth, covering a narrow angular range. Such beams concentrate signal energy in a specific direction. For example, through beamforming technology, a base station can create a very narrow beamwidth. For narrow beams, the beamwidth may be in the range of a few degrees or even smaller, such as 6 degrees.

[0083] It is understood that wide beam and narrow beam are relative concepts. As long as the beamwidth of a wide beam is greater than that of a narrow beam, the specific beamwidth of wide beam and narrow beam is not limited in the embodiments of this application.

[0084] 8. Aggregate Maximum Bit Rate (AMBR): This refers to the maximum transmission rate of a terminal within a specific time period. For example, AMBR can be divided into aggregate maximum bit rate for a specific access point name (APN) (APN-AMBR) and aggregate maximum bit rate for user equipment (UE-AMBR). AMBR has a significant impact on the terminal's data transmission speed. Network traffic can be managed through AMBR parameters. When AMBR is limited, the uplink and downlink data transmission rates of the terminal within a specific time period will be reduced. For example, setting the AMBR of a terminal to 10Mbps means that the maximum uplink and downlink rates of the terminal will not exceed 10Mbps under any circumstances.

[0085] 9. Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) Beam: The beam corresponding to an SSB is called the SSB beam. The SSB includes the primary synchronization signal (PSS), secondary synchronization signal (SSS), physical broadcast channel (PBCH), and demodulation reference signal (DMRS) for PBCH. Access network equipment transmits SSB beams through the SSB channel. Each beam is configured with an SSB to achieve time and frequency synchronization between the terminal equipment and the access network equipment, enabling the terminal equipment to correctly decode downlink signals.

[0086] 10. Coverage Area: The coverage area of ​​a base station refers to the geographical area where the base station can effectively provide communication services to terminals. This area may be circular, elliptical, or irregular in shape, depending on factors such as terrain, buildings, and antenna directionality. Coverage area can be expressed by the angle and distance of coverage; for example, a base station may cover a horizontal angle of 120 degrees, a vertical angle of 60 degrees, and a coverage distance of 200 meters. A base station can provide communication services to terminals within its coverage area using beams from multiple beams in different directions.

[0087] 11. SSB Grid: Also known as the SSB channel grid, it describes the frequency and time distribution of SSB channels. An SSB grid can occupy a certain number of subcarriers (e.g., 20 subcarriers) in frequency and multiple orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols in time. The specific distribution of the SSB grid can be determined according to the network configuration. The SSB grid can be used to define the configuration of SSB channels, carrying the mapping of SSB physical channels on subcarriers and time slots.

[0088] For example, the SSB grid entries available for frequency bands listed in the 3GPP protocol. Table 1 shows the correspondence between the frequency band, subcarrier, SSB pattern, and global synchronization channel number (GSCN) range for each entry. Using the parameters listed in the SSB grid entries and the network configuration parameters, the time-domain and frequency-domain distribution of the SSB channel, as well as the time-domain and frequency-domain distribution of the SSB beam, can be determined.

[0089] Table 1. SSB grid entries (FR2) applicable to each operating frequency band

[0090] The terms that may be involved in the embodiments of this application have been explained above. The technical problems to be solved by the embodiments of this application will be described in detail below.

[0091] First, referring to Figures 2 to 4, the beam coverage of the access network equipment in this application embodiment will be explained using the horizontal angle and coverage distance as examples.

[0092] Millimeter waves offer higher speeds, greater capacity, and lower latency communication services due to their abundant frequency resources and large bandwidth. However, their short wavelengths and high frequencies result in high penetration and path losses, leading to insufficient coverage for base stations using millimeter wave bandwidth.

[0093] For example, referring to Figure 2, the coverage range of a beam is illustrated using the horizontal angle and coverage distance as examples. The access network device uses a wide beam to cover an area with a horizontal angle of 120°. When a single beam covers an angle of 15°, the coverage distance can reach 150 meters, requiring 8 beams.

[0094] To address the issue of insufficient coverage by millimeter-wave base stations, one feasible approach is to employ massive multiple input multiple output (MIMO) technology. This involves using a larger antenna array and combining it with a superior beamforming algorithm to generate a narrower beam. By improving the signal-to-noise ratio at the terminal, long-distance transmission of millimeter waves can be achieved, thereby increasing the coverage distance of millimeter-wave base stations.

[0095] For example, in 5G Sub-6G frequency band networks, the massive MIMO equipment used in base stations typically has 128 to 256 antenna elements, with the mainstream 64T64R AAU antenna consisting of 192 antenna elements. Due to the high frequency and short wavelength of millimeter waves, it is advantageous to place more antenna elements in the same volume of equipment. The number of antenna elements in 5G millimeter wave base stations can reach 512, 1024, or even more. By continuously increasing the number of antenna elements in millimeter wave base stations, the coverage gap between millimeter wave base stations and Sub-6G base stations can be gradually shortened, ultimately bringing their coverage distances closer together.

[0096] For example, referring to Figure 3, the coverage range of a beam is illustrated using the horizontal angle and coverage distance as examples. Access network equipment uses beamforming and other technologies to narrow the beam width. When a single beam covers an angle of 6°, the coverage distance increases, reaching up to 300 meters. To cover an area with a horizontal angle of 120° using a narrow beam, 20 beams are required. Understandably, by narrowing the beam width and increasing the number of beams, the coverage distance is increased while maintaining the coverage angle, thus achieving the goal of expanding the coverage area.

[0097] However, when massive MIMO technology improves coverage distance, a narrower beam requires a greater number of beams to achieve angular coverage. This increase in beam count leads to increased SSB channel overhead, affecting the available resources of the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), and consequently impacting the overall average downlink throughput.

[0098] For example, Table 2 shows the partial time-domain distribution of 16-beam and 64-beam systems. As shown in Table 2, the SSB configuration period is 20ms. One frame (10ms) includes 10 subframes (1ms), and one subframe includes one slot. Each slot can include 14 OFDM symbols. Slot identifier D indicates that the slot contains only downlink symbols and is also known as a DL-only slot. Slot identifier S indicates that the slot is a special subframe and can contain three fields: downlink pilot time slot (DwPTS), guard period (GP), and uplink pilot time slotUp (PTS), used for switching uplink and downlink transmissions. Slot identifier U indicates that the slot contains only uplink symbols and is also known as a UL-only slot. The number of beam SSBs increased from 16 to 64, and the SSB channel overhead increased from 12.3% to 49.2%. Under a typical SSB configuration period (20ms), the available PDSCH channel resources decreased by about 20%.

[0099] Table 2. Partial temporal distribution of 16-beam and 64-beam systems.

[0100] Therefore, the number of beams needs to be limited to a certain range. For example, the maximum number of SSB beams in the millimeter-wave frequency domain can be specified as 64. While expanding the antenna array using massive MIMO technology can effectively improve the coverage of the PDSCH data channel when the number of beams is limited, it cannot effectively increase the number of SSB beams. This means that once a certain number of antenna elements is reached, further increasing the number of antenna elements will not improve the coverage of the SSB channel.

[0101] Understandably, when the number of beams is limited, using narrow beams to increase coverage distance may result in some angles being uncovered. For example, the number of beams is limited to 8. Referring to Figure 4, with a sector angle of 120 degrees, each beam covers an angle of 6 degrees, and the coverage distance is 300 meters. Selecting 8 beams from Figure 3 results in a cumulative coverage angle of 48°, leaving some angles uncovered.

[0102] If the user distribution in the area corresponding to Figure 3 (120° sector, 300-meter distance) can be obtained in advance, for example, if the users are distributed in the areas of beams 1, 2, 8, 11, 15, 17, and 20, then selecting these beams in Figure 4 will enable the access network equipment to provide services to users in the area corresponding to Figure 3 (120° sector, 300-meter distance). This can be understood as the coverage range of the access network equipment being 120° sector, 300 meters. This allows for an increase in the coverage range of the access network equipment by using narrow beams.

[0103] In view of this, embodiments of this application provide a communication method, apparatus, and system that can select beams based on predictive information related to beam user distribution, which helps to enable on-demand beam transmission to locations with user distribution, thereby improving the coverage of millimeter-wave base stations.

[0104] The following describes in detail the communication method provided by the embodiments of this application with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments of this application can be applied to the communication system shown in Figure 1 above.

[0105] The following describes in detail the communication method based on the communication system shown in Figure 1, with reference to Figures 5 to 7. The embodiments shown in this application illustrate the communication method provided by this application from the perspective of device interaction. The specific forms and quantities of the devices shown are merely examples and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation of the method provided in this application. Below, taking the first access network device and the second access network device as the execution subjects, the communication method of the embodiments of this application will be described in detail.

[0106] It should be understood that the communication system in Figure 1 can be a high-frequency or low-frequency independent network communication system. For example, the first access network device and the second access network device can both be high-frequency access network devices, or both can be low-frequency access network devices. The communication system in Figure 1 can also be a high-frequency and low-frequency cooperative network communication system. For example, the first access network device and the second access network device can be one high-frequency access network device and the other low-frequency access network device. For ease of description, the following embodiments will use the example of the first access network device including a high-frequency millimeter-wave base station device and the second access network device including a low-frequency Sub-6G base station device. In this way, in the scenario of high-frequency and low-frequency cooperative networking, the high-frequency millimeter-wave base station device and the low-frequency Sub-6G base station device can coexist in the same network area, and can share physical sites or not.

[0107] Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. The method shown in Figure 5 can be applied to the communication system of Figure 1. The device executing the method shown in Figure 5 can be a first access network device or a second access network device. The first access network device can be, for example, access network device 1 in Figure 1, and the second access network device can be, for example, access network device 2 and access network device 3 in Figure 1. The method may include the following steps:

[0108] S501. Select a beam set based on the first information, the first information being used to indicate the predicted user distribution, the user distribution including the user distribution in the first cell, and the beam set including some or all of the beams provided by the first cell.

[0109] S502, Send beams according to beam set.

[0110] In this embodiment, the first information used to indicate the predicted user distribution can be understood as indicating the user distribution in the first cell, where the user distribution in the first cell is predicted, not actually measured. User distribution can also be understood as UE distribution; of course, user distribution can also be understood as the distribution of any device that may access the first cell, without limitation.

[0111] For example, the first information can be used to indicate the beam identifiers in the first cell where user distribution is predicted to exist. This allows beams with user distribution to be transmitted on demand, enabling service to a wider range of users with a limited number of beams.

[0112] It is understandable that among beams with user distribution, some users may not meet the conditions for accessing the first cell. In such cases, the beam containing these users may not be transmitted subsequently, thereby further improving the accuracy of on-demand beam transmission. Alternatively, there may be situations where users are distributed across multiple beams, requiring the selection of users who genuinely need access to the first cell and prioritizing their beam transmission.

[0113] Therefore, optionally, the first information can also be used to indicate one or more of the following: the predicted first cell signal quality for each user, the predicted amount of data to be transmitted for each user, the predicted air interface transmission delay for each user, and the predicted air interface transmission rate for each user. The amount of data to be transmitted for each user can be used to reflect the amount of data that each user may transmit in the future. The air interface transmission delay for each user can be used to reflect the delay requirements of each user in air interface transmission in the future; for example, the lower the delay requirement, the more priority is needed to transmit the beam. The air interface transmission rate for each user can also be used to reflect the rate requirements of each user in air interface transmission in the future; for example, the higher the rate requirement, the more priority is needed to transmit the beam.

[0114] It is understandable that the first information can indicate the situation of multiple users in multiple beams. Therefore, it can be interpreted as the first information being used to indicate one or more first correspondences. The first correspondence is used to explain the association between each user and the information corresponding to each user. In specific implementation, it is not necessary to write the concept of correspondence.

[0115] For example, any one of the first correspondences is used to indicate one or more of the following: the first cell beam identifier corresponding to the first user identifier, information related to the signal quality of the first user corresponding to the first user identifier, the amount of data to be transmitted corresponding to the first user identifier, the air interface transmission delay corresponding to the first user identifier, or the air interface transmission rate corresponding to the first user identifier.

[0116] Here, the first user identifier can be understood as the identifier of any user who is predicted to be able to access the first cell. The number of predicted users corresponds to the number of first correspondences. In some possible implementations, the first correspondence may also include the first user identifier.

[0117] When the first information indicates information related to signal quality, users with poor signal quality can be removed when predicting user distribution in the future, or it can be understood that users with poor signal quality are not included in the user distribution, because users with poor signal quality are unlikely to be able to access the first cell.

[0118] For example, signal quality-related information includes one or more of the following: signal-to-interference-to-noise ratio (SINR), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), reference signal received power (RSRP), received signal strength indication (RSSI), or spectral efficiency.

[0119] Frequency efficiency refers to the amount of information that can be transmitted within a given spectrum of resources. Frequency efficiency can be measured in bits per second per hertz (bps / Hz), representing how many bits of data can be transmitted within a 1 Hz bandwidth. Alternatively, spectral efficiency can also be understood as the amount of useful signal data transmitted per unit time and unit frequency.

[0120] The amount of data to be sent corresponding to the first user identifier can be understood as the amount of data that the user may send in the future.

[0121] In summary, the first information can be used to indicate relevant information in the predicted first cell, which can be used for subsequent beam selection to achieve on-demand beam transmission. For ease of description, the embodiments of this application will subsequently refer to one or more of the contents indicated by the first information as prediction information.

[0122] The device used to predict the forecast information for the first cell may be a base station corresponding to the first cell, or it may not be a base station corresponding to the first cell. For example, the base station corresponding to the first cell may include a high-frequency base station, such as a millimeter-wave base station, in which case the user distribution of the first cell may be predicted by the millimeter-wave base station, etc. Alternatively, the forecast information for the first cell may also be from other low-frequency base stations capable of communicating with the millimeter-wave base station, such as a Sub-6G base station, in which case the forecast information for the first cell may be predicted by the Sub-6G base station, etc.

[0123] The method by which the device predicts the prediction information in the first cell is not limited in the embodiments of this application. For example, the device can predict the prediction information in the first cell based on historical prediction information in various communication scenarios. Alternatively, the device can predict the prediction information in the first cell based on the movement of users in neighboring cells. For instance, based on the movement speed and direction of users in neighboring cells, the device can predict the location where a user will soon access the first cell, thereby predicting the prediction information in the first cell. Alternatively, the device can predict the prediction information in the first cell based on a model. For example, the model can predict the prediction information in the first cell based on information related to the channel state actually measured by the terminal accessing the network.

[0124] In this embodiment, the first information may be obtained by the base station corresponding to the first cell based on its own prediction of the prediction information. Alternatively, the first information may be further obtained by the base station of the first cell based on prediction information obtained from other base stations; this is not limited. The specific implementation of obtaining the first information will be illustrated in detail in the embodiments corresponding to Figures 6 and 7, and will not be elaborated upon here.

[0125] In this embodiment of the application, the number and type of beams provided by the first cell can be determined by the capability of the base station corresponding to the first cell. For example, when the base station corresponding to the first cell is a millimeter-wave base station, the number of beams provided by the first cell can be less than or equal to 64, and the type of beams provided by the first cell can include narrow beams or wide beams.

[0126] Selecting a beam set based on the first information can be understood as selecting beams with predicted user distribution in the first cell to obtain a beam set. Alternatively, it can be selecting beams with predicted user distribution in the first cell, where the signal quality of these users meets the signal quality requirements, to obtain a beam set. The beams in the beam set can all be narrow beams, all be wide beams, or a combination of both. For example, if the number of beams with predicted information in the first cell is less than or equal to the maximum number of narrow beams the first cell can provide, the beams in the beam set can all be narrow beams. Or, if the number of beams with predicted information in the first cell is greater than the maximum number of narrow beams the first cell can provide, the beams in the beam set can include some narrow beams and some wide beams. Or, if the number of beams with predicted information in the first cell is much greater than the maximum number of narrow beams the first cell can provide, the beams in the beam set can all be wide beams. It is understood that the implementation of the beam types in the beam set can be adapted to the hardware conditions such as the antenna array of the base station corresponding to the first cell and is not limited.

[0127] In one possible implementation, selecting a beam set based on the first information includes: obtaining a candidate beam set based on the first information, the candidate beam set including N beams; selecting N beams to obtain a beam set when N is less than or equal to M; or selecting M beams from the N beams to obtain a beam set when N is greater than M; wherein M is a preset value.

[0128] For example, based on the indication of the first information, beams with beam traffic greater than 0 can be selected to obtain a candidate beam set. Here, a beam traffic greater than 0 can be understood as the prediction that there are users on this beam, and these users may perform uplink and / or downlink transmission services in the future.

[0129] For example, as shown in Table 3, the first information indicates user distribution. Among beams 1 to 9, the number of users corresponding to beams 6 and 8 is 0, that is, there is no user distribution, and the corresponding beam traffic is 0. The selected candidate beam set is beams 1 to 5, beam 7, and beams 9 to 10.

[0130] Table 3. One form of expression for user distribution.

[0131] Optionally, the number of users and user identifiers corresponding to a beam identifier can be determined based on signal quality-related information. Users who meet the signal quality requirements can be included in the user distribution of that beam. For example, the value range of the signal quality-related information of the user in the first cell can be used to determine whether a user corresponds to a beam identifier. For example, a value range of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) greater than or equal to 6 dB can be set, and users with an SNR greater than or equal to 6 dB can be included in the user distribution corresponding to the user identifier in Table 3, such as the number of users and / or user identifiers in Table 3. As shown in Table 4, the user identifiers detected in beam identifier 1 include UE1 to UE8, but only UE1 to UE5 have an SNR greater than or equal to 6 dB. Therefore, the user distribution of beam identifier 1 corresponds to user number 5 and user identifiers UE1 to UE5. Alternatively, the user distribution can be determined based on one or more of the signal quality-related information and a set range or rule. For example, if the rule is set to include a user in the user distribution when the SNR is greater than 6 dB and the RSSI is higher than -70 dBm, then the user distribution of beam identifier 1 corresponds to user number 2 and user identifiers UE2 and UE4.

[0132] Table 4 shows the signal quality information corresponding to beam identifier 1.

[0133] Taking a candidate beam set containing N beams as an example, if N is less than or equal to M, all N beams can be selected, resulting in a beam set containing those N beams. Alternatively, if N is less than or equal to M, N beams with predicted user distributions and the other MN beams are selected, resulting in a beam set containing M beams. Here, M can be a preset value or determined by the first access network device through pre-configured rules and network parameters.

[0134] For example, M can be any value less than or equal to the beam count threshold, which may include, for example, the maximum number of beams that the first cell can provide. It is understood that the value of M can be uniform for any cell; that is, regardless of which cell's beam set is selected, M is the same value. Alternatively, the value of M can also be determined based on the number of beam overheads and / or the cell coverage distance for each cell, thus the value of M can be different for each cell.

[0135] For example, with a preset value M equal to 10, based on the user distribution in Table 3, all 8 beams in the candidate beam set can be selected to obtain a beam set, including: beams 1 to 5, beam 7, and beams 9 to 10. Alternatively, in addition to selecting all 8 beams in the candidate beam set, two more beams can be selected, and the 10 beams together form a beam set.

[0136] When N is greater than M, selecting M beams from N beams yields a beam set, which includes M beams. For example, M beams can be arbitrarily selected from N beams, and the first cell can subsequently provide services to users of those M beams. Optionally, selecting M beams from N beams to obtain a beam set can include at least the following four implementation methods:

[0137] Method 1: Select M beams with the most users from N beams to obtain a beam set. This allows for priority service to users in areas where users are concentrated.

[0138] For example, if the preset value M equals 4, the four beams with the most users in the candidate beam set are selected as the beam set. For instance, based on the user distribution in Table 3, the four beams with the most users in the candidate beam set are selected as the beam set, namely beam 4, beam 5, beam 7, and beam 10.

[0139] Method 2: Select the M beams with the highest total user data volume from the N beams to obtain a beam set. For example, select the top M beams with the largest total user data volume from the N beams sorted by total user data volume. This allows for priority service to users in locations where a large data transmission demand is predicted.

[0140] For example, if the preset value M equals 4, the four beams with the largest total user data volume are selected from the candidate beam set as the beam set. For instance, based on the total amount of user data to be transmitted in Table 3, four beams with high total amounts of data to be transmitted are selected as the beam set, namely beam 4, beam 9, beam 1, and beam 5.

[0141] Method 3: Select the M beams with the highest average user transmission rate from the N beams to obtain a beam set. For example, select the top M beams with the highest transmission rate from the N beams sorted by transmission rate. This allows for priority service to users in locations where higher transmission rate demand is predicted.

[0142] For example, if the preset value M equals 4, four beams with high average user transmission rates are selected from the candidate beam set as the beam set. For instance, four beams with high average user transmission rates are selected as the beam set according to Table 3, namely, beams 4, 9, 3, and 1.

[0143] Method 4: Select the M beams with the lowest air interface transmission delay from the N beams to obtain a beam set. For example, select the top M beams with the lowest air interface transmission delay requirements from the N beams sorted according to their air interface transmission delay requirements to obtain a beam set. In this way, services can be prioritized for users in locations where lower air interface transmission delay requirements are predicted.

[0144] For example, if the preset value M equals 4, four beams with low average user latency are selected from the candidate beam set as the beam set. For instance, according to the average user latency in Table 3, four beams with low values ​​are selected as the beam set, namely beam 7, beam 4, beam 1, and beam 3.

[0145] It is understood that the above four methods can be combined. For example, M beams with high total user data volume and low air interface transmission latency can be selected from N beams to obtain a beam set. Alternatively, M beams with high total user data volume and high average user transmission rate can be selected from N beams to obtain a beam set. Alternatively, M beams with low air interface transmission latency and high average user transmission rate can be selected from N beams to obtain a beam set. When selecting M beams from N beams, considering multiple pieces of information, the weight and selection strategy of each piece of information are not limited. In the embodiments of this application, the beams may include SSB beams, and the beams transmitted according to the beam set may include, for example, each SSB beam in the time-division transmission beam set.

[0146] In this way, when transmitting beams according to the beam set, beams can be sent to locations with user distribution to meet the users' access network needs. Conversely, beams can be left untransmitted to locations without user distribution, thus enabling on-demand beam transmission. This allows a limited number of beams to serve a wider range of users, thereby improving the coverage of the first cell.

[0147] The on-demand transmission process has been explained above with reference to Figure 5. In the embodiment shown in Figure 5, the entity receiving the prediction information can be either the first access network device or the second access network device, without limitation. The following, with reference to Figure 6, illustrates the interaction flow of the first access network device receiving prediction information from the second access network device. The method includes:

[0148] S601. The first access network device queries the capability information of the neighboring cells of the first cell.

[0149] In this embodiment, the neighboring cells of the first cell may include cells served by the first access network device, or cells served by other access network devices. These other access network devices may include any one or more access network devices capable of communicating with the first access network device. The first access network device can obtain the neighboring cells of the first cell based on the configuration of neighboring cells, etc., without limitation.

[0150] The number of neighboring cells can be one or more, and the number of access network devices corresponding to neighboring cells can also be one or more, without limitation. For example, neighboring cells can include at least one second cell. For instance, the first cell is cell 1 in Figure 1, and the second cells are cells 2, 3.1, and 3.2 in Figure 1. The neighboring cells of cell 1 are cells 2, 3.1, and 3.2.

[0151] Optionally, the frequency of the second cell can be lower than that of the first cell. In this way, the second cell can correspond to low-frequency access network equipment, and the second cell can have a larger coverage area. Subsequently, by predicting the information in the first cell through the second cell, more accurate results can be obtained.

[0152] The capability information of neighboring cells can be used to indicate whether neighboring cells have the capability to predict the prediction information as described in the embodiment of Figure 5. It is understood that among the at least one second cell included in the neighboring cells, some second cells may have the capability to obtain prediction information, while others may not. Alternatively, at least one second cell may have the capability to obtain prediction information.

[0153] In one possible implementation, taking the base station corresponding to at least one second cell as the second access network device as an example, the number of second access network devices can be one or more. The first access network device obtaining capability information of neighboring cells may include: the first access network device sending information to one or more second access network devices to query the capability information of neighboring cells, and the first access network device receiving response information from one or more second access network devices. The response information may be used to indicate that at least one second cell has the capability to obtain prediction information, or it may be used to indicate that at least one second cell does not have the capability to obtain prediction information.

[0154] Optionally, capability information can be indicated in the form of a function list, parameter set, information elements in a message, feature identifier, version identifier, signaling message, or configuration file, without limitation.

[0155] S602, the second access network device sends a reply message to the first access network device. Accordingly, the first access network device can obtain information on whether neighboring cells have the capability to obtain prediction information.

[0156] In one possible implementation, the prediction information is obtained through the second access network device corresponding to the second cell. If the second access network device for the second cell contains a target model capable of obtaining the prediction information, then the second cell has the ability to predict the user distribution of the first cell. If the second access network device for the second cell does not contain a target model, then the second cell does not have the ability to predict the user distribution of the first cell.

[0157] The target model can be any model capable of obtaining prediction information based on the measurement information, without any limitations. The measurement information can be obtained by one or more terminal devices accessing the second cell. For example, the measurement information includes: information obtained by one or more terminal devices performing SSB measurements in the second cell, information obtained by one or more terminal devices performing channel state-related information measurements in the second cell, and / or information obtained by one or more terminal devices performing SSB measurements in neighboring cells of the second cell, etc. The specific content of the measurement information will be described in detail in subsequent steps and will not be repeated here.

[0158] For example, the target model can be trained in the following manner: The second cell periodically selects several terminal devices accessing the second cell, collects the aforementioned measurement information measured by the terminal devices in the second cell, and simultaneously, the first cell transmits millimeter-wave signals, enabling the terminal devices to obtain the actual measurement results of the first cell while simultaneously receiving the aforementioned measurement information from the second cell. The aforementioned measurement information from the second cell is then used as input samples, and the actual measurement results of the first cell are used as labels to train the target model. The actual measurement results of the first cell may include, for example, the content of any of the aforementioned first correspondences, which will not be elaborated further.

[0159] In this embodiment, a first access network device can send information indicating a target model to at least one second access network device. If a target model is configured in the second access network device, the second access network device can indicate in a response message that it has the capability to obtain prediction information. If no target model is configured in the second access network device, the second access network device can indicate in a response message that it does not have the capability to obtain prediction information.

[0160] S603. The first access network device controls whether to initiate prediction based on the capability information of the second access network device.

[0161] S604, instructs the second access network device to perform prediction.

[0162] In this embodiment of the application, the first access network device may control whether to start prediction in the following way: if some or all of the second cells included in the neighboring cells of the first cell have the ability to predict the user distribution of the first cell, the neighboring cells may be instructed to predict the user distribution of the first cell.

[0163] For example, all second cells in a neighboring cell have the ability to predict the user distribution of the first cell, and the first access network device instructs all second cells to perform the prediction. In this way, more comprehensive prediction information can be obtained.

[0164] Alternatively, some of the second cells in the adjacent cells have the ability to predict the user distribution of the first cell, and the first access network device instructs one or more of the second cells with the prediction capability to perform the prediction.

[0165] The prediction process performed by the second access network device corresponding to the second cell may include S605 to S607.

[0166] S605, The second access network device instructs the terminal device to perform a measurement.

[0167] S606. The terminal device sends measurement information to the second access network device, and the second access network device receives the measurement information accordingly.

[0168] In this embodiment, the number of second access network devices corresponding to at least one second cell can be one or more, and the number of terminal devices accessing any second cell can be one or more. When there are multiple terminal devices accessing any second cell, the second access network devices can instruct the multiple terminal devices to perform measurements. It should be noted that, for ease of description, multiple terminal devices and multiple second access network devices are not shown in Figure 6, and this illustration does not constitute a limitation on the quantity.

[0169] After one or more terminal devices perform measurements, the measurement information of the one or more terminal devices can be obtained, and the one or more terminal devices can send the measurement information to the second access network device.

[0170] For example, the measurement information includes information obtained by one or more terminal devices performing Synchronization Signal / Physical Broadcast Channel Block (SSB) measurements in the second cell, information obtained by one or more terminal devices performing channel state-related information measurements in the second cell, and / or information obtained by one or more terminal devices performing SSB measurements in neighboring cells of the second cell.

[0171] The second cell can be the serving cell of one or more terminal devices. The measurement information obtained by each terminal device accessing the second cell may include: information obtained from SSB measurement and / or information obtained from channel state-related information measurement. For example, the first cell can be cell 1 in Figure 1, and the second cell can be cell 2 in Figure 1. Cell 2 is a neighboring cell of cell 1 and is the serving cell of UE1 and UE2.

[0172] Channel state information may include, for example, one or more of the following: a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), by which channel state information can be obtained by measuring this signal, and / or a sounding reference signal (SRS), which is used in wireless communication systems to help the base station obtain channel state information. Channel state information may also include state information of various other physical channels, such as the tracking reference signal (TRS), physical broadcast channel (PBCH), PDSCH, physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), and physical random access channel (PRACH) state information.

[0173] For example, Table 5 shows one form of measurement information. The measurement information is granular at the user level, and a single measurement information piece can include information from multiple cells measured by that user. For each cell, one or more of the following can be measured: physical cell identifier, subcarrier spacing, bandwidth, and one or more beam-related information. The beam-related information can be signal quality related information.

[0174] Table 5. One possible form of measurement information acquired by a terminal device.

[0175] In this embodiment of the application, the second access network device may instruct one or more terminal devices to perform measurements in at least the following two ways:

[0176] Method 1: Trigger the terminal device to measure based on the target event to obtain measurement information.

[0177] For example, the target event may include when one or more terminal devices in the second cell complete any of the following: cell access procedure, handover access procedure, or re-access procedure.

[0178] Method 2: Instruct one or more terminal devices in the second cell to perform periodic measurements. The specific value of the period is not limited; after the period interval is reached, one or more terminal devices in the second cell can perform the measurement.

[0179] Optionally, the terminal device may have the ability to access cells in a first frequency range and cells in a second frequency range. The first frequency range includes the frequency range corresponding to the first cell, and the second frequency range includes the frequency range corresponding to the second cell. The terminal device may achieve the ability to access multiple frequency ranges through carrier aggregation technology, dual connectivity technology, etc. The frequency range may be a combination of frequency bands defined in the 3GPP protocol. For example, the frequency ranges supported by UE1 to UE5 and cells 1 to 3 in Figure 1 are shown in Table 6. The first frequency range may include a frequency range of 26500MHz-29500MHz, and the second frequency range may include a frequency range of 2515MHz-2615MHz, 2615MHz-2675MHz, and / or 4800MHz-4900MHz. UE1 has the ability to access cells 1 and 2, and UE4 has the ability to access cells 1 and 3.1.

[0180] Table 6. Frequency ranges supported by a possible cell and terminal device.

[0181] It is understandable that when a terminal device sends measurement information to a second access network device, this measurement information may also be called a measurement report. Measurement information can be sent to the second cell via radio resource control (RRC) messages, for example. Measurement information can also be sent to the second cell via medium access control (MAC) layer signaling, a method suitable for scenarios requiring low latency. Measurement information can also be sent to the second cell via CSI reports. Measurement information can also be sent to the second cell via the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), or Sound Reference Signal (SRS).

[0182] S607, the second access network device predicts and obtains the second information.

[0183] In this embodiment, the second information can be used to indicate the prediction information of the first cell. It is understood that any second access network device may receive measurement information from multiple terminal devices, and the second access network device can predict the second information based on the measurement information from the multiple terminal devices.

[0184] For example, the prediction information may include one or more of the following: predicted user distribution, predicted first cell signal quality for each user, predicted amount of data to be transmitted for each user, predicted air interface transmission delay for each user, and predicted air interface transmission rate for each user.

[0185] Optionally, the second information is used to indicate one or more of the following second correspondences predicted by the second cell: the first cell beam identifier corresponding to the second user identifier, information related to the signal quality of the first cell corresponding to the second user identifier, the amount of data to be transmitted corresponding to the second user identifier, the air interface transmission delay corresponding to the second user identifier, or the air interface transmission rate corresponding to the second user identifier. In some possible implementations, the second correspondence may also include the second user identifier.

[0186] The specific content of the second information can be referred to the description of the specific content of the first information, and will not be repeated here. The second information differs from the first information in that the first information can be: information obtained by the first access network device corresponding to the first cell from the second information collected from one or more second access network devices. The second information can be: predictive information from a second access network device.

[0187] In this embodiment, the second access network device corresponding to the second cell can acquire the second information through artificial intelligence methods. For example, the second information can be obtained by the second access network device based on measurement information and a target model. For instance, the second access network device can use some or all of the information in the measurement information as feature input, using beam identifiers and beam quality information as labels, and obtain the second information through the target model. The second access network device can also acquire the second information through configuration, for example, by having a correspondence table between measurement information and second information elements. Alternatively, the second access network device can acquire the second information by calculating it from the measurement information using a calculation formula, without limitation.

[0188] Understandably, the terminal devices indicated by the second access network device in S605 and S606 may be the same as or different from the users predicted in S607 (e.g., including terminal devices). For example, the user distribution, signal quality-related information, and / or user service demand-related information of one or more second terminal devices may be predicted based on one or more first terminal devices.

[0189] S608, The second access network device sends the second information to the first access network device.

[0190] In this way, the first access network device can select a beam set for the first cell based on the second information.

[0191] For example, when the second access network device corresponding to the second cell sends second information to the first access network device corresponding to the first cell, it can send it through the Xn interface. The Xn interface may include, for example, a control plane interface (Xn Control Plane, Xn-C) and a user plane interface (Xn User Plane, Xn-U), and the second access network device can send information to the first access network device through Xn-C and / or Xn-U.

[0192] It should be noted that after S608, the first access network device can maintain the first information based on the second information, and perform beam set selection, etc. In some scenarios, the first access network device can also receive information from the core network device instructing users to delete information. This user deletion information can indicate that some users in the second information have deleted their information, so that deleted users will not participate in the subsequent beam set selection, making the beam set selection more accurate. In other words, S609 and S610 are optional steps.

[0193] S609. The second access network device receives user deletion information from the core network device.

[0194] S610, the second access network device sends a user deletion instruction message to the first access network device.

[0195] Understandably, when a user experiences a dropped call, failed re-establishment, or handover, the core network equipment can send a Release message to indicate to the second access network equipment that a user has been deleted. The Release message can be understood as user deletion information, which may include, for example, the identifier of the user to be deleted and other user information.

[0196] Optionally, upon receiving user deletion information from the core network device, the second access network device can update the second information. For example, the second access network device can re-perform the prediction, without relying on the information related to the deleted users, thus updating the second information.

[0197] Understandably, the second access network device can obtain user deletion instruction information based on the user deletion information sent by the core network. For example, it can obtain information such as user identifier, cell identifier, beam identifier, or beam strength from the user deletion information, process it, and obtain user deletion instruction information.

[0198] Alternatively, the second access network device may not process the user deletion information and forward the user deletion information sent by the core network device as user deletion instruction information to the first access network device.

[0199] In this embodiment, the second access network device can send user deletion instruction information to the first access network device through signaling messages, information elements in the messages, identifiers, configuration files, etc. The user deletion instruction information may include a user identifier, as well as a user deletion command and other parameters, such as the user's AMBR and delete identifier.

[0200] S611. Maintain the first information based on the second information and / or the user deletion instruction information.

[0201] In one possible implementation, the first access network device can maintain the first information in a beam information table. Obtaining the first information based on the second information may include: if the second information includes a user identifier not present in the beam information table, adding a correspondence between the second information and the user identifier not present in the beam information table to the beam information table; and / or, if the second information includes a user identifier present in the beam information table, updating the correspondence between the second information and the user identifier present in the beam information table to the beam information table.

[0202] Optionally, after receiving the user deletion instruction information, the first access network device updates the first information according to the user deletion instruction information. For example, upon receiving the user deletion instruction information, the first access network device deletes the corresponding relationship related to the user identifier indicated in the user deletion instruction from its beam information table.

[0203] In this embodiment of the application, the first access network device can perform a beam set selection once each time the beam information table changes.

[0204] S612. The first access network device selects a beam set according to the first information, the first information being used to indicate the predicted user distribution in the first cell, the beam set including some or all of the beams provided by the first cell.

[0205] The specific implementation of the first access network device selecting a beam set based on the first information is illustrated in detail in the embodiment corresponding to Figure 5, and will not be repeated here.

[0206] Optionally, the first access network device can perform a beam set selection when the content of the first information changes.

[0207] S613, The first cell of the first access network device transmits beams according to the beam set.

[0208] The first access network device transmits beams on these time-domain and frequency-domain resources based on the beam set and in conjunction with the time-domain and frequency-domain resources configured in the network.

[0209] Understandably, the first access network device divides time into multiple small time slots. Within each time slot, the base station can choose to concentrate the signal transmission to a specific direction or user. Based on the beam set selected by S508, the first access network device determines the beam direction. Within each time slot, the first access network device adjusts the phase and amplitude of the antenna to concentrate the signal to the beam direction. The first access network device transmits the beam sequentially; in the first time slot, it concentrates the signal to the first beam direction; in the next time slot, it adjusts the phase and amplitude of the antenna to transmit the signal to the second beam direction. This process is continuously repeated to ensure that users in each beam direction receive a strong and clear signal in different time slots.

[0210] Understandably, after receiving the beam, the terminal device can obtain the SSB beam measurement information of the first cell through SSB and / or other reference signals, and select the beam with high beam quality to access the first cell.

[0211] Figure 7 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. The method shown in Figure 7 can be applied to the communication system of Figure 1. The device executing the method shown in Figure 7 can be a first access network device or a second access network device. The first access network device can be, for example, access network device 1 in Figure 1, and the second access network device can be, for example, access network device 2 and access network device 3 in Figure 1. Taking the device executing the communication method of Figure 7 as a second access network device as an example, the method may include the following steps:

[0212] S701, The second access network device obtains second information, which is used to indicate the predicted user distribution, including the user distribution in the first cell.

[0213] S702, The second access network device sends the second information to the first access network device.

[0214] S703, The first access network device selects a beam set based on the second information.

[0215] In this embodiment, the second information used to indicate the predicted user distribution can be understood as indicating the user distribution in the first cell, where the user distribution is predicted, not actually measured. User distribution can also be understood as UE distribution; of course, user distribution can also be understood as the distribution of any device that may access the first cell, without limitation.

[0216] The specific content of the second information, the possible implementation methods of the second access network device obtaining the second information, and the selection of the beam set by the first access network device based on the second information can all be referred to the relevant descriptions in the corresponding embodiments of Figure 6, and will not be repeated here.

[0217] In this way, when transmitting beams according to the beam set, beams can be sent to locations with user distribution to meet the users' access network needs. Conversely, beams can be left untransmitted to locations without user distribution, thus enabling on-demand beam transmission. This allows a limited number of beams to serve a wider range of users, thereby improving the coverage of the first cell.

[0218] It is understood that, in order to achieve the functions in the above embodiments, the access network device and the terminal device include hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to perform each function. Those skilled in the art should readily recognize that, based on the units and method steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed in this application, this application can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in hardware or by computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0219] Figures 8 and 9 are schematic diagrams illustrating possible communication devices provided in embodiments of this application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of terminal devices or access network devices in the above method embodiments, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects of the above method embodiments. In the embodiments of this application, the communication device can be one of the terminals UE1 to UE5 shown in Figure 1, or one of the access network devices 1 to 3 shown in Figure 1, or a module (such as a chip or chip system) applied to the terminal or access network device.

[0220] The communication device 800 includes a transceiver unit 820, which can be used to receive or send information. The communication device 800 may also include a processing unit 810, which can be used to process instructions or data to achieve corresponding operations.

[0221] It should be understood that when the communication device 800 is a chip configured in (or used in) a communication device, the transceiver unit 820 in the communication device 800 can be the input / output interface or circuit of the chip, and the processing unit 810 in the communication device 800 can be the processor in the chip.

[0222] Optionally, the communication device 800 may further include a storage unit 930, which can be used to store instructions or data. The processing unit 810 can execute the instructions or data stored in the storage unit to enable the communication device to perform corresponding operations.

[0223] The communication device 800 can be used to implement the functions of the access network device or terminal in the method embodiments shown in Figures 5 to 7 above.

[0224] When the communication device 800 is used to implement the functions of the terminal in the method embodiments shown in Figures 5 to 7: the transceiver unit 820 is used to acquire the target event; the processing unit 810 is used to perform synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel block (SSB) measurement in the second cell, to perform channel state-related information measurement in the second cell, and / or to perform SSB measurement in neighboring cells of the second cell.

[0225] When the communication device 800 is used to implement the function of the first access network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG5: the transceiver unit 820 is used to acquire first information, which is used to indicate the predicted user distribution in the first cell. The transceiver unit 820 is also used to transmit beams according to a beam set. The processing unit 810 is used to select a beam set according to the first information, the beam set including some or all of the beams provided by the first cell.

[0226] For a more detailed description of the processing unit 810 and the transceiver unit 820, please refer to the relevant description in the method embodiment shown in Figure 5.

[0227] When the communication device 800 is used to implement the function of the second access network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG7: the processing unit 810 is used to acquire second information, the second information being used to indicate the predicted user distribution, the user distribution including the user distribution in the first cell. The transceiver unit 820 is used to send the second information to the first cell, and the first cell selects a beam set according to the second information.

[0228] For a more detailed description of the processing unit 810 and the transceiver unit 820, please refer to the relevant description in the method embodiment shown in FIG7.

[0229] It should be understood that the transceiver unit 820 in the communication device 800 can be implemented through a communication interface (such as a transceiver, transceiver circuit, input / output interface, or pins, etc.). When the communication interface is a transceiver, the transceiver can consist of a receiver and / or a transmitter. The processing unit 810 in the communication device 800 can be implemented through at least one processor, or it can be implemented through at least one logic circuit. Optionally, the communication device 800 also includes a storage unit, which can be implemented using a memory.

[0230] As shown in Figure 9, the communication device 900 includes a processor 910 and an interface circuit 920. The processor 910 and the interface circuit 920 are coupled to each other. It is understood that the interface circuit 920 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, the communication device 900 may also include a memory 930 for storing instructions executed by the processor 910, or storing input data required by the processor 910 to execute instructions, or storing data generated after the processor 910 executes instructions.

[0231] In one implementation, the memory 930 may be integrated into the processor 910 or independent of the processor 910.

[0232] When the communication device 900 is used to implement the method shown in FIG8, the processor 910 is used to implement the function of the processing unit 810, and the interface circuit 920 is used to implement the function of the transceiver unit 820.

[0233] When the aforementioned communication device is a chip applied to a terminal device, the terminal device chip can implement the functions of the terminal in the above method embodiments. The terminal device chip receives information from other modules (such as a radio frequency module or antenna) in the terminal device, the information being sent to the terminal device by the access network device; or, the terminal device chip sends information to other modules (such as a radio frequency module or antenna) in the terminal device, the information being sent to the access network device by the terminal device.

[0234] When the aforementioned communication device is a module applied to an access network device, the access network device module can implement the functions of the access network device in the above method embodiments. The access network device module receives information from other modules (such as radio frequency modules or antennas) in the access network device, which is information sent by the terminal device to the access network device; or, the access network device module sends information to other modules (such as radio frequency modules or antennas) in the access network device, which is information sent by the access network device to the terminal device. Here, the access network device module can be the baseband chip of the access network device, or it can be a DU or other modules. The DU here can be a DU under an open radio access network (O-RAN) architecture.

[0235] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of this application can be a central processing unit (CPU), or other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. A general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0236] The method steps in the embodiments of this application can be implemented in hardware or in software instructions executable by a processor. The software instructions can consist of corresponding software modules, which can be stored in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, registers, hard disks, portable hard disks, CD-ROMs, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to a processor, enabling the processor to read information from and write information to the storage medium. The storage medium can also be a component of the processor. The processor and storage medium can reside in an ASIC. Alternatively, the ASIC can reside in an access network device or a terminal device. The processor and storage medium can also exist as discrete components in the access network device or terminal device.

[0237] According to the method provided in the application embodiments, this application embodiment also provides a computer program product, which includes: computer program code, which, when executed by one or more processors, causes a device including the processor to perform the method shown in FIG5 or FIG7.

[0238] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved entirely or partially through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented entirely or partially as a computer program product. This computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are performed, in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, an access network device, a user equipment, or other programmable device.

[0239] According to the method provided in the embodiments of this application, the embodiments of this application also provide a computer-readable storage medium that stores the above-mentioned computer program or instructions, which, when run by one or more processors, cause a device including the processor to perform the method shown in FIG5 or FIG7.

[0240] As described above, computer programs or instructions can be stored in or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer programs or instructions can be transferred from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium accessible to a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, hard disk, or magnetic tape; it can also be an optical medium, such as a digital video optical disc; or it can be a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive. The computer-readable storage medium can be a volatile or non-volatile storage medium, or it can include both volatile and non-volatile types of storage media.

[0241] According to the method provided in the embodiments of this application, this application also provides a communication system, including one or more access network devices as described above. The system may further include one or more terminals as described above.

[0242] In the 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 described above is merely illustrative; 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.

[0243] 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 solution according to actual needs.

[0244] In the various embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified or in case of logical conflict, the terminology and / or descriptions of different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features of different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship.

[0245] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

A communication method characterized by comprising: The method includes: A beam set is selected based on first information, the first information being used to indicate the predicted user distribution, the user distribution including the user distribution in the first cell, and the beam set including some or all of the beams provided by the first cell; Beams are transmitted according to the beam set. The method of claim 1, wherein The first information is also used to indicate one or more of the following: the predicted signal quality of the first cell, the predicted amount of data to be transmitted by each user, the predicted air interface transmission delay of each user, and the predicted air interface transmission rate of each user. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The first information is used to indicate one or more first correspondences, and any one of the first correspondences is used to indicate one or more of the following: the first cell beam identifier corresponding to the first user identifier, the information related to the signal quality of the first cell corresponding to the first user identifier, the amount of data to be transmitted corresponding to the first user identifier, the air interface transmission delay corresponding to the first user identifier, or the air interface transmission rate corresponding to the first user identifier. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The signal quality-related information includes one or more of the following: signal-to-interference-to-noise ratio (SINR), reference signal reception quality (RSRQ), reference signal reception power (RSRP), received signal strength indication (RSSI), or spectral efficiency. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The method further includes: The system receives second information from a neighboring cell, wherein the neighboring cell is a neighboring cell of the first cell. The second information is used to indicate one or more of the following second correspondences predicted by the neighboring cell: a second user identifier, a first cell beam identifier corresponding to the second user identifier, information related to the signal quality of the first cell corresponding to the second user identifier, the amount of data to be transmitted corresponding to the second user identifier, the air interface transmission delay corresponding to the second user identifier, or the air interface transmission rate corresponding to the second user identifier. The first information is obtained based on the second information. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The adjacent cells include at least one second cell, the frequency of which is lower than that of the first cell. The method according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that The method further includes: Obtain the capability information of the neighboring cells, the capability information being used to indicate whether the neighboring cells have the capability to predict the user distribution of the first cell; If some or all of the second cells included in the neighboring cells have the ability to predict the user distribution of the first cell, the neighboring cells are instructed to predict the user distribution of the first cell, so that the neighboring cells can obtain the second information. The method of claim 7, wherein The acquisition of the capability information of the neighboring cells includes: Given that the second cell is equipped with a target model, it is determined that the second cell has the ability to predict the user distribution of the first cell, and the target model is used to predict the user distribution of the first cell; and / or, If the target model is not set in the second cell, then the second cell does not have the ability to predict the user distribution of the first cell. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 8, characterized in that The first information is maintained in the beam information table, and the method further includes: If the second information includes a user identifier that does not exist in the beam information table, add the corresponding relationship between the second information and the user identifier that does not exist in the beam information table to the beam information table; And / or, if the second information includes a user identifier existing in the beam information table, update the correspondence in the second information related to the user identifier existing in the beam information table to the beam information table; And / or, upon receiving a user deletion instruction, delete the corresponding relationship related to the user identifier indicated in the user deletion instruction from the beam information table. The method of claim 9, wherein The method further includes: When the contents of the beam information table change, the beam set selection is performed again. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that The step of selecting a beam set based on the first information includes: A candidate beam set is obtained based on the first information, and the candidate beam set includes N beams; When N is less than or equal to M, the N beams are selected to obtain the beam set; Alternatively, if N is greater than M, M beams are selected from the N beams to obtain the beam set; wherein M is a preset value. The method of claim 11, wherein The step of selecting M beams from the N beams to obtain the beam set includes: Select the M beams with the highest total user data volume from the N beams to obtain the beam set; And / or, select M beams with high average user transmission rates from the N beams to obtain the beam set; And / or, select M beams with low air interface transmission delay from the N beams to obtain the beam set. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method includes: Obtain second information, which is used to indicate the predicted user distribution, including the user distribution in the first cell; The second information is sent to the first cell, so that the first cell can select a beam set based on the second information. The method of claim 13, wherein The second information is also used to indicate one or more of the following: the predicted first cell signal quality for each user, the predicted amount of data to be transmitted for each user, the predicted air interface transmission delay for each user, and the predicted air interface transmission rate for each user. The method of claim 14, wherein The second information is obtained by the second cell and is used to indicate one or more of the following second correspondences predicted by the second cell: the first cell beam identifier corresponding to the second user identifier, the information related to the signal quality of the first cell corresponding to the second user identifier, the amount of data to be transmitted corresponding to the second user identifier, the air interface transmission delay corresponding to the second user identifier, or the air interface transmission rate corresponding to the second user identifier. The method of claim 15, wherein The frequency of the second cell is lower than that of the first cell. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 16, characterized in that The second information is obtained based on measurement information, which includes information obtained by one or more terminal devices performing Synchronization Signal / Physical Broadcast Channel Block (SSB) measurements in the second cell, information obtained by one or more terminal devices performing channel state-related information measurements in the second cell, and / or information obtained by one or more terminal devices performing SSB measurements in neighboring cells of the second cell. The method of claim 17, wherein The measurement information includes information obtained by measurement triggered by a target event, and the target event includes: one or more terminal devices completing any of the following in the second cell: cell access procedure, handover access procedure, or re-access procedure; And / or, the measurement information includes information obtained periodically by one or more terminal devices accessing the second cell. The method according to any one of claims 17 or 18, characterized in that The terminal device has the ability to access cells in a first frequency range and cells in a second frequency range. The first frequency range includes the frequency range corresponding to the first cell, and the second frequency range includes the frequency range corresponding to the second cell. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 19, characterized in that The second cell is equipped with a target model, which is used to predict one or more of the following: user distribution in the first cell, first cell signal quality of each user, amount of data to be transmitted by each user, air interface transmission delay of each user, or air interface transmission rate of each user. The second information is obtained by the second cell based on measurement information and the target model. The method according to any one of claims 13 or 20, characterized in that The method further includes: Receive capability query information from the first cell; Based on the capability query information, the first cell is instructed to have the capability to predict one or more of the following information: user distribution in the first cell, first cell signal quality for each user, amount of data to be transmitted for each user, air interface transmission delay for each user, or air interface transmission rate for each user. A communication device, characterized by The processor includes a processor coupled to a memory for storing computer programs, and the processor for executing the computer programs stored in the memory. So that the communication device performs the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 12; or, So that the communication device performs the method as described in any one of claims 13 to 21. A communication device, characterized by It includes a processor and a communication interface, wherein the processor is used to control the communication interface. To implement the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 12; or, To achieve the method as described in any one of claims 13 to 21. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized by, The system stores instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 12; or, Perform the method as described in any one of claims 13 to 21. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product includes: a computer program that, when run, causes a computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 12; or, Perform the method as described in any one of claims 13 to 21. A communication system characterized by Includes a first communication device and a second communication device. The first communication device is used to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 12; The second communication device is used to perform the method as described in any one of claims 13 to 21.

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