Communication method and apparatus, terminal, and storage medium

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of communications, and discloses a communication method and apparatus, a terminal, and a storage medium. The communication method in embodiments of the present application comprises: when a terminal needs a system information block (SIB1) of a first cell, if the terminal stores the current SIB1 of the first cell, the terminal applies the stored SIB1; or, if the terminal does not store the current SIB1 of the first cell, the terminal acquires the SIB1 of the first cell.

Description

Communication methods, devices, terminals and storage media

[0001] Cross-references to related applications

[0002] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411628275.X, filed on November 14, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] This application belongs to the field of communication technology, specifically relating to a communication method, device, terminal, and storage medium. Background Technology

[0004] When cell 1 sends the wake-up signal (WUS) configuration information for cell 2 to the terminal, the terminal can obtain the WUS configuration information for cell 2 from cell 1. Cell 2 is a cell that sends System Information Block 1 (SIB1) on demand; that is, cell 2 does not periodically send SIB1, but rather, in RRC IDLE / INACTIVE state, the terminal requests SIB1 from the network side on demand. Cell 2 can also be referred to as a Network Energy Saving (NES) cell. The terminal sends WUS to cell 2 based on the WUS configuration information to request SIB1 from cell 2. This WUS configuration information includes the Physical Cell Identifier (PCI) of cell 2 and the frequency at which cell 2 is located. However, since the PCI of a cell combined with the frequency in which the cell is located cannot uniquely identify a cell (for example, there may be multiple cells operating on frequency 1 with PCI=1), it is possible that after a terminal sends WUS on cell 2 corresponding to frequency 1 and PCI=1 and obtains the SIB1 of cell 2, when the terminal leaves cell 2 and returns, the terminal will send WUS again on cell 2 corresponding to frequency 1 and PCI=1, causing the terminal to repeatedly request the SIB1 of the same cell.

[0005] Alternatively, for cell 3 that periodically transmits SIB1, the terminal will reacquire the SIB1 of cell 3 after acquiring it, and will also reacquire the SIB1 of cell 3 when leaving and returning to cell 3. This increases the power consumption of both the terminal and the network-side equipment. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This application provides a communication method, apparatus, terminal, and storage medium that can save power consumption of the terminal and network-side devices.

[0007] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, executed by a terminal, the method comprising: when the terminal needs the SIB1 of a first cell, if the terminal has stored the current SIB1 of the first cell, then the terminal applies the stored SIB1; or, if the terminal does not have stored the current SIB1 of the first cell, then the terminal obtains the SIB1 of the first cell.

[0008] Secondly, a communication method is provided, executed by a network-side device, the method comprising: the network-side device sending first information, the first information being used by a terminal to determine whether the terminal has stored the current SIB1 of the first cell.

[0009] Thirdly, a communication device is provided, the device comprising: a processing module; the processing module being configured to: when a terminal requires the SIB1 of a first cell, if the terminal has stored the current SIB1 of the first cell, apply the stored SIB1; or, if the terminal does not have stored the current SIB1 of the first cell, obtain the SIB1 of the first cell.

[0010] Fourthly, a communication device is provided, comprising: a transmitting module; the transmitting module is configured to transmit first information, the first information being used by a terminal to determine whether the terminal has stored the current SIB1 of a first cell.

[0011] Fifthly, a communication device is provided, the device being configured to perform the steps of the method described in the first aspect, or to implement the steps of the method described in the second aspect.

[0012] In a sixth aspect, a terminal is provided, the terminal including a processor and a memory, the memory storing a program or instructions executable on the processor, the program or instructions, when executed by the processor, implementing the steps of the method as described in the first aspect.

[0013] In a seventh aspect, a terminal is provided, including a processor and a communication interface, wherein the processor is configured to, when the terminal needs the SIB1 of a first cell, apply the stored SIB1 if the terminal has stored the SIB1 of the first cell; or, if the terminal does not have stored the SIB1 of the first cell, obtain the SIB1 of the first cell.

[0014] Eighthly, a network-side device is provided, the network-side device including a processor and a memory, the memory storing a program or instructions executable on the processor, the program or instructions, when executed by the processor, implementing the steps of the method as described in the second aspect.

[0015] In a ninth aspect, a network-side device is provided, including a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is used to send first information, the first information being used by a terminal to determine whether the terminal has stored the current SIB1 of a first cell.

[0016] In a tenth aspect, a readable storage medium is provided, on which a program or instructions are stored, which, when executed by a processor, implement the steps of the method described in the first aspect, or implement the steps of the method described in the second aspect.

[0017] Eleventhly, a wireless communication system is provided, comprising: a terminal and a network-side device, wherein the terminal can be used to perform the steps of the method as described in the first aspect, and the network-side device can be used to perform the steps of the method as described in the second aspect.

[0018] In a twelfth aspect, a chip is provided, the chip including a processor and a communication interface coupled to the processor, the processor being configured to run programs or instructions to implement the method as described in the first aspect, or to implement the method as described in the second aspect.

[0019] In a thirteenth aspect, a computer program / program product is provided, which is stored in a storage medium and is executed by at least one processor to implement the steps of the communication method as described in the first aspect, or to implement the steps of the communication method as described in the second aspect.

[0020] In this embodiment, when a terminal needs the SIB1 of the first cell, if the terminal has saved the current SIB1 of the first cell, the terminal applies the saved SIB1; or, if the terminal has not saved the current SIB1 of the first cell, the terminal obtains the SIB1 of the first cell. In this solution, when the terminal needs the SIB1 of the first cell, it does not directly obtain the SIB1 of the first cell. Instead, it first determines whether the terminal has saved the current SIB1 of the first cell. If it is determined that the current SIB1 of the first cell has been saved, the saved SIB1 is applied, and there is no need to obtain the current SIB1 of the first cell again. Only when it is determined that the current SIB1 of the first cell has not been saved is the SIB1 of the first cell obtained. Therefore, the number of times the terminal obtains the SIB1 of the first cell is reduced, thereby saving power consumption for both the terminal and network-side equipment. Attached Figure Description

[0021] Figure 1 is a block diagram of a wireless communication system provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0022] Figure 2 is a flowchart illustrating one of the communication methods provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0023] Figure 3 is a second schematic flowchart of the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0024] Figure 4 is a third schematic flowchart of the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0025] Figure 5 is a fourth flowchart illustrating the communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0026] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of one of the communication devices provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0027] Figure 7 is a second schematic diagram of the communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0028] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0029] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of the terminal according to an embodiment of this application;

[0030] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of the network-side device according to an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0031] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of this application. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this application are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0032] The terms "first," "second," etc., used in this application are used to distinguish similar objects and not to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such terms can be used interchangeably where appropriate so that embodiments of this application can be implemented in orders other than those illustrated or described herein, and the objects distinguished by "first" and "second" are generally of the same class, not limited in number; for example, the first object can be one or more. Furthermore, "or" in this application indicates at least one of the connected objects. For example, the scope of protection for "A or B" covers at least three scenarios: Scenario 1: including A but not B; Scenario 2: including B but not A; Scenario 3: including both A and B. In addition, the terms "A and / or B," "at least one of A and B," and "at least one of A or B" also cover at least the above three scenarios. The character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0033] The term "instruction" in this application can be either a direct instruction (or explicit instruction) or an indirect instruction (or implicit instruction). A direct instruction can be understood as one in which the sender explicitly informs the receiver of specific information, the operation to be performed, or the requested result, etc., in the instruction sent. An indirect instruction can be understood as one in which the receiver determines the corresponding information based on the instruction sent by the sender, or makes a judgment and determines the operation to be performed or the requested result, etc., based on the judgment result.

[0034] It is worth noting that the technologies described in this application are not limited to Long Term Evolution (LTE) / LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) systems, but can also be used in other wireless communication systems, such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Single-carrier Frequency-Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA), or other systems. The terms "system" and "network" in this application are often used interchangeably, and the described technologies can be used in the systems and radio technologies mentioned above, as well as in other systems and radio technologies. The following description describes New Radio (NR) systems for illustrative purposes, and the term NR is used in most of the following description; however, these technologies can also be applied to systems other than NR systems, such as 6th Generation (6G) communication systems.

[0035] Figure 1 shows a block diagram of a wireless communication system applicable to an embodiment of this application. The wireless communication system includes a terminal 11 and a network-side device 12. The terminal 11 can be a mobile phone, tablet computer, laptop computer, notebook computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), handheld computer, netbook, ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC), mobile internet device (MID), augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) device, robot, wearable device, flight vehicle, vehicle user equipment (VUE), shipboard equipment, pedestrian user equipment (PUE), smart home (home devices with wireless communication capabilities, such as refrigerators, televisions, washing machines, or furniture), game console, personal computer (PC), ATM, or self-service machine, etc. Wearable devices include: smartwatches, smart bracelets, smart headphones, smart glasses, smart jewelry (smart bracelets, smart chains, smart rings, smart necklaces, smart anklets, smart anklets, etc.), smart wristbands, smart clothing, etc. Among these, in-vehicle devices can also be referred to as in-vehicle terminals, in-vehicle controllers, in-vehicle modules, in-vehicle components, in-vehicle chips, or in-vehicle units, etc. It should be noted that the specific type of terminal 11 is not limited in this application embodiment. Network-side equipment 12 may include access network equipment or core network equipment, wherein access network equipment may also be referred to as Radio Access Network (RAN) equipment, radio access network function, or radio access network unit. Access network equipment may include base stations, Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) access points (AS), or Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) nodes, etc.The term "base station" can be referred to as Node B (NB), Evolved Node B (eNB), Next Generation Node B (gNB), New Radio Node B (NR Node B), Access Point, Relay Base Station (RBS), Serving Base Station (SBS), Base Transceiver Station (BTS), Radio Base Station, Radio Transceiver, Basic Service Set (BSS), Extended Service Set (ESS), Home Node B (HNB), Home Evolved Node B, Transmit / Receive Point (TRP), or any other suitable term in the relevant field, as long as the same technical effect is achieved. The term "base station" is not limited to any specific technical terminology. It should be noted that this application embodiment only uses a base station in an NR system as an example for description and does not limit the specific type of base station.

[0036] Core network equipment, also known as core network nodes, core network functions, or core network elements, includes, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: Mobility Management Entity (MME), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), User Plane Function (UPF), Policy Control Function (PCF), Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF), Edge Application Server Discovery Function (EASDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Unified Data Repository (UDR), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Centralized network configuration (CNC), Network Repository Function (NRF), Network Exposure Function (NEF), Local NEF (or L-NEF), and Binding Support. The core network functions include: BSF (Block Network Function), Application Function (AF), Location Management Function (LMF), Gateway Mobile Location Centre (GMLC), and Network Data Analytics Function (NWDAF). It should be noted that this application embodiment only uses core network equipment in the NR system as an example and does not limit the specific type of core network equipment. If the name of the core network equipment mentioned in this application embodiment changes in subsequent protocol versions (e.g., 6G), it will still be within the scope of protection of this application.

[0037] Optionally, the core network equipment can be implemented by one or more functional modules in a single device, or by multiple devices working together; this application does not specifically limit this. It is understood that the aforementioned functional modules can be network elements in hardware devices, software functional modules running on dedicated hardware, or virtualized functional modules instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform).

[0038] To facilitate understanding of the solution in this application, the relevant technologies involved in this application will be explained below.

[0039] 1. NR Cell Global Identifier (NCGI)

[0040] In 5G, the NCGI is used to uniquely identify an NR cell. The NCGI consists of the Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) ID and the NCI. The PLMN ID is further derived from the Mobile Country Code (MCC) and the Mobile Network Code (MNC), while the NCI is further derived from the gNB ID and the Cell ID. The NCI is 36 bits long and has two composition methods: one is composed of a 22-bit gNB ID and a 14-bit Cell ID, and the other is composed of a 32-bit gNB ID and a 4-bit Cell ID. Rel-17 introduced the gNB-ID-Length parameter, used by the network side to configure the length of the gNB ID. Its value can range from 22 bits to 32 bits to provide greater flexibility and adapt to the needs of networks of different sizes.

[0041] In the protocol, the PLMN ID is obtained by configuring the MCC and MNC separately, and the NCI is configured through CellIdentity. Both of these configurations are carried in SIB1. That is, the UE can only know the NCGI of the cell by reading the configuration in SIB1.

[0042] 2. Acquisition of the Physical Cell Identifier (PCI) of NR cells during cell search.

[0043] The terminal first detects the NR-PSS to obtain a part of the physical cell ID, namely N(2)_ID, with values ​​{0,1,2}; then it detects the SSS to obtain the other part of the physical cell ID, namely N(1)_ID, with values ​​{0,1,…,335}, thus obtaining the complete physical cell ID. That is, PCI = N_ID^cell = 3N_ID^((1)) + N_ID^((2)). In other words, the terminal can obtain the PCI of the NR cell based on the synchronization signal.

[0044] There are 1008 possible values ​​for PCI, which is a relatively small range. In actual network deployments, PCI values ​​can be reused. To avoid PCI confusion, adjacent cells on the same frequency cannot have the same PCI. However, when cells are not adjacent, different NR cells on the same frequency can have the same PCI.

[0045] 3. On-demand SIB1 (OD-SIB1) for network energy-saving scenarios

[0046] Network energy efficiency is crucial for environmental sustainability, reducing environmental impact (greenhouse gas emissions), and saving operating costs. With the widespread adoption of 5G across various industries and geographic regions, more advanced services and applications requiring extremely high data rates (such as Extended Reality (XR)) are being developed, leading to denser networks using more antennas, larger bandwidths, and more frequency bands. The environmental impact of 5G needs to be controlled, necessitating the development of new solutions to improve network energy efficiency. To this end, 3GPP initiated network energy efficiency projects in Releases 18 and 19, outlining several energy-saving directions, one of which is on-demand SIB1. This means that NR cells do not periodically transmit SIB1; instead, terminals in RRC IDLE / INACTIVE states request SIB1 from the network side on demand.

[0047] According to current standard discussions, the terminal can obtain the WUS configuration of the Network Energy Saving (NES) cell (i.e., the cell that sends SIB1 on demand) from the SIB1 or other system information (OSI) messages of cell A (which can be a cell that normally and periodically sends SIB1). The WUS configuration is used by the terminal to request the NES cell to send SIB1, and the request signal is the Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH).

[0048] The communication method provided in this application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and through some embodiments and application scenarios.

[0049] In this embodiment, when the terminal needs the SIB1 of the first cell, it does not directly obtain the SIB1 of the first cell. Instead, it first determines whether the terminal has saved the current SIB1 of the first cell. If it is determined that the current SIB1 of the first cell has been saved, the saved SIB1 is used without needing to obtain the current SIB1 of the first cell again. Only when it is determined that the current SIB1 of the first cell has not been saved is the SIB1 of the first cell obtained. Therefore, the number of times the terminal obtains the SIB1 of the first cell is reduced, thereby saving power consumption of the terminal and network side equipment.

[0050] Figure 2 is a flowchart illustrating the communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 2, the communication method may include the following step 201.

[0051] Step 201: When the terminal needs the SIB1 of the first cell, if the terminal has saved the current SIB1 of the first cell, the terminal applies the saved SIB1; or, if the terminal does not have saved the current SIB1 of the first cell, the terminal obtains the SIB1 of the first cell.

[0052] In some embodiments of this application, when the first cell meets the cell selection conditions or cell reselection conditions, the terminal needs the SIB1 of the first cell.

[0053] In some other embodiments of this application, when the first cell meets the preset signal quality conditions and the terminal needs to initiate initial access, the terminal requires the SIB1 of the first cell.

[0054] In some other embodiments of this application, when the terminal needs to camp on the first cell based on the SIB1 of the first cell, or when the terminal needs to determine whether the first cell can be camped on based on the SIB1 of the first cell, the terminal needs the SIB1 of the first cell.

[0055] It is understandable that when a terminal needs the SIB1 of the first cell, the terminal can first determine whether it has saved the current SIB1 of the first cell. If it has saved the current SIB1 of the first cell, the terminal applies the saved SIB1.

[0056] In some embodiments of this application, the terminal saves the SIB1 of the first cell. For example, the terminal can save the SIB1 of the first cell after it has been first obtained. Another example: after the initially saved SIB1 expires, the terminal can save the SIB1 of the first cell again after obtaining it once more.

[0057] In some embodiments of this application, after the terminal application saves the SIB1, it can determine whether it can camp on the first cell based on the SIB1.

[0058] In some embodiments of this application, the terminal obtains the SIB1 of the first cell in the following ways: if the SIB1 of the first cell is requested on demand or not broadcast, the terminal requests the first cell to send SIB1 in order to obtain the SIB1 of the first cell. If the SIB1 of the first cell is broadcast, the terminal obtains the broadcast SIB1 of the first cell.

[0059] This application provides a communication method in which, when a terminal needs the SIB1 of a first cell, it does not directly obtain the SIB1 of the first cell. Instead, it first determines whether the terminal has saved the current SIB1 of the first cell. If it is determined that the current SIB1 of the first cell has been saved, the saved SIB1 is used without needing to obtain the current SIB1 of the first cell again. Only when it is determined that the current SIB1 of the first cell has not been saved is the SIB1 of the first cell obtained. Therefore, the number of times the terminal obtains the SIB1 of the first cell is reduced, thereby saving power consumption of the terminal and network side equipment.

[0060] Specifically, when the first cell is a cell that periodically broadcasts SIB1, the terminal applies the saved SIB1 when it is determined that it has saved the SIB1 of the first cell, without having to reacquire the SIB1 broadcast by the first cell. Only when it is determined that the SIB1 of the first cell has not been saved does it acquire the SIB1 broadcast by the first cell. Therefore, the terminal avoids repeatedly acquiring the SIB1 broadcast by the first cell and reduces the number of times the terminal acquires the SIB1 of the first cell, thereby saving power consumption of the terminal and network-side equipment.

[0061] When the first cell is an NES cell, the terminal uses the saved SIB1 when it is certain that the current SIB1 of the first cell has been saved, without having to request the SIB1 of the first cell again. Only when it is certain that the current SIB1 of the first cell has not been saved will the terminal request the SIB1 of the first cell. This avoids the terminal repeatedly requesting the SIB1 of the first cell and reduces the number of times the terminal obtains the SIB1 of the first cell, thereby saving power consumption of the terminal and network-side equipment.

[0062] In some embodiments of this application, the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application may further include the following step 301.

[0063] It should be noted that the terminal may execute the following step 301 before step 201, which states that "if the terminal has saved the current SIB1 of the first cell, then the terminal applies the saved SIB1; or if the terminal has not saved the current SIB1 of the first cell, then the terminal obtains the SIB1 of the first cell".

[0064] Step 301: If the first cell and the second cell are the same, and the version of the current SIB1 of the first cell is the same as the version of the SIB1 stored in the terminal, the terminal determines that the terminal has stored the current SIB1 of the first cell.

[0065] In the embodiments of this application, the second cell is the cell corresponding to the SIB1 stored by the terminal. It can be understood that the SIB1 stored by the terminal is obtained from the second cell.

[0066] It is understandable that if the first cell and the second cell are the same, the terminal can determine that it has saved the SIB1 of the same cell. Then, the terminal can further determine whether the version of the current SIB1 of the first cell is the same as the version of the SIB1 of the same cell saved by the terminal. If the versions are the same, the terminal can confirm that the saved SIB1 is consistent with the SIB1 currently being used in the first cell, and the terminal can apply the saved SIB1.

[0067] In some embodiments of this application, when the unique identifier of the first cell is the same as the unique identifier stored in the terminal and the version corresponding to the current SIB1 of the first cell is the same as the version corresponding to the SIB1 stored in the terminal, the terminal determines that the terminal has stored the current SIB1 of the first cell, and the unique identifier stored in the terminal is the unique identifier corresponding to the SIB1 stored in the terminal.

[0068] It is understandable that the unique identifier stored by the terminal is the unique identifier of the cell that sent the SIB1 stored by the terminal.

[0069] It should be noted that for the detailed steps of the terminal determining that the first cell and the second cell are the same, please refer to steps 401, 501, or 601 in the following embodiments. These will not be repeated here.

[0070] In some embodiments of this application, the current SIB1 of the first cell can be the SIB1 that the first cell is broadcasting when the terminal needs the SIB1 of the first cell; further, the version corresponding to the current SIB1 of the first cell can be the version corresponding to the SIB1 that the first cell is broadcasting when the terminal needs the SIB1 of the first cell; or it can be the version corresponding to the SIB1 provided in the WUS configuration sent by the neighboring cells of the first cell when the terminal needs the SIB1 of the first cell, which is the version of the SIB1 of the first cell that the network side will send after the terminal sends the WUS.

[0071] It is understandable that when the first cell is a cell that transmits SIB1 on demand, the cell-level reference signal of the first cell or the WUS configuration transmitted by the neighboring cells of the first cell provides the version of SIB1 currently being broadcast by the first cell. When the first cell is a cell that periodically broadcasts SIB1, the cell-level reference signal of the first cell provides the version of SIB1 currently being broadcast by the first cell, or the neighboring cells of the first cell provide the version of SIB1 currently being broadcast by the first cell.

[0072] It should be noted that for the detailed steps of the terminal determining that the current SIB1 version of the first cell is the same as the SIB1 version stored by the terminal, please refer to steps 701 and 702, and steps 801-803 in the following embodiments. They will not be repeated here.

[0073] In some embodiments of this application, the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application may further include the following step 401.

[0074] It should be noted that the terminal may execute step 401 before executing step 301.

[0075] Step 401: If the unique identifier of the first cell is the same as the unique identifier of the second cell stored in the terminal, the terminal determines that the first cell and the second cell are the same.

[0076] In some embodiments of this application, the terminal may first obtain the unique identifier of the first cell, and then determine that the first cell and the second cell are the same when it is determined that the unique identifier of the first cell is the same as the unique identifier of the second cell stored by the terminal.

[0077] In some embodiments of this application, since the unique identifier of the first cell is usually not configured directly, but is given indirectly through a combination of MCC, MNC and NCI, the terminal needs to determine whether the three parameters are consistent one by one during execution.

[0078] It should be noted that the terminal can obtain the unique identifier of the first cell through at least one of the following steps 401a and 401b. Further details will not be provided here.

[0079] In some embodiments of this application, the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application may further include at least one of the following steps 401a and 401b.

[0080] It should be noted that the terminal may perform at least one of the following steps 401a and 401b before performing step 401.

[0081] Step 401a: The terminal obtains information from the neighboring cells of the first cell to indicate the unique identifier of the first cell.

[0082] In some embodiments of this application, the terminal can obtain first configuration information from neighboring cells of the first cell, the first configuration information including information for indicating a unique identifier of the first cell.

[0083] In some embodiments of this application, the terminal can obtain the first configuration information through broadcast messages or dedicated signaling sent by neighboring cells of the first cell.

[0084] In some embodiments of this application, when the first cell is a cell that transmits SIB1 on demand, the neighboring cells of the first cell are cells that provide the first configuration information of the first cell. The first configuration information may be WUS configuration information, which includes information for indicating the unique identifier of the first cell. The WUS configuration information is used to send a first request to the first cell, and the first request is used to request the SIB1 of the first cell.

[0085] In some embodiments of this application, when the first cell is a cell that periodically broadcasts SIB1, the neighboring cells of the first cell are cells that provide the first configuration information of the first cell. The first configuration information is used by the terminal to determine whether it needs to obtain the SIB1 of the first cell.

[0086] In some embodiments of this application, the information included in the first configuration information to indicate the unique identifier of the first cell may be: explicitly configuring all the information of the unique identifier of the first cell, such as configuring the MCC, MNC, and NCI of the first cell.

[0087] In some embodiments of this application, the information in the first configuration information above that is used to indicate the unique identifier of the first cell may also be: information that implicitly provides the unique identifier of the first cell.

[0088] For example: If the third cell provides the first configuration information, including the WUS configuration of the first cell, and if the third cell and the first cell belong to the same PLMN (furthermore, in the case of PLMN sharing, the third cell and the first cell can be the same primary PLMN), then the MCC and MNC of the first cell may not appear (when they do not appear, the terminal defaults to the PLMN of the third cell; for example, the primary PLMN of the first cell and the primary PLMN of the third cell are the same), then only the NCI of the first cell needs to be configured. As another example, if the WUS configuration information provided by the third cell contains multiple cells that transmit SIB1 on demand, the network-side equipment can configure a PLMN list for these multiple cells. The MNC and MCC of the first PLMN in the list must appear, while the MCC and MNC of the other PLMNs in the list are optional. If the MCC does not appear, or the MNC does not appear, or neither the MNC nor the MCC appears, it indicates consistency with the previous PLMN.

[0089] For example, the third cell provides the first configuration information, which is used by the terminal to determine whether it needs to obtain the SIB1 of the first cell. The first cell is a cell that periodically broadcasts SIB1. If the third cell and the first cell belong to the same PLMN (furthermore, in the case of PLMN sharing, the third cell and the first cell can be the same primary PLMN), then the MCC and MNC of the first cell do not need to appear (if they do not appear, the terminal defaults to the PLMN of the third cell; for example, the primary PLMN of the first cell and the primary PLMN of the third cell are the same), and only the NCI of the first cell needs to be configured. Furthermore, if the first configuration information provided by the third cell contains multiple cells, the network-side device can configure a PLMN list for multiple cells. The MNC and MCC of the first PLMN in the list must appear, while the MCC and MNC of the other PLMNs in the list are optional. If the MCC does not appear, or the MNC does not appear, or neither the MNC nor the MCC appears, it indicates consistency with the previous PLMN.

[0090] In some embodiments of this application, the first configuration information mentioned above may also be other configuration information (i.e., non-WUS configuration information), which is used to determine whether to send a first request to the first cell.

[0091] In some examples, the first request mentioned above can be a WUS request.

[0092] Step 401b: The terminal obtains information for indicating the unique identifier of the first cell from the information carried by the cell-level reference signal of the first cell.

[0093] In some embodiments of this application, the terminal can obtain information for indicating the unique identifier of the first cell from the information carried by the cell-level reference signal (or: common reference signal) of the first cell.

[0094] For example: the Master Information Block (MIB) of the first cell.

[0095] For example, the physical layer payload (PHY payload) of the cell-level reference signal or common reference signal of the first cell.

[0096] In some embodiments of this application, the information used to indicate the unique identifier of the first cell includes at least one of the following:

[0097] The first community's globally unique identifier;

[0098] The PLMN identifier of the first community;

[0099] The community identifier of the first community within its PLMN;

[0100] The base station identifier of the first cell within its PLMN;

[0101] The cell identifier of the first cell within its respective base station;

[0102] The first cell is the cell identifier among cells with the same frequency and PCI within its PLMN.

[0103] In some embodiments of this application, a unique identifier can be provided for multiple cells under the same PLMN, the same frequency, and the same PCI to distinguish different cells among these multiple cells. Therefore, the cell identifier of the first cell among cells with the same frequency and the same PCI within its PLMN can uniquely indicate the first cell.

[0104] For example, if there are 100 cells under the same PLMN, the same frequency, and the same PCI, then each of these 100 cells can be given a unique identifier.

[0105] In some embodiments of this application, the terminal can uniquely identify the first cell based on the globally unique identifier of the first cell.

[0106] In some embodiments of this application, the terminal can uniquely identify the first cell based on the PLMN identifier to which the first cell belongs and the cell identifier of the first cell within the PLMN.

[0107] In some embodiments of this application, the terminal can uniquely identify the first cell based on the PLMN identifier to which the first cell belongs, the base station identifier of the first cell within the PLMN, and the cell identifier of the first cell within the base station.

[0108] In some embodiments of this application, the terminal can uniquely identify the first cell based on the cell identifier of the first cell among cells with the same frequency and the same PCI within the PLMN.

[0109] In some embodiments of this application, the unique identifier of the first cell can be obtained by different combinations of the existing identifier of the first cell, the existing identifiers of the neighboring cells of the first cell, and the new identifier.

[0110] For example, the PCI of the first cell + the frequency of the first cell + the PLMN identifier of the neighboring cells of the first cell + the Tracking Area Code (TAI) of the neighboring cells of the first cell + a newly introduced ID.

[0111] For example: the PCI of the first cell + the frequency of the first cell + the PLMN identifier of the neighboring cells of the first cell + a newly introduced ID.

[0112] For example: the PCI of the first cell + the frequency of the first cell + the TAI (or TA area identifier) ​​of the neighboring cells of the first cell.

[0113] For example: the PCI of the first cell + the frequency of the first cell + the TAI of the neighboring cells of the first cell + a newly introduced ID.

[0114] For example: Configure the MCC, MNC, and NCI of the first cell.

[0115] In some embodiments of this application, after obtaining information for indicating the unique identifier of the first cell, the terminal can determine the unique identifier of the first cell based on the information. Then, the terminal can compare the unique identifier of the first cell with the unique identifier of the second cell stored in the terminal. If the unique identifier of the first cell is the same as the unique identifier of the second cell stored in the terminal, the terminal determines that the first cell and the second cell are the same.

[0116] In some embodiments of this application, the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application may further include at least one of the following steps 401c to 401e.

[0117] It should be noted that the terminal may execute at least one of the following steps 401c to 401e before executing step 401.

[0118] Step 401c: The terminal obtains information from the neighboring cells of the second cell to indicate the unique identifier of the second cell.

[0119] In the embodiments of this application, the second cell mentioned above is the cell corresponding to SIB1 stored by the terminal.

[0120] In some embodiments of this application, the terminal can obtain second configuration information from neighboring cells of the second cell, the second configuration information including information for indicating a unique identifier of the first cell.

[0121] In some embodiments of this application, the terminal can obtain the second configuration information through broadcast messages or dedicated signaling sent by neighboring cells of the second cell.

[0122] In some embodiments of this application, the second configuration information may be WUS configuration information, which includes information for indicating a unique identifier of the second cell. The WUS configuration information is used to send a second request to the second cell, and the second request is used to request the SIB1 of the second cell.

[0123] In some embodiments of this application, the second configuration information mentioned above may be other configuration information (i.e., non-WUS configuration information), which is used to determine whether to send a second request to the second cell.

[0124] In some examples, the second request mentioned above can be a WUS request.

[0125] In some embodiments of this application, the terminal can obtain first indication information from the neighboring cells of the SIB1 cell stored by the transmitting terminal. The first indication information is used to indicate the unique identifier of the SIB1 cell stored by the transmitting terminal.

[0126] It should be noted that for the detailed steps of the terminal obtaining the information used to indicate the unique identifier of the second cell from the neighboring cells of the second cell, please refer to the description of the terminal obtaining the information used to indicate the unique identifier of the first cell from the neighboring cells of the first cell in step 401a above, which will not be repeated here.

[0127] Step 401d: The terminal obtains information from the information carried by the cell-level reference signal of the second cell to identify the unique identifier of the second cell.

[0128] In some embodiments of this application, the terminal can obtain information for indicating the unique identifier of the second cell from the information carried by the cell-level reference signal (or: common reference signal) of the second cell.

[0129] For example: the MIB of the second community.

[0130] For example, the PHY payload of the cell-level reference signal or common reference signal of the second cell.

[0131] In some embodiments of this application, the terminal can obtain second indication information from the cell-level reference signal bearer information of the cell of SIB1 stored by the transmitting terminal. The second indication information is used to indicate the unique identifier of the cell of SIB1 stored by the transmitting terminal.

[0132] Step 401e: The terminal obtains information from the SIB1 of the second cell to indicate the unique identifier of the second cell.

[0133] For example, the SIB1 of the second cell itself carries information that uniquely identifies the second cell, such as the MCC, MNC, and NCI of the second cell.

[0134] In some embodiments of this application, the information used to indicate the unique identifier of the second cell includes at least one of the following:

[0135] The globally unique identifier for the second community;

[0136] The PLMN identifier of the second community;

[0137] The community identifier of the second community within its PLMN;

[0138] The base station identifier of the second cell within its PLMN;

[0139] The cell identifier of the second cell within its respective base station;

[0140] The second cell is the cell identifier among cells with the same frequency and PCI within its PLMN.

[0141] In some embodiments of this application, the terminal can obtain third indication information from the SIB1 of the cell stored by the transmitting terminal. The third indication information is used to indicate the unique identifier of the cell stored by the transmitting terminal.

[0142] It should be noted that for a detailed description of the information used to indicate the unique identifier of the second cell, please refer to the description of the information used to indicate the unique identifier of the first cell in the above embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0143] In some embodiments of this application, after obtaining information used to indicate the unique identifier of the second cell, the terminal can determine the unique identifier of the second cell based on the information and store the unique identifier of the second cell in the terminal.

[0144] Thus, since the terminal can obtain the unique identifier NCGI of the first cell through the first configuration information or the information carried by the cell-level reference signal of the first cell, and obtain the unique identifier NCGI of the second cell through the second configuration information or the information carried by the cell-level reference signal of the second cell or the SIB1 of the second cell, the terminal can compare the unique identifier NCGI of the first cell and the unique identifier NCGI of the second cell. If they are the same, the terminal can determine that it has saved the SIB1 of the same cell. Then, the terminal can further confirm whether the version of the current SIB1 of the first cell is the same as the version of the SIB1 saved by the terminal. If they are the same, the terminal can confirm that the saved SIB1 is consistent with the SIB1 (configuration) being applied by the first cell. The terminal can apply the saved SIB1, thereby avoiding the repeated acquisition of the SIB1 of the first cell.

[0145] In some embodiments of this application, the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application may further include the following step 501.

[0146] It should be noted that the terminal may execute step 501 before executing step 301.

[0147] Step 501: If the first condition is met, the terminal determines that the first cell and the second cell are the same.

[0148] In the embodiments of this application, the first condition mentioned above includes:

[0149] The unique identifier of the neighboring cells of the first cell is the same as the unique identifier of the neighboring cells of the second cell stored in the terminal; and,

[0150] The frequency of the first cell is the same as the frequency of the second cell stored in the terminal; and,

[0151] The PCI of the first cell is the same as the PCI of the second cell stored in the terminal.

[0152] In some embodiments of this application, the first configuration information obtained by the terminal from the neighboring cells of the first cell may include the frequency of the first cell and the PCI of the first cell.

[0153] In some embodiments of this application, the second configuration information obtained by the terminal from the neighboring cells of the second cell may include the frequency of the second cell and the PCI of the second cell.

[0154] In some embodiments of this application, the frequency in which the cell is located includes: the center frequency of a reference signal that identifies the cell (such as the Synchronization Signal and PBCH Block, SSB).

[0155] In some embodiments of this application, when the terminal saves the SIB1 of the second cell, it can also save the unique identifier of the neighboring cells of the second cell, the frequency of the second cell, and the PCI of the second cell.

[0156] In some embodiments of this application, the first condition mentioned above can also be understood to include:

[0157] The unique identifier of the neighboring cells of the first cell is the same as the unique identifier of the neighboring cells of SIB1 stored in the transmitting terminal; and,

[0158] The frequency of the first cell is the same as the frequency of the SIB1 cell stored in the transmitting terminal; and,

[0159] The PCI of the first cell is the same as the PCI of the SIB1 cell stored in the transmitting terminal.

[0160] Thus, since the unique identifier of the neighboring cells of the first cell is the same as the unique identifier of the neighboring cells of the second cell stored by the terminal, the terminal can determine that the neighboring cells of the first cell and the second cell are the same. Furthermore, within the neighboring cells of the same cell, no two or more cells will have the same PCI and the same frequency. Therefore, if the neighboring cells of the first cell and the second cell are the same, the frequency of the first cell is the same, and the PCI of the first cell is also the same, the terminal can determine that the first cell and the second cell are the same. Then, the terminal can further determine whether the version of the SIB1 currently used by the first cell is the same as the version of the SIB1 stored by the terminal. If they are the same, the terminal can confirm that the stored SIB1 is consistent with the SIB1 (configuration) currently being used by the first cell, and the terminal can apply the stored SIB1, thereby avoiding duplicate acquisition of the SIB1 of the first cell.

[0161] In some embodiments of this application, the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application may further include the following step 601.

[0162] It should be noted that the terminal may execute step 601 before executing step 301.

[0163] Step 601: If the second condition is met, the terminal determines that the first cell and the second cell are the same.

[0164] In the embodiments of this application, the second condition mentioned above includes:

[0165] The PLMN identifier of the associated OSI of the first cell is the same as the PLMN identifier of the associated OSI of the second cell stored in the terminal; and,

[0166] The region identifier of the associated OSI of the first cell is the same as the region identifier of the associated OSI of the second cell stored in the terminal.

[0167] In the embodiments of this application, the associated OSI of the first cell is the OSI sent by the neighboring cells of the first cell to obtain the SIB1 of the first cell, and the associated OSI of the second cell is the OSI sent by the neighboring cells of the second cell to obtain the SIB1 of the second cell.

[0168] In some embodiments of this application, when the terminal is camped in a neighboring cell of the first cell (such as a third cell), the terminal can receive the OSI sent by the third cell. This OSI is the OSI of the third cell, which is used to obtain the SIB1 of the first cell. The OSI of the third cell is the associated OSI of the first cell mentioned above. If the third cell configures this OSI as valid in the region, the third cell will configure the region identifier of this OSI within its PLMN. At the same time, the terminal will save the PLMN identifier corresponding to this OSI.

[0169] In some embodiments of this application, when the terminal is camped in a neighboring cell of the second cell (such as the fourth cell), the terminal can receive the OSI sent by the fourth cell. This OSI is the OSI of the fourth cell, which is used to obtain the SIB1 of the second cell. The OSI of the fourth cell is the associated OSI of the second cell mentioned above. If the fourth cell configures this OSI as valid in the region, the fourth cell will configure the region identifier of this OSI within its PLMN. At the same time, the terminal will save the PLMN identifier corresponding to this OSI.

[0170] It is understandable that the PLMN identifier of the associated OSI of the first cell is the same as the PLMN identifier of the associated OSI of the second cell stored by the terminal; and the area identifier of the associated OSI of the first cell is the same as the area identifier of the associated OSI of the second cell stored by the terminal. The terminal can determine that the first cell and the second cell are the same. However, in this case, the version corresponding to the associated OSI of the first cell and the version corresponding to the associated OSI of the second cell stored by the terminal may be the same or different.

[0171] In the embodiments of this application, the second condition described above can also be understood to include:

[0172] The PLMN identifier of the associated OSI of the first cell is the same as the PLMN identifier of the associated OSI of the SIB1 cell stored in the transmitting terminal; and,

[0173] The region identifier of the associated OSI of the first cell is the same as the region identifier of the associated OSI of the SIB1 cell stored in the transmitting terminal.

[0174] Thus, since the PLMN identifier of the associated OSI of the first cell is the same as the PLMN identifier of the associated OSI of the second cell stored by the terminal, and the area identifier of the associated OSI of the first cell is the same as the area identifier of the associated OSI of the second cell stored by the terminal, the terminal can determine that the first configuration information of the neighboring cell configuration of the first cell and the second configuration information of the neighboring cell configuration of the second cell are actually used for the same cell. Then, the terminal can further determine whether the version of the current SIB1 of the first cell is the same as the version of the SIB1 stored by the terminal. If they are the same, the terminal can confirm that the stored SIB1 is consistent with the SIB1 (configuration) being applied by the first cell, and the terminal can apply the stored SIB1. This reduces the need for the terminal to repeatedly obtain the SIB1 of the first cell when moving back and forth between the neighboring cells of the first cell and the neighboring cells of the second cell, resulting in energy saving gains for the terminal and the network.

[0175] In one embodiment of this application, 'the PLMN identifier of the associated OSI of the first cell is the same as the PLMN identifier of the associated OSI of the second cell stored in the terminal; and the area identifier of the associated OSI of the first cell is the same as the area identifier of the associated OSI of the second cell stored in the terminal, so the terminal can determine that the first cell and the second cell are the same.' This applies to the associated OSI of the first cell being configured with only first configuration information related to the first cell, and the associated OSI of the second cell being configured with only second configuration information related to the second cell.

[0176] In another embodiment of this application, if the PLMN identifier of the associated OSI of the first cell is the same as the PLMN identifier of the associated OSI of the second cell stored by the terminal; and the area identifier of the associated OSI of the first cell is the same as the area identifier of the associated OSI of the second cell stored by the terminal, the terminal can determine that the first cell and the second cell are the same. If the associated OSI of the first cell is configured with first configuration information related to two or more first cells (first NES cell, second NES cell), and the associated OSI of the second cell is configured with second configuration information related to two or more second cells (third NES cell, fourth NES cell), the terminal performs the following: if the PLMN identifier of the associated OSI of the first cell is the same as the PLMN identifier of the associated OSI of the second cell stored by the terminal; and the area identifier of the associated OSI of the first cell is the same as the area identifier of the associated OSI of the second cell stored by the terminal; and the PCI of the first cell is the same as the PCI of the second cell; and the frequency of the first cell is the same as the frequency of the second cell, the terminal can determine that the first cell and the second cell are the same.

[0177] In embodiments of this application, the second condition further includes:

[0178] The version of the associated OSI of the first cell is the same as the version of the associated OSI of the second cell stored on the terminal.

[0179] This can also be understood as: the second condition also includes:

[0180] The version of the associated OSI of the first cell is the same as the version of the associated OSI of the SIB1 cell stored in the sending terminal.

[0181] In some embodiments of this application, the associated OSI of the first cell may further include: the version information corresponding to the current SIB1 of the first cell.

[0182] In some embodiments of this application, the associated OSI of the second cell may further include: the version information corresponding to the current SIB1 of the second cell.

[0183] For example, version information can be: the version number of SIB1, or the value tag.

[0184] In some embodiments of this application, the terminal can compare whether the version of the associated OSI of the first cell and the version of the associated OSI of the second cell are the same. If they are the same, the terminal can determine that the associated OSI of the first cell is the same as the associated OSI of the second cell stored by the terminal. Furthermore, since the associated OSI of the first cell includes the version information corresponding to the current SIB1 of the first cell, and the associated OSI of the second cell includes the version information corresponding to the current SIB1 of the second cell, the terminal can determine that the version of the current SIB1 of the first cell is consistent with the version of the SIB1 of the second cell stored by the terminal.

[0185] In some embodiments of this application, the associated OSI of the first cell may not include the version information corresponding to the current SIB1 of the first cell. Similarly, the associated OSI of the second cell may not include the version information corresponding to the current SIB1 of the second cell. Therefore, when the version corresponding to the associated OSI of the first cell is the same as the version corresponding to the associated OSI of the second cell stored in the terminal, the first cell and the second cell are definitely the same; however, it cannot be determined whether the current SIB1 version of the first cell is the same as the version corresponding to the SIB1 of the second cell stored in the terminal.

[0186] In some embodiments of this application, the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application may further include at least one of the following steps 701 and 702.

[0187] It should be noted that the terminal may execute at least one of the following steps 701 and 702 before executing step 301.

[0188] Step 701: The terminal obtains the version information corresponding to the current SIB1 of the first cell from the neighboring cells of the first cell.

[0189] In some embodiments of this application, the terminal can obtain first configuration information from neighboring cells of the first cell, the first configuration information including the version information corresponding to the current SIB1 of the first cell.

[0190] In some embodiments of this application, the terminal can obtain the first configuration information through broadcast messages or dedicated signaling sent by neighboring cells of the first cell.

[0191] In some embodiments of this application, when the version information corresponding to SIB1 of the first cell changes, the neighboring cells of the first cell send a system message change notification, or separately notify the first cell of the version information change of SIB1.

[0192] In some embodiments of this application, the interfaces between the first cell and its neighboring cells need to transmit the version information corresponding to SIB1 of the first cell.

[0193] Step 702: The terminal obtains the version information corresponding to the current SIB1 of the first cell from the information carried by the cell-level reference signal of the first cell.

[0194] In some embodiments of this application, the terminal can obtain the version information corresponding to the current SIB1 of the first cell from the information carried by the cell-level reference signal (or: common reference signal) of the first cell.

[0195] In some embodiments of this application, the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application may further include at least one of the following steps 801 to 803.

[0196] It should be noted that the terminal may execute at least one of the following steps 801 to 803 before executing step 301.

[0197] Step 801: The terminal obtains the version information corresponding to SIB1 of the second cell from the neighboring cells of the second cell.

[0198] In the embodiments of this application, the second cell mentioned above is the cell corresponding to SIB1 stored by the terminal.

[0199] In some embodiments of this application, the terminal can obtain second configuration information from neighboring cells of the second cell, the second configuration information including version information corresponding to SIB1 of the second cell.

[0200] In some embodiments of this application, the terminal can obtain the second configuration information through broadcast messages or dedicated signaling sent by neighboring cells of the second cell.

[0201] Step 802: The terminal obtains the version information corresponding to SIB1 of the second cell from the information carried by the cell-level reference signal of the second cell.

[0202] In some embodiments of this application, the terminal can obtain the version information corresponding to SIB1 of the second cell from the information carried by the cell-level reference signal (or: common reference signal) of the second cell.

[0203] Step 803: The terminal obtains the version information corresponding to the SIB1 of the second cell from the SIB1 of the second cell.

[0204] For example, the SIB1 of the second cell itself carries the version number of that SIB1.

[0205] In some embodiments of this application, after obtaining the version information corresponding to the current SIB1 of the first cell and the version information corresponding to the SIB1 of the second cell, the terminal can compare the version information corresponding to the current SIB1 of the first cell and the version information corresponding to the SIB1 of the second cell. If they are the same, the terminal can determine that the version corresponding to the current SIB1 of the first cell is the same as the version corresponding to the SIB1 stored by the terminal.

[0206] In some embodiments of this application, when the terminal is not camped on the second cell, the terminal can obtain the version information corresponding to SIB1 of the second cell through the above steps 801, 802 or 803.

[0207] In some embodiments of this application, when the terminal is camped on the second cell, the terminal can obtain the version information corresponding to SIB1 of the second cell through the above steps 802 or 803.

[0208] In some embodiments of this application, the SIB1 stored by the terminal is the SIB1 of the second cell. The communication method provided in the embodiments of this application may also include the following step 901.

[0209] It should be noted that, in conjunction with Figure 2 and as shown in Figure 3, the terminal can execute the following step 901 before executing step 201.

[0210] Step 901: If the terminal obtains the SIB1 of the second cell, the terminal saves the SIB1 of the second cell and starts the first timer corresponding to the SIB1 of the second cell.

[0211] It should be noted that, to support more versions of SIB1, a fixed N bits (e.g., 2 bits) are still used to represent each SIB1 version, allowing the network to reuse SIB1 versions. However, when the network reuses SIB1 versions, the same version of SIB1 may represent different SIB1 versions at different times. Therefore, to further avoid SIB1 confusion, a timer can be defined to represent the validity period of a version. After the timer expires, the version information can be re-associated with the new SIB1.

[0212] In some embodiments of this application, the duration of the first timer can be agreed upon by the protocol (e.g., 3 hours like OSI, or a shorter or longer time); or it can be configured by the network-side device.

[0213] In some examples, the network-side device carries the effective duration of SIB1 in the SIB1 of the second cell, which is the duration of the first timer mentioned above.

[0214] In some embodiments of this application, when the terminal performs step 301 above to determine whether the terminal has saved the SIB1 of the first cell, it can make the judgment by combining whether the first timer corresponding to the first version of the SIB1 saved by the terminal has expired.

[0215] In some examples, if the first cell is the same as the second cell, and the version of the current SIB1 of the first cell is the same as the version of the SIB1 stored in the terminal, and the first timer corresponding to the first version of the SIB1 stored in the terminal has not expired, the terminal determines that it has stored the SIB1 of the first cell.

[0216] In other examples, when the first timer of the first version of SIB1 expires, the terminal deletes the first version of SIB1. When the terminal performs step 301 above to determine whether the terminal has saved the SIB1 of the first cell, it can assume that the first timer corresponding to the first version of SIB1 saved by the terminal has not expired.

[0217] In some embodiments of this application, the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application may further include the following step 902.

[0218] It should be noted that, in conjunction with Figure 3 and as shown in Figure 4, the terminal can execute step 902 as described below after executing step 901.

[0219] Step 902: If the terminal is not camped on the second cell or has left the second cell, the terminal does not delete the saved SIB1 of the second cell.

[0220] In some embodiments of this application, if the second cell does not meet the camping conditions (e.g., the S criterion of the second cell is not met), the terminal does not camp or does not reselect to the second cell.

[0221] In some embodiments of this application, when the terminal is not camped in the second cell or leaves the second cell, the terminal does not delete the saved SIB1 of the second cell and keeps the first timer running.

[0222] In some embodiments of this application, the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application may further include the following step 903.

[0223] It should be noted that the terminal can execute step 903 below after executing step 901.

[0224] Step 903: When the first timer expires, the terminal deletes the saved SIB1 of the second cell.

[0225] It is understandable that after the first timer expires, the version information corresponding to SIB1 saved by the terminal may indicate another SIB1. Therefore, in order to avoid confusion, the saved SIB1 of the second cell can be deleted after the first timer expires.

[0226] In some embodiments of this application, the SIB1 stored in the terminal includes a first version of SIB1, and the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application may further include the following step 904.

[0227] It should be noted that the terminal can execute step 904 below after executing step 901.

[0228] Step 904: While the terminal is camped in the second cell, if the terminal determines that the saved first version of SIB1 is valid, the terminal restarts the first timer.

[0229] It should be noted that the detailed steps for determining the validity of the first version of SIB1 saved on the terminal can be found in steps 905 or 906 below. These will not be repeated here.

[0230] In some embodiments of this application, the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application may further include the following steps 905 or 906.

[0231] It should be noted that the terminal may execute step 905 or step 906 before executing step 904.

[0232] Step 905: If no system message change notification is received during the application of the first version of SIB1 on the terminal, the terminal determines that the saved first version of SIB1 is valid.

[0233] In some embodiments of this application, the aforementioned system message change notification may be an SI change notification.

[0234] In some embodiments of this application, if no system message change notification is received within a system information modification cycle, the terminal can determine that the saved first version of SIB1 is valid.

[0235] Step 906: If the terminal receives a system message change notification and the changed SIB1 is the same as the first version of SIB1 saved by the terminal, the terminal determines that the saved first version of SIB1 is valid.

[0236] In some embodiments of this application, the modified SIB1 is a second version of SIB1, which includes version information of the second version of SIB1.

[0237] In some embodiments of this application, the terminal can compare the version information of the second version of SIB1 with the version information of the first version of SIB1 stored in the terminal. If the two are the same, the terminal determines that the modified SIB1 is the same as the first version of SIB1 stored in the terminal.

[0238] In some embodiments of this application, when the terminal receives a system message change notification, and the changed SIB1 is the same as the first version of SIB1 saved by the terminal, and the first timer corresponding to the first version of SIB1 saved by the terminal is running, the terminal determines that the saved first version of SIB1 is valid.

[0239] Thus, by restarting the first timer after confirming that the first version of SIB1 is valid, the validity period of the first version of SIB1 can be increased, thereby reducing the number of times the terminal needs to obtain the first version of SIB1, and thus saving power consumption of the terminal and network side devices.

[0240] In some embodiments of this application, when the terminal receives a system message change notification and the changed second version of SIB1 is different from the first version of SIB1 stored by the terminal, the terminal can obtain the changed second version of SIB1 and start the second timer corresponding to the second version of SIB1.

[0241] Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating the communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 5, the communication method may include the following step 907.

[0242] Step 907: The network-side device sends the first message.

[0243] In the embodiments of this application, the first information is used by the terminal to determine whether the terminal has stored the current SIB1 of the first cell.

[0244] In some embodiments of this application, the first information mentioned above includes information for indicating a unique identifier of the first cell; step 907 can be implemented by at least one of steps 907a and 907b described below.

[0245] Step 907a: The network-side device sends information indicating the unique identifier of the first cell through the neighboring cells of the first cell.

[0246] Step 907b: The network-side device sends the cell-level reference signal of the first cell.

[0247] In the embodiments of this application, the information carried by the cell-level reference signal of the first cell includes information for indicating the unique identifier of the first cell.

[0248] In some embodiments of this application, the first information mentioned above includes information for indicating a unique identifier of the second cell, the second cell being the cell corresponding to SIB1 stored by the terminal; the above step 907 can be implemented by at least one of the following steps 907c to 907e.

[0249] Step 907c: The network-side device sends information indicating the unique identifier of the second cell through the neighboring cells of the second cell.

[0250] Step 907d: The network-side device sends the cell-level reference signal of the second cell.

[0251] In the embodiments of this application, the information carried by the cell-level reference signal of the second cell includes information for indicating the unique identifier of the second cell.

[0252] Step 907e: The network-side device sends the SIB1 of the second cell.

[0253] In the embodiments of this application, the SIB1 of the second cell includes information for indicating a unique identifier of the second cell.

[0254] In some embodiments of this application, the first information mentioned above includes the version information corresponding to the current SIB1 of the first cell; the above step 907 can be implemented by at least one of the following steps 907f and 907g.

[0255] Step 907f: The network-side device sends the version information corresponding to the current SIB1 of the first cell through the neighboring cells of the first cell.

[0256] Step 907g: The network-side device sends the cell-level reference signal of the first cell.

[0257] In the embodiments of this application, the information carried by the cell-level reference signal of the first cell includes the version information corresponding to the current SIB1 of the first cell.

[0258] In some embodiments of this application, the first information mentioned above includes the version information corresponding to the current SIB1 of the second cell, and the second cell is the cell corresponding to the SIB1 stored by the terminal; the above step 907 can be implemented by at least one of the following steps 907h to 907j.

[0259] Step 907h: The network-side device sends the version information corresponding to SIB1 of the second cell through the neighboring cells of the second cell.

[0260] Step 907i: The network-side device sends the cell-level reference signal of the second cell.

[0261] In the embodiments of this application, the information carried by the cell-level reference signal of the second cell includes the version information corresponding to the SIB1 of the second cell.

[0262] Step 907j: The network-side device sends the SIB1 of the second cell.

[0263] In the embodiments of this application, the SIB1 of the second cell includes the version information corresponding to the SIB1 of the second cell.

[0264] This application provides a communication method. Since the network-side device can send first information, which is used by the terminal to determine whether the terminal has saved the current SIB1 of the first cell, when the terminal needs the SIB1 of the first cell, the terminal does not directly obtain the SIB1 of the first cell. Instead, it can first determine whether the terminal has saved the current SIB1 of the first cell based on the first information. If it is determined that the current SIB1 of the first cell has been saved, the saved SIB1 is applied without having to obtain the current SIB1 of the first cell again. Only when it is determined that the current SIB1 of the first cell has not been saved is the SIB1 of the first cell obtained. Therefore, the number of times the terminal obtains the SIB1 of the first cell is reduced, thereby saving power consumption of the terminal and the network-side device.

[0265] It should be noted that the detailed steps for the terminal to determine whether it has stored the current SIB of the first cell based on the first information can be found in the description in the above embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0266] The communication method provided in this application will be described in detail below through specific implementation methods (i.e., implementation methods one to six).

[0267] Implementation Method 1 (The terminal saves a specific version of SIB1 and starts a timer for that version)

[0268] The communication method provided in this application includes the following steps 1 to 4.

[0269] For example, the following process illustrates how a terminal obtains the SIB1 version number from the NES cell and saves the latest version of SIB1.

[0270] Step 1: The terminal obtains the WUS configuration from cell A1 (i.e., the neighboring cell of the second cell mentioned above). This WUS configuration is used to request SIB1 of the NES cell (i.e., the second cell mentioned above). The terminal sends the WUS to the NES cell according to the WUS configuration (e.g., the NES cell's PCI, frequency, and WUS time-frequency domain resources in the WUS configuration). (The terminal requests the NES cell's SIB1 for the first time.)

[0271] Step 2: After sending WUS, the terminal receives SIB1 from the NES cell. SIB1 carries the version number of SIB1. The terminal saves the first version of SIB1 received and starts the first timer corresponding to the first version of SIB1.

[0272] Step 3: If the current NES cell does not meet the camping conditions (e.g., the S criterion in SIB1 is not met), the terminal will not camp / reselect to the cell, and will not discard the first version of SIB1. The first timer corresponding to the first version of SIB1 will continue to run.

[0273] Step 4: If the current NES cell meets the residency conditions, the terminal resides in that NES cell and maintains the SIB1 update during the residency period.

[0274] Specifically, this may include the following steps 4(A) to 4(B):

[0275] Step 4(A): When the NES cell indicates a system message change notification, the terminal obtains the new SIB1. The new SIB1 provides the version number of the new SIB1. If the new second version of SIB1 is the same as the first version of SIB1 saved by the terminal, the first timer is restarted; if the new second version of SIB1 is different from the first version of SIB1 saved by the terminal, the second timer corresponding to the second version of SIB1 is started.

[0276] Step 4(B): If no system message change notification is received, the terminal restarts the first timer.

[0277] Step 4(C): If the terminal initiates cell reselection after camping on the NES cell for a period of time and the terminal reselects to another cell, the terminal will not discard the first version of SIB1 of the NES cell, and the first timer corresponding to the first version of SIB will continue to run (or, the timers of all versions of SIB1 of the NES cell saved by the terminal will continue to run).

[0278] It should be noted that the relevant explanations and beneficial effects of steps 1 to 4 above can be found in the descriptions in the above embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0279] Implementation Method 2 (The terminal determines the validity of the locally stored SIB1 according to the WUS configuration (i.e., the terminal determines that the terminal has stored the required SIB1, and the WUS configuration provides the NCGI of the target NES cell and the current SIB1 version number of the target NES cell). The communication method provided in this application embodiment includes the following steps 11 to 17.

[0280] Steps 11 to 14 are the same as steps 1 to 4 above. They will not be repeated here.

[0281] Step 15: The terminal camps on Cell A2 (i.e., the neighboring cell of the first cell mentioned above) (Cell A2 may be the same as or different from cell A1) and obtains the WUS configuration from cell A2. The WUS configuration includes the identification information (NCGI) of the target NES cell (i.e., the first cell mentioned above), the WUS configuration of the target NES cell (the PCI and frequency of the target NES cell), and the current version number of the SIB1 of the target NES cell.

[0282] Step 16: If it is necessary to obtain the SIB1 of the target NES cell, and if there is a valid SIB1 of the target NES cell that meets both of the following conditions 1 and 2 in the stored SIB1 of the NES cell, the terminal determines that a valid SIB1 of the target NES cell is stored.

[0283] Condition 1: The NCGI of the target NES cell is the same as the NCGI of the locally stored SIB1.

[0284] Condition 2: The version number of the target NES cell provided in the WUS configuration is the same as the version number of the SIB1 stored in the terminal.

[0285] Step 17: When the first version of SIB1 saved in the terminal meets conditions 1 and 2, the terminal directly applies the first version of SIB1.

[0286] It should be noted that if the terminal does not have a valid SIB1 for the target NES cell, the terminal sends a WUS request for the SIB1 of the target NES cell.

[0287] It should be noted that the relevant explanations and beneficial effects of steps 11 to 17 above can be found in the descriptions in the above embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0288] Implementation Method 3 (The terminal determines the validity of the locally stored SIB1 based on the target NES cell MIB (i.e., the terminal determines that it has stored the required SIB1). The target NES cell's MIB carries the target NES cell's NCGI and the version number corresponding to the current SIB1 of the target NES cell.)

[0289] The communication method provided in this application includes the following steps 21 to 26.

[0290] Steps 21 to 24 are the same as steps 1 to 4 above. They will not be repeated here.

[0291] Step 25: During cell reselection, the terminal measures the MIB of the target NES cell and obtains the NCGI and SIB1 version number of the target NES cell based on the MIB. If any of the saved SIB1s of the NES cell simultaneously meets conditions 3 and 4, the terminal determines that it has saved a valid SIB1 of the target NES cell.

[0292] Condition 3: The NCGI of the target NES cell is the same as the NCGI of the locally stored SIB1.

[0293] Condition 4: The version number of SIB1 in the target NES cell is the same as the version number of SIB1 stored in the terminal mentioned above.

[0294] Step 26: When the first version of SIB1 saved in the terminal meets conditions 3 and 4, the terminal directly applies the first version of SIB1.

[0295] It should be noted that if the terminal does not have a valid SIB1 for the target NES cell, the terminal sends a WUS request for the SIB1 of the target NES cell.

[0296] It should be noted that implementation method three is suitable for situations where there is ample MIB space in 6G.

[0297] It should be noted that the relevant explanations and beneficial effects of steps 21 to 26 above can be found in the descriptions in the above embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0298] Implementation Method 4 (The terminal determines the validity of the saved SIB1 by checking if it has returned to the same cell A (i.e., the terminal determines that it has saved the required SIB1)).

[0299] The communication method provided in this application includes the following steps 31 to 36.

[0300] Step 31 is the same as step 1 above. It will not be repeated here.

[0301] Step 32: After sending WUS, the terminal receives SIB1 from the NES cell. This SIB1 carries the version number of SIB1. The terminal saves the first version of SIB1 received, as well as the NCGI of cell A1, the frequency of the NES cell, and the PCI of the NES cell, and starts the first timer corresponding to this first version of SIB1. (It should be noted that the difference between step 32 and step 2 above is that in addition to saving the SIB1 after receiving it from the NES cell, the terminal also saves the NCGI of cell A1, the frequency of the NES cell, and the PCI of the NES cell.)

[0302] Steps 33 and 34 are the same as steps 3 and 4 above. They will not be repeated here.

[0303] Step 35: At a certain moment, the terminal resides in cell A1 again and obtains the NCGI and WUS configuration of the NES cell based on the SIB1 of cell A1. If the saved SIB1 of the NES cell meets the following conditions 5-7 simultaneously, the terminal determines that it has saved a valid SIB1 of the target NES cell;

[0304] Condition 5: The associated NCGI of SIB1 of the locally saved NES cell is the same as the NCGI of the current cell A1.

[0305] Condition 6: The frequency and PCI of the NES cell provided in the WUS configuration of Cell A1 are the same as the corresponding frequency and PCI of SIB1 saved in the terminal above.

[0306] Condition 7: The version number of the current SIB1 in the NES cell is the same as the version number of the SIB1 stored in the terminal mentioned above.

[0307] Step 36: When the first version of SIB1 saved in the terminal meets conditions 5-7, the terminal directly applies the first version of SIB1.

[0308] It should be noted that if the terminal does not have a valid SIB1 for the target NES cell, the terminal sends a WUS request for the SIB1 of the target NES cell.

[0309] In the embodiments of this application, the advantage of embodiment four compared to embodiment two is that the air interface does not require additional NCGI overhead.

[0310] It should be noted that the relevant explanations and beneficial effects of steps 31 to 36 above can be found in the descriptions in the above embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0311] Implementation Method 5 (Determining that different cells A1 are configured with the same NES cell by using existing OSI region IDs)

[0312] In on-demand SIB1 transmission scenarios, there are situations where cell A1 and cell A2 are simultaneously configured with the same NES cell's WUS configuration. In this case, one approach is for cell A1 and cell A2 to use SIBx (i.e., the OSI mentioned above) to configure the NES cell 1's WUS configuration and set it to region-valid. Furthermore, the region ID of this SIBx configuration in both cells must be consistent. The terminal can determine whether the two cells are providing the same NES cell's WUS configuration based on whether the region ID of the SIBx is consistent within the same PLMN. If the WUS configurations transmitted by the two cells carry the version number of the SIB1 currently transmitted by the NES cell, it can reduce the frequency of terminal requests for NES cell 1's SIB1 when moving within the coverage area of ​​cell A1 and cell A2, resulting in energy savings for both the terminal and the network.

[0313] The communication method provided in this application includes the following steps 41 to 43.

[0314] Step 41: The terminal resides in cell A1 and receives SIBx, which contains the WUS configuration of NES cell 1 and the SIB1 version number of NES cell 1. According to the network-side configuration, SIBx is configured as region-valid, and the terminal saves the PLMN ID of SIBx, the region ID of SIBx within its PLMN, and the version number of SIBx.

[0315] Step 42: The terminal sends WUS to NES cell 1 and receives SIB1 from NES cell, version number 1. The terminal saves SIB1.

[0316] Step 43: The terminal moves to cell A2 and resides there. If all of the following conditions 8-10 are met, the terminal determines that the saved SIB1 of the NES cell is valid:

[0317] Condition 8: The PLMN ID of Cell A2 is the same as the PLMN ID corresponding to the saved SIBx;

[0318] Condition 9: The region ID of SIBx in Cell A2 is the same as the region ID of the saved SIBx;

[0319] Condition 10: The version number of SIBx in Cell A2 is the same as the version number of the saved SIBx; or, the version number of SIB1 of the NES cell provided in SIBx of Cell A2 is the same as the version number of the saved SIB1.

[0320] It should be noted that the relevant explanations and beneficial effects of steps 41 to 43 above can be found in the descriptions in the above embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0321] Implementation Method Six (The terminal obtains the version number corresponding to SIB1 of the NES cell based on the MIB of the NES cell)

[0322] The communication method provided in this application includes the following steps 51 to 53.

[0323] Step 51: The terminal resides in cell A1 and receives SIBx, which contains the WUS configuration of NES cell1. According to the network-side configuration, SIBx is configured as region-valid, and the terminal saves the PLMN ID, region ID, and version number of SIBx.

[0324] Step 52: The terminal sends a WUS to NES cell 1 and receives SIB1 from NES cell, with version number 1. The terminal saves SIB1. The terminal obtains the version number of SIB1 based on the MIB of NES cell 1.

[0325] Step 53: The terminal moves to cell A2 and resides there. The terminal determines that the saved SIB1 of the NES cell is valid only if the following conditions 11-13 are met:

[0326] Condition 11: The PLMN ID of Cell A2 is the same as the PLMN ID corresponding to the saved SIBx;

[0327] Condition 12: The region ID of SIBx in Cell A2 is the same as the region ID of the saved SIBx;

[0328] Condition 13: The version number of the NES cell SIB1 provided in the MIB of the NES cell included in SIBx of Cell A2 is the same as the version number of the saved SIB1.

[0329] In the embodiments of this application, the problem that the 32 versions of SIBx in Implementation 5 may not be sufficient is solved.

[0330] It should be noted that the relevant explanations and beneficial effects of steps 51 to 53 above can be found in the descriptions in the above embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0331] The communication method provided in this application can be executed by a communication device. This application uses the example of a communication device executing the communication method to illustrate the communication device provided in this application.

[0332] This application provides a communication device. As an example, the communication device may be a communication equipment or a component within a communication equipment, such as a chip. The communication equipment may be a terminal, a network-side device, or a server, etc. Exemplarily, the terminal may include, but is not limited to, the types of terminals 11 listed above; this application does not impose specific limitations.

[0333] The communication device includes a receiving module, a transmitting module, and a processing module. These modules can be implemented in software or hardware. When implemented in hardware, the processing module can be implemented by a processor. For example, the processor can include general-purpose processors, special-purpose processors, such as a Central Processing Unit (CPU), microprocessor, Digital Signal Processor (DSP), Artificial Intelligence (AI) processor, Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), Network Processor (NP), Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, gate circuits, transistors, discrete hardware components, etc. The receiving and transmitting modules can be implemented by a communication interface, which can include one or more of the following: transceiver, pins, circuits, bus, radio frequency unit, etc.

[0334] Specifically, referring to Figure 6, when the communication device is a terminal or a component in a terminal, the communication device 800 includes a processing module 801, which is used to apply the saved SIB1 if the terminal has saved the current SIB1 of the first cell when the terminal needs the SIB1 of the first cell; or to obtain the SIB1 of the first cell if the terminal does not have saved the current SIB1 of the first cell.

[0335] The communication device provided in this application does not directly obtain the SIB1 of the first cell when the terminal needs it. Instead, it first determines whether the terminal has saved the current SIB1 of the first cell. If it is determined that the current SIB1 of the first cell has been saved, the saved SIB1 is used without re-obtaining the current SIB1 of the first cell. Only if it is determined that the current SIB1 of the first cell has not been saved is the SIB1 of the first cell obtained. Therefore, the number of times the terminal obtains the SIB1 of the first cell is reduced, thereby saving power consumption of the terminal and network side equipment.

[0336] In some possible implementations, the processing module 801 is further configured to determine that the terminal has stored the current SIB1 of the first cell when the first cell and the second cell are the same, and the version of the current SIB1 of the first cell is the same as the version of the SIB1 stored in the terminal; wherein the second cell is the cell corresponding to the SIB1 stored in the terminal.

[0337] In some possible implementations, the processing module 801 is further configured to determine that the first cell and the second cell are the same if the unique identifier of the first cell is the same as the unique identifier of the second cell stored in the terminal.

[0338] In some possible implementations, processing module 801 is also used to perform at least one of the following:

[0339] Obtain information from neighboring cells of the first cell to identify the unique identifier of the first cell;

[0340] The information used to indicate the unique identifier of the first cell is obtained from the information carried by the cell-level reference signal of the first cell.

[0341] In some possible implementations, the information used to indicate the unique identifier of the first cell includes at least one of the following:

[0342] The first community's globally unique identifier;

[0343] The Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) identifier of the first cell;

[0344] The community identifier of the first community within its PLMN;

[0345] The base station identifier of the first cell within its PLMN;

[0346] The cell identifier of the first cell within its respective base station;

[0347] The first cell is the cell identifier among cells with the same frequency and the same Physical Cell Identifier (PCI) within its PLMN.

[0348] In some possible implementations, processing module 801 is also used to perform at least one of the following:

[0349] Obtain information from the neighboring cells of the second cell to identify the unique identifier of the second cell;

[0350] Obtain the unique identifier for the second cell from the information carried by the cell-level reference signal of the second cell;

[0351] Obtain the information used to identify the second cell from SIB1 of the second cell;

[0352] The second cell is the cell corresponding to SIB1 stored in the terminal.

[0353] In some possible implementations, the information used to indicate the unique identifier of the second cell includes at least one of the following:

[0354] The globally unique identifier for the second community;

[0355] The PLMN identifier of the second community;

[0356] The community identifier of the second community within its PLMN;

[0357] The base station identifier of the second cell within its PLMN;

[0358] The cell identifier of the second cell within its respective base station;

[0359] The second cell is the cell identifier among cells with the same frequency and PCI within its PLMN.

[0360] In some possible implementations, the processing module 801 is further configured to determine that the first cell and the second cell are the same if the first condition is met;

[0361] The first condition includes:

[0362] The unique identifier of the neighboring cells of the first cell is the same as the unique identifier of the neighboring cells of the second cell stored in the terminal; and,

[0363] The frequency of the first cell is the same as the frequency of the second cell stored in the terminal; and,

[0364] The PCI of the first cell is the same as the PCI of the second cell stored in the terminal.

[0365] In some possible implementations, the processing module 801 is further configured to determine that the first cell and the second cell are the same if the second condition is met;

[0366] The second condition includes:

[0367] The PLMN identifier of the OSI associated system information of the first cell is the same as the PLMN identifier of the OSI associated system information of the second cell stored in the terminal; and,

[0368] The region identifier of the associated OSI of the first cell is the same as the region identifier of the associated OSI of the second cell stored in the terminal.

[0369] The associated OSI of the first cell is the OSI sent by the neighboring cells of the first cell to obtain the SIB1 of the first cell, and the associated OSI of the second cell is the OSI sent by the neighboring cells of the second cell to obtain the SIB1 of the second cell.

[0370] In some possible implementations, the second condition also includes:

[0371] The version of the associated OSI of the first cell is the same as the version of the associated OSI of the second cell stored on the terminal.

[0372] In some possible implementations, processing module 801 is also used to perform at least one of the following:

[0373] Obtain the current SIB1 version information of the first cell from the neighboring cells of the first cell;

[0374] Obtain the version information corresponding to the current SIB1 of the first cell from the information carried by the cell-level reference signal of the first cell.

[0375] In some possible implementations, processing module 801 is also used to perform at least one of the following:

[0376] Obtain the version information corresponding to SIB1 of the second cell from the neighboring cells of the second cell;

[0377] Obtain the version information corresponding to SIB1 of the second cell from the information carried by the cell-level reference signal of the second cell;

[0378] Obtain the version information corresponding to the SIB1 of the second cell from the SIB1 of the second cell;

[0379] The second cell is the cell corresponding to SIB1 stored in the terminal.

[0380] In some possible implementations, the SIB1 stored by the terminal is the SIB1 of the second cell. The processing module 801 is also used to store the SIB1 of the second cell and start the first timer corresponding to the SIB1 of the second cell when the terminal obtains the SIB1 of the second cell.

[0381] In some possible implementations, the processing module 801 is also configured not to delete the saved SIB1 of the second cell when the terminal is not camped in the second cell or has left the second cell.

[0382] In some possible implementations, the processing module 801 is also used to delete the saved SIB1 of the second cell when the first timer times out.

[0383] In some possible implementations, the SIB1 stored by the terminal includes a first version of SIB1. The processing module 801 is also used to restart the first timer if the terminal determines that the stored first version of SIB1 is valid while the terminal is camped on the second cell.

[0384] In some possible implementations, processing module 801 is also used for:

[0385] If no system message change notification is received during the application of the first version of SIB1 on the terminal, the saved first version of SIB1 is deemed valid; or...

[0386] If the terminal receives a system message change notification and the changed SIB1 is the same as the first version of SIB1 saved by the terminal, the first version of SIB1 is determined to be valid.

[0387] Referring to Figure 7, when the communication device is a network-side device or a component of a network-side device, the communication device 900 includes a transmitting module 901 for transmitting first information. The first information is used by the terminal to determine whether the terminal has stored the current SIB1 of the first cell.

[0388] The communication device provided in this application embodiment can send first information to the network-side device. This first information is used by the terminal to determine whether the terminal has saved the current SIB1 of the first cell. Therefore, when the terminal needs the SIB1 of the first cell, the terminal does not directly obtain the SIB1 of the first cell. Instead, it can first determine whether the terminal has saved the current SIB1 of the first cell based on the first information. If it is determined that the current SIB1 of the first cell has been saved, the saved SIB1 is applied without having to obtain the current SIB1 of the first cell again. Only when it is determined that the current SIB1 of the first cell has not been saved is the SIB1 of the first cell obtained. Therefore, the number of times the terminal obtains the SIB1 of the first cell is reduced, thereby saving power consumption of the terminal and the network-side device.

[0389] In some possible implementations, the first information includes information indicating a unique identifier for the first cell; the sending module 901 is specifically configured to perform at least one of the following:

[0390] Send information indicating the unique identifier of the first cell through the neighboring cells of the first cell;

[0391] Transmit a cell-level reference signal for the first cell. The cell-level reference signal for the first cell carries information including a unique identifier for the first cell.

[0392] In some possible implementations, the first information includes information indicating a unique identifier for the second cell, which is the cell corresponding to SIB1 stored by the terminal; the sending module 901 is specifically used to perform at least one of the following:

[0393] Send information indicating the unique identifier of the second cell through the neighboring cells of the second cell;

[0394] Transmit a cell-level reference signal for the second cell, the cell-level reference signal for the second cell carrying information including information for indicating the unique identifier of the second cell;

[0395] Send the SIB1 of the second cell, which includes information indicating the unique identifier of the second cell.

[0396] In some possible implementations, the first information includes the version information corresponding to the current SIB1 of the first cell; the sending module 901 is specifically used to perform at least one of the following:

[0397] Send the version information corresponding to the current SIB1 of the first cell through the neighboring cells of the first cell;

[0398] Transmit the cell-level reference signal of the first cell. The information carried by the cell-level reference signal of the first cell includes the version information corresponding to the current SIB1 of the first cell.

[0399] In some possible implementations, the first information includes version information corresponding to SIB1 of the second cell, where the second cell is the cell corresponding to SIB1 stored in the terminal; the sending module 901 is specifically used to perform at least one of the following:

[0400] The version information corresponding to SIB1 of the second cell is sent through the neighboring cells of the second cell;

[0401] Transmit the cell-level reference signal of the second cell. The information carried by the cell-level reference signal of the second cell includes the version information corresponding to SIB1 of the second cell.

[0402] Send the SIB1 of the second cell, which includes the version information corresponding to the SIB1 of the second cell.

[0403] The communication device provided in this application embodiment can implement the various processes implemented in the above method embodiments and achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be described again here.

[0404] As shown in Figure 8, this application embodiment also provides a communication device 2000, including a processor 2001 and a memory 2002. The memory 2002 stores a program or instructions that can run on the processor 2001. For example, when the communication device 2000 is a terminal, the program or instructions executed by the processor 2001 implement the various steps of the above-described communication method embodiment and achieve the same technical effect. When the communication device 2000 is a network-side device, the program or instructions executed by the processor 2001 implement the various steps of the above-described network-side device-side communication method embodiment and achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, further details are omitted here.

[0405] This application also provides a terminal, including a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is coupled to the processor, and the processor is used to run programs or instructions to implement the steps in the above method embodiments. This terminal embodiment corresponds to the above terminal-side method embodiments, and all implementation processes and methods of the above method embodiments can be applied to this terminal embodiment and achieve the same technical effect. The terminal can be the communication device shown in FIG6. Specifically, FIG9 is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a terminal implementing an embodiment of this application.

[0406] The terminal 100 includes, but is not limited to, at least some of the following components: radio frequency unit 101, network module 102, audio output unit 103, input unit 104, sensor 105, display unit 106, user input unit 107, interface unit 108, memory 109, and processor 110.

[0407] Those skilled in the art will understand that terminal 100 may also include a power supply (such as a battery) for powering various components. The power supply can be logically connected to processor 110 through a power management system, thereby enabling functions such as charging, discharging, and power consumption management through the power management system. The terminal structure shown in Figure 9 does not constitute a limitation on the terminal. The terminal may include more or fewer components than shown, or combine certain components, or have different component arrangements, which will not be elaborated here.

[0408] It should be understood that, in this embodiment, the input unit 104 may include a graphics processor 1041 and a microphone 1042. The graphics processor 1041 processes image data of still images or videos obtained by an image capture device (such as a camera) in video capture mode or image capture mode. The display unit 106 may include a display panel 1061, which may be configured in the form of a liquid crystal display, an organic light-emitting diode, or the like. The user input unit 107 includes at least one of a touch panel 1071 and other input devices 1072. The touch panel 1071 is also called a touch screen. The touch panel 1071 may include a touch detection device and a touch controller. Other input devices 1072 may include, but are not limited to, physical keyboards, function keys (such as volume control buttons, power buttons, etc.), trackballs, mice, and joysticks, which will not be described in detail here.

[0409] In this embodiment, after receiving downlink data from the network-side device, the radio frequency unit 101 can transmit it to the processor 110 for processing; in addition, the radio frequency unit 101 can send uplink data to the network-side device. Typically, the radio frequency unit 101 includes, but is not limited to, antennas, amplifiers, transceivers, couplers, low-noise amplifiers, duplexers, etc.

[0410] The memory 109 can be used to store software programs or instructions, as well as various data. The memory 109 may primarily include a first storage area for storing programs or instructions and a second storage area for storing data. The first storage area may store the operating system, application programs or instructions required for at least one function (such as sound playback, image playback, etc.). Furthermore, the memory 109 may include volatile memory or non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory may be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory can be random access memory (RAM), static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDRSDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct memory bus RAM (DRRAM). The memory 109 in the embodiments of this application includes, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0411] Processor 110 may include one or more processing units; optionally, processor 110 integrates an application processor and a modem processor, wherein the application processor mainly handles operations involving the operating system, user interface, and applications, and the modem processor mainly handles wireless communication signals, such as a baseband processor. It is understood that the aforementioned modem processor may also not be integrated into processor 110.

[0412] The processor 110 is configured to, when the terminal needs the system information block SIB1 of the first cell, apply the saved SIB1 if the terminal has saved the current SIB1 of the first cell; or, if the terminal has not saved the current SIB1 of the first cell, obtain the SIB1 of the first cell.

[0413] The terminal provided in this application embodiment does not directly obtain the SIB1 of the first cell when it needs it. Instead, it first determines whether the terminal has saved the current SIB1 of the first cell. If it is determined that the current SIB1 of the first cell has been saved, the saved SIB1 is used without needing to obtain the current SIB1 of the first cell again. Only if it is determined that the current SIB1 of the first cell has not been saved is the SIB1 of the first cell obtained. Therefore, the number of times the terminal obtains the SIB1 of the first cell is reduced, thereby saving power consumption of the terminal and network side equipment.

[0414] In some embodiments of this application, the processor 110 is further configured to determine that the terminal has stored the current SIB1 of the first cell when the first cell and the second cell are the same, and the version of the current SIB1 of the first cell is the same as the version of the SIB1 stored in the terminal; wherein the second cell is the cell corresponding to the SIB1 stored in the terminal.

[0415] In some embodiments of this application, the processor 110 is further configured to determine that the first cell and the second cell are the same if the unique identifier of the first cell is the same as the unique identifier of the second cell stored in the terminal.

[0416] In some embodiments of this application, the processor 110 is further configured to perform at least one of the following:

[0417] Obtain information from neighboring cells of the first cell to identify the unique identifier of the first cell;

[0418] The information used to indicate the unique identifier of the first cell is obtained from the information carried by the cell-level reference signal of the first cell.

[0419] In some embodiments of this application, the information used to indicate the unique identifier of the first cell includes at least one of the following:

[0420] The first community's globally unique identifier;

[0421] The Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) identifier of the first cell;

[0422] The community identifier of the first community within its PLMN;

[0423] The base station identifier of the first cell within its PLMN;

[0424] The cell identifier of the first cell within its respective base station;

[0425] The first cell is the cell identifier among cells with the same frequency and the same Physical Cell Identifier (PCI) within its PLMN.

[0426] In some embodiments of this application, the processor 110 is further configured to perform at least one of the following:

[0427] Obtain information from the neighboring cells of the second cell to identify the unique identifier of the second cell;

[0428] Obtain the unique identifier for the second cell from the information carried by the cell-level reference signal of the second cell;

[0429] Obtain the information used to identify the second cell from SIB1 of the second cell;

[0430] The second cell is the cell corresponding to SIB1 stored in the terminal.

[0431] In some embodiments of this application, the information used to indicate the unique identifier of the second cell includes at least one of the following:

[0432] The globally unique identifier for the second community;

[0433] The PLMN identifier of the second community;

[0434] The community identifier of the second community within its PLMN;

[0435] The base station identifier of the second cell within its PLMN;

[0436] The cell identifier of the second cell within its respective base station;

[0437] The second cell is the cell identifier among cells with the same frequency and PCI within its PLMN.

[0438] In some embodiments of this application, the processor 110 is further configured to determine that the first cell and the second cell are the same if a first condition is met;

[0439] The first condition includes:

[0440] The unique identifier of the neighboring cells of the first cell is the same as the unique identifier of the neighboring cells of the second cell stored in the terminal; and,

[0441] The frequency of the first cell is the same as the frequency of the second cell stored in the terminal; and,

[0442] The PCI of the first cell is the same as the PCI of the second cell stored in the terminal.

[0443] In some embodiments of this application, the processor 110 is further configured to determine that the first cell and the second cell are the same if a second condition is met;

[0444] The second condition includes:

[0445] The PLMN identifier of the OSI associated system information of the first cell is the same as the PLMN identifier of the OSI associated system information of the second cell stored in the terminal; and,

[0446] The region identifier of the associated OSI of the first cell is the same as the region identifier of the associated OSI of the second cell stored in the terminal.

[0447] The associated OSI of the first cell is the OSI sent by the neighboring cells of the first cell to obtain the SIB1 of the first cell, and the associated OSI of the second cell is the OSI sent by the neighboring cells of the second cell to obtain the SIB1 of the second cell.

[0448] In some embodiments of this application, the second condition further includes:

[0449] The version of the associated OSI of the first cell is the same as the version of the associated OSI of the second cell stored on the terminal.

[0450] In some embodiments of this application, the processor 110 is further configured to perform at least one of the following:

[0451] Obtain the current SIB1 version information of the first cell from the neighboring cells of the first cell;

[0452] Obtain the version information corresponding to the current SIB1 of the first cell from the information carried by the cell-level reference signal of the first cell.

[0453] In some embodiments of this application, the processor 110 is further configured to perform at least one of the following:

[0454] Obtain the version information corresponding to SIB1 of the second cell from the neighboring cells of the second cell;

[0455] Obtain the version information corresponding to SIB1 of the second cell from the information carried by the cell-level reference signal of the second cell;

[0456] Obtain the version information corresponding to the SIB1 of the second cell from the SIB1 of the second cell;

[0457] The second cell is the cell corresponding to SIB1 stored in the terminal.

[0458] In some embodiments of this application, the SIB1 stored by the terminal is the SIB1 of the second cell. The processor 110 is also used to store the SIB1 of the second cell and start a first timer corresponding to the SIB1 of the second cell when the terminal obtains the SIB1 of the second cell.

[0459] In some embodiments of this application, the processor 110 is also configured not to delete the saved SIB1 of the second cell when the terminal is not camped in the second cell or leaves the second cell.

[0460] In some embodiments of this application, the processor 110 is further configured to delete the saved SIB1 of the second cell when the first timer times out.

[0461] In some embodiments of this application, the SIB1 stored by the terminal includes a first version of SIB1. The processor 110 is also used to restart the first timer if the terminal determines that the stored first version of SIB1 is valid while the terminal is camped in the second cell.

[0462] In some embodiments of this application, the processor 110 is further configured to:

[0463] If no system message change notification is received during the application of the first version of SIB1 on the terminal, the saved first version of SIB1 is deemed valid; or...

[0464] If the terminal receives a system message change notification and the changed SIB1 is the same as the first version of SIB1 saved by the terminal, the first version of SIB1 is determined to be valid.

[0465] It is understood that the implementation process of each implementation method mentioned in this embodiment can refer to the relevant description of the above method embodiments and achieve the same or corresponding technical effects. To avoid repetition, it will not be described again here.

[0466] This application also provides a network-side device, including a processor and a communication interface. The communication interface is coupled to the processor, and the processor is used to run programs or instructions to implement the steps of the above-described method embodiments. This network-side device embodiment corresponds to the above-described network-side device method embodiments. All implementation processes and methods of the above-described method embodiments can be applied to this network-side device embodiment and achieve the same technical effects.

[0467] Specifically, this application embodiment also provides a network-side device. As shown in FIG10, the network-side device 3000 includes: an antenna 3001, a radio frequency device 3002, a baseband device 3003, a processor 3004, and a memory 3005. The antenna 3001 is connected to the radio frequency device 3002. In the uplink direction, the radio frequency device 3002 receives information through the antenna 3001 and sends the received information to the baseband device 3003 for processing. In the downlink direction, the baseband device 3003 processes the information to be transmitted and sends it to the radio frequency device 3002, which then processes the received information and transmits it through the antenna 3001.

[0468] The method executed by the network-side device in the above embodiments can be implemented in the baseband device 3003, which includes a baseband processor.

[0469] The baseband device 3003 may include at least one baseband board, on which multiple chips are disposed, as shown in FIG10. One of the chips is, for example, a baseband processor, which is connected to the memory 3005 via a bus interface to call the program in the memory 3005 and execute the network device operation shown in the above method embodiment.

[0470] The network-side device may also include a network interface 3006, such as a Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI).

[0471] Specifically, the network-side device 3000 of this embodiment of the invention further includes: instructions or programs stored in memory 3005 and executable on processor 3004. Processor 3004 calls the instructions or programs in memory 3005 to execute the methods executed by each module shown in FIG10 and achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be described in detail here.

[0472] This application also provides a readable storage medium storing a program or instructions. When the program or instructions are executed by a processor, they implement the various processes of the above-described communication method embodiments and achieve the same technical effects. To avoid repetition, they will not be described again here.

[0473] The processor mentioned above is the processor in the terminal described in the above embodiments. The readable storage medium includes computer-readable storage media, such as computer read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disk, or optical disk. In some examples, the readable storage medium may be a non-transient readable storage medium.

[0474] This application embodiment also provides a chip, which includes a processor and a communication interface. The communication interface is coupled to the processor. The processor is used to run programs or instructions to implement the various processes of the above-described communication method embodiments and can achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be described again here.

[0475] It should be understood that the chip mentioned in the embodiments of this application may also be referred to as a system-on-a-chip, system chip, chip system, or system-on-a-chip, etc.

[0476] This application also provides a computer program / program product, which is stored in a storage medium and executed by at least one processor to implement the various processes of the above-described communication method embodiments, and can achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be described again here.

[0477] This application also provides a communication system, including: a terminal and a network-side device, wherein the terminal can be used to execute the steps of the terminal-side communication method described above, and the network-side device can be used to execute the steps of the network-side device-side communication method described above.

[0478] It should be noted that, in this document, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes that element. Furthermore, it should be noted that the scope of the methods and apparatuses in the embodiments of this application is not limited to performing functions in the order shown or discussed, but may also include performing functions substantially simultaneously or in the reverse order, depending on the functions involved. For example, the described methods may be performed in a different order than described, and various steps may be added, omitted, or combined. Additionally, features described with reference to certain examples may be combined in other examples.

[0479] From the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the methods of the above embodiments can be implemented by means of computer software products plus necessary general-purpose hardware platforms, and of course, they can also be implemented by hardware. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium (such as ROM, RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk, etc.) and includes several instructions to cause the terminal or network-side device to execute the methods described in the various embodiments of this application.

[0480] The embodiments of this application have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, this application is not limited to the specific embodiments described above. The specific embodiments described above are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Those skilled in the art can make many other implementations under the guidance of this application without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims. All of these implementations are within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

A communication method, the method comprising: When a terminal needs the system information block SIB1 of the first cell, if the terminal has stored the current SIB1 of the first cell, the terminal applies the stored SIB1. or, If the terminal does not have the current SIB1 of the first cell, then the terminal obtains the SIB1 of the first cell. The method of claim 1, wherein, The method further includes: If the first cell and the second cell are the same, and the version of the current SIB1 of the first cell is the same as the version of the SIB1 stored in the terminal, the terminal determines that the terminal has stored the current SIB1 of the first cell. The second cell is the cell corresponding to SIB1 stored in the terminal. The method of claim 2, wherein, The method further includes: If the unique identifier of the first cell is the same as the unique identifier of the second cell stored in the terminal, the terminal determines that the first cell and the second cell are the same. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, The method further includes at least one of the following: The terminal obtains information from neighboring cells of the first cell to indicate a unique identifier for the first cell; The terminal obtains information from the information carried by the cell-level reference signal of the first cell to indicate the unique identifier of the first cell. The method of claim 4, wherein, The information used to indicate the unique identifier of the first cell includes at least one of the following: The globally unique identifier of the first community; The Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) identifier of the first cell; The cell identifier of the first cell within its PLMN; The base station identifier of the first cell within its PLMN; The cell identifier of the first cell within its respective base station; The cell identifier of the first cell is among the cells with the same frequency and the same Physical Cell Identifier (PCI) within its PLMN. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, The method further includes at least one of the following: The terminal obtains information from neighboring cells of the second cell to indicate a unique identifier for the second cell; The terminal obtains information used to indicate the unique identifier of the second cell from the information carried by the cell-level reference signal of the second cell; The terminal obtains information from the SIB1 of the second cell to indicate the unique identifier of the second cell; The second cell is the cell corresponding to SIB1 stored in the terminal. The method of claim 6, wherein, The information used to indicate the unique identifier of the second cell includes at least one of the following: The globally unique identifier of the second community; The PLMN identifier of the second cell; The cell identifier of the second cell within its PLMN; The base station identifier of the second cell within its PLMN; The cell identifier of the second cell within its respective base station; The cell identifier of the second cell within the same frequency and PCI of its PLMN. The method of claim 2, wherein, The method further includes: If the first condition is met, the terminal determines that the first cell and the second cell are the same; The first condition includes: The unique identifier of the neighboring cells of the first cell is the same as the unique identifier of the neighboring cells of the second cell stored in the terminal; and, The frequency of the first cell is the same as the frequency of the second cell stored in the terminal; and, The PCI of the first cell is the same as the PCI of the second cell stored in the terminal. The method of claim 2, wherein, The method further includes: If the second condition is met, the terminal determines that the first cell and the second cell are the same; The second condition includes: The PLMN identifier of the associated OSI of the first cell is the same as the PLMN identifier of the associated OSI of the second cell stored in the terminal; and, The region identifier of the associated OSI of the first cell is the same as the region identifier of the associated OSI of the second cell stored in the terminal; Wherein, the associated OSI of the first cell is the OSI sent by the neighboring cells of the first cell to obtain the SIB1 of the first cell, and the associated OSI of the second cell is the OSI sent by the neighboring cells of the second cell to obtain the SIB1 of the second cell. The method of claim 9, wherein, The second condition also includes: The version of the associated OSI of the first cell is the same as the version of the associated OSI of the second cell stored in the terminal. The method of claim 2, wherein, The method further includes at least one of the following: The terminal obtains the version information corresponding to the current SIB1 of the first cell from the neighboring cells of the first cell; The terminal obtains the version information corresponding to the current SIB1 of the first cell from the information carried by the cell-level reference signal of the first cell. The method of any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein, The method further includes at least one of the following: The terminal obtains the version information corresponding to SIB1 of the second cell from the neighboring cells of the second cell; The terminal obtains the version information corresponding to SIB1 of the second cell from the information carried by the cell-level reference signal of the second cell; The terminal obtains the version information corresponding to the SIB1 of the second cell from the SIB1 of the second cell; The second cell is the cell corresponding to SIB1 stored in the terminal. The method of claim 1, wherein, The SIB1 stored in the terminal is the SIB1 of the second cell, and the method further includes: When the terminal obtains the SIB1 of the second cell, the terminal saves the SIB1 of the second cell and starts the first timer corresponding to the SIB1 of the second cell. The method of claim 13, wherein, The method further includes: If the terminal is not camped in the second cell or leaves the second cell, the terminal does not delete the saved SIB1 of the second cell. The method of claim 13, wherein, The method further includes: When the first timer expires, the terminal deletes the saved SIB1 of the second cell. The method of claim 13, wherein, The SIB1 stored in the terminal includes a first version of SIB1, and the method further includes: If the terminal determines that the saved first version of SIB1 is valid while the terminal is camped in the second cell, the terminal restarts the first timer. The method of claim 16, wherein, The method further includes: If no system message change notification is received during the application of the first version of SIB1 on the terminal, the terminal determines that the saved first version of SIB1 is valid; or, In a case that the terminal receives a system message change notification and the changed SIB1 is the same as the first version of SIB1 saved by the terminal, the terminal determines that the saved first version of SIB1 is valid. A communication method, the method comprising: The network-side device sends first information, which is used by the terminal to determine whether the terminal saves a current system information block (SIB1) of a first cell. The method of claim 18, wherein, The first information comprises information indicating a unique identifier of the first cell; and the network-side device sends the first information by at least one of the following: The network-side device sends information indicating a unique identifier of the first cell through a neighbor cell of the first cell; The network-side device sends a cell-level reference signal of the first cell, and information carried by the cell-level reference signal of the first cell comprises information indicating a unique identifier of the first cell. The method of claim 18, wherein, The first information comprises information indicating a unique identifier of a second cell, and the second cell is a cell corresponding to the SIB1 saved by the terminal; and the network-side device sends the first information by at least one of the following: The network-side device sends information indicating a unique identifier of the second cell through a neighbor cell of the second cell; The network-side device sends a cell-level reference signal of the second cell, and information carried by the cell-level reference signal of the second cell comprises information indicating a unique identifier of the second cell; The network-side device sends a SIB1 of the second cell, and the SIB1 of the second cell comprises information indicating a unique identifier of the second cell. The method of claim 18, wherein, The first information comprises version information corresponding to a current SIB1 of the first cell; and the network-side device sends the first information by at least one of the following: The network-side device sends the version information corresponding to the current SIB1 of the first cell through a neighbor cell of the first cell; The network-side device sends a cell-level reference signal of the first cell, and information carried by the cell-level reference signal of the first cell comprises the version information corresponding to the current SIB1 of the first cell. The method of claim 18, wherein, The first information comprises version information corresponding to a SIB1 of a second cell, and the second cell is a cell corresponding to the SIB1 saved by the terminal; and the network-side device sends the first information by at least one of the following: The network-side device sends the version information corresponding to the SIB1 of the second cell through a neighbor cell of the second cell; The network-side device sends a cell-level reference signal of the second cell, and information carried by the cell-level reference signal of the second cell comprises the version information corresponding to the SIB1 of the second cell; The network-side device sends a SIB1 of the second cell, and the SIB1 of the second cell comprises the version information corresponding to the SIB1 of the second cell. A communication device, the device comprising: A processing module; The processing module is configured to: When a terminal needs the System Information Block (SIB1) of the first cell, if the terminal has saved the current SIB1 of the first cell, then the saved SIB1 is applied; or, if the terminal does not have saved the current SIB1 of the first cell, then the SIB1 of the first cell is obtained. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein The processing module is further configured to determine that the terminal has stored the current SIB1 of the first cell when the first cell and the second cell are the same, and the version of the current SIB1 of the first cell is the same as the version of the SIB1 stored in the terminal. The second cell is the cell corresponding to SIB1 stored in the terminal. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein The processing module is further configured to determine that the first cell and the second cell are the same if the unique identifier of the first cell is the same as the unique identifier of the second cell stored in the terminal. The apparatus of any one of claims 23 to 25, wherein The processing module is also configured to perform at least one of the following: Obtain information from neighboring cells of the first cell to identify the unique identifier of the first cell; Information used to indicate the unique identifier of the first cell is obtained from the information carried by the cell-level reference signal of the first cell. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein The information used to indicate the unique identifier of the first cell includes at least one of the following: The globally unique identifier of the first community; The Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) identifier of the first cell; The cell identifier of the first cell within its PLMN; The base station identifier of the first cell within its PLMN; The cell identifier of the first cell within its respective base station; The cell identifier of the first cell is among the cells with the same frequency and the same Physical Cell Identifier (PCI) within its PLMN. The apparatus of any one of claims 23 to 25, wherein The processing module is also configured to perform at least one of the following: Obtain information from the neighboring cells of the second cell to identify the unique identifier of the second cell; Information for identifying the unique identifier of the second cell is obtained from the information carried by the cell-level reference signal of the second cell; Obtain information from SIB1 of the second cell to identify the unique identifier of the second cell; The second cell is the cell corresponding to SIB1 stored in the terminal. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein The information used to indicate the unique identifier of the second cell includes at least one of the following: The globally unique identifier of the second community; The PLMN identifier of the second cell; The cell identifier of the second cell within its PLMN; The base station identifier of the second cell within its PLMN; The cell identifier of the second cell within its respective base station; The cell identifier of the second cell within the same frequency and PCI of its PLMN. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein The processing module is further configured to determine, under the condition that the first cell is the same as the second cell; The first condition includes: The unique identifier of the neighboring cells of the first cell is the same as the unique identifier of the neighboring cells of the second cell stored in the terminal; and, The frequency of the first cell is the same as the frequency of the second cell stored in the terminal; and, The PCI of the first cell is the same as the PCI of the second cell stored in the terminal. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein The processing module is further configured to determine that the first cell is the same as the second cell if a second condition is met. The second condition comprises: a PLMN identity of associated other system information (OSI) of the first cell is the same as a PLMN identity of associated OSI of the second cell saved by the terminal; and a region identity of associated OSI of the first cell is the same as a region identity of associated OSI of the second cell saved by the terminal. The associated OSI of the first cell is OSI transmitted by a neighbor cell of the first cell for acquiring SIB1 of the first cell, and the associated OSI of the second cell is OSI transmitted by a neighbor cell of the second cell for acquiring SIB1 of the second cell. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein The second condition further comprises: a version corresponding to the associated OSI of the first cell is the same as a version corresponding to the associated OSI of the second cell saved by the terminal. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein The processing module is further configured to perform at least one of the following: acquire, from a neighbor cell of the first cell, version information corresponding to current SIB1 of the first cell; acquire, from information carried by a cell-level reference signal of the first cell, version information corresponding to current SIB1 of the first cell. The apparatus of any one of claims 23 to 32, wherein The processing module is further configured to perform at least one of the following: acquire, from a neighbor cell of the second cell, version information corresponding to SIB1 of the second cell; acquire, from information carried by a cell-level reference signal of the second cell, version information corresponding to SIB1 of the second cell; acquire, from SIB1 of the second cell, version information corresponding to SIB1 of the second cell; The second cell is a cell corresponding to SIB1 saved by the terminal. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein The SIB1 saved by the terminal is SIB1 of the second cell, and the processing module is further configured to, if the terminal acquires SIB1 of the second cell, save SIB1 of the second cell and start a first timer corresponding to SIB1 of the second cell. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein The processing module is further configured to, if the terminal does not camp on the second cell or leaves the second cell, not delete saved SIB1 of the second cell. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein The processing module is further configured to, if the first timer expires, delete saved SIB1 of the second cell. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein The SIB1 saved by the terminal comprises SIB1 of a first version, and the processing module is further configured to, during the terminal camping on the second cell, if the terminal determines that saved SIB1 of the first version is valid, restart the first timer. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein The processing module is further configured to: if no system message change notification is received during the terminal applying SIB1 of the first version, determine that saved SIB1 of the first version is valid; or if the terminal receives a system message change notification and changed SIB1 is the same as SIB1 of the first version saved by the terminal, determine that saved SIB1 of the first version is valid. a sending module A communication device, the device comprising: ​ The sending module is configured to send first information, where the first information is used by the terminal to determine whether the terminal has stored current system information block (SIB1) of the first cell. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein The first information includes information indicating a unique identifier of the first cell; and the sending module is specifically configured to perform at least one of the following: sending, by a neighboring cell of the first cell, information indicating the unique identifier of the first cell; sending a cell-level reference signal of the first cell, where information carried by the cell-level reference signal of the first cell includes the information indicating the unique identifier of the first cell. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein The first information includes information indicating a unique identifier of a second cell, where the second cell is a cell corresponding to the SIB1 stored by the terminal; and the sending module is specifically configured to perform at least one of the following: sending, by a neighboring cell of the second cell, information indicating the unique identifier of the second cell; sending a cell-level reference signal of the second cell, where information carried by the cell-level reference signal of the second cell includes the information indicating the unique identifier of the second cell; sending SIB1 of the second cell, where the SIB1 of the second cell includes the information indicating the unique identifier of the second cell. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein The first information includes version information corresponding to the current SIB1 of the first cell; and the sending module is specifically configured to perform at least one of the following: sending, by a neighboring cell of the first cell, the version information corresponding to the current SIB1 of the first cell; sending a cell-level reference signal of the first cell, where information carried by the cell-level reference signal of the first cell includes the version information corresponding to the current SIB1 of the first cell. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein The first information includes version information corresponding to SIB1 of a second cell, where the second cell is a cell corresponding to the SIB1 stored by the terminal; and the sending module is specifically configured to perform at least one of the following: sending, by a neighboring cell of the second cell, the version information corresponding to the SIB1 of the second cell; sending a cell-level reference signal of the second cell, where information carried by the cell-level reference signal of the second cell includes the version information corresponding to the SIB1 of the second cell; sending SIB1 of the second cell, where the SIB1 of the second cell includes the version information corresponding to the SIB1 of the second cell. A terminal includes a processor and a memory, where the memory stores programs or instructions executable on the processor, and the programs or instructions, when executed by the processor, implement steps of the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 17. A network-side device includes a processor and a memory, where the memory stores programs or instructions executable on the processor, and the programs or instructions, when executed by the processor, implement steps of the communication method according to any one of claims 18 to 22. A readable storage medium stores programs or instructions, where the programs or instructions, when executed by a processor, implement the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 17, or implement steps of the communication method according to any one of claims 18 to 22. A computer program product stored in a storage medium, the computer program product being executed by at least one processor to implement the communication method of any one of claims 1-17, or to implement the steps of the communication method of any one of claims 18-22.

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