Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

A communication method and apparatus, which are used to reduce the power consumption and energy consumption of a terrestrial network. The method may comprise: a terminal device receiving first information from a satellite, wherein the first information is used for indicating common configuration information of a plurality of terrestrial cells and different configuration information of the plurality of terrestrial cells, and coverage areas of the plurality of terrestrial cells are included in a coverage area of the satellite; and accessing a first terrestrial cell among the plurality of terrestrial cells on the basis of the first information. On the basis of the method, common configuration information and different configuration information of a plurality of terrestrial cells are indicated to a terminal device by means of a satellite, such that the terrestrial cells do not need to transmit same, thereby reducing the overheads of a terrestrial network and reducing the power consumption and energy consumption of the terrestrial network.

Description

A communication method and apparatus

[0001] Cross-reference to related applications

[0002] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411833979.0, filed on December 12, 2024, entitled "A Communication Method and Apparatus", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] This application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and apparatus. Background Technology

[0004] Currently, as terrestrial networks provide services to terminal devices, the increasing load, new frequencies, and new services lead to increased power consumption and energy consumption. For example, within a certain coverage area, after a terminal device moves, it will face multiple neighbor cell measurements and cell handovers within the terrestrial cell, resulting in significant overhead for both the terminal device and the terrestrial network. Therefore, energy conservation is a prominent need for current terrestrial networks. Reducing the power consumption and energy consumption of terrestrial networks is an urgent problem to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a communication method and apparatus to reduce the power consumption and energy consumption of terrestrial networks.

[0006] In a first aspect, this application provides a communication method that can be applied to a communication device, which can be a terminal device or a component within the terminal device (e.g., a processor, chip, chip system, circuit, component, module, or functional module, etc.). The method may include: receiving first information from a satellite, the first information indicating common configuration information and different configuration information of multiple ground cells; the coverage area of ​​the multiple ground cells being included within the coverage area of ​​the satellite; and accessing a first ground cell among the multiple ground cells according to the first information.

[0007] Based on the above communication method, the common configuration information and different configuration information of multiple ground cells can be indicated to the terminal device via satellite, which can eliminate the need for the ground cells to send the information, thereby saving the overhead of the ground network and reducing the power consumption and energy consumption of the ground network.

[0008] In one possible design, the common configuration information of the multiple ground cells includes one or more of the following: synchronization signal block (SSB) configuration, random access channel (RACH) configuration, or system information (SI) scheduling configuration. This allows configuration information that can be shared by multiple ground cells to be sent via the first message, saving signaling overhead.

[0009] In one possible design, the different configuration information of the multiple ground cells includes their location information, etc. This allows the differences between the multiple ground cells to be sent via the first message, saving signaling overhead.

[0010] In one possible design, the first ground cell is determined based on the location information of the terminal device and the location information of the plurality of ground cells. The first ground cell is the ground cell with the smallest distance to the terminal device among the plurality of ground cells. The terminal device selecting the ground cell closest to it can improve communication quality after access.

[0011] In one possible design, third information is received from a satellite, which is used to page terminal devices. This allows terrestrial network equipment to page terminal devices that need to be paged via satellite, eliminating the need for terrestrial network equipment to page them, thus reducing paging overhead for the terrestrial network equipment.

[0012] In one possible design, the third information may include the identifier of the terminal device. This allows the terminal device that needs to be paged to be accurately identified.

[0013] Secondly, this application provides a communication method that can be applied to a communication device, which can be a non-terrestrial network device (e.g., a satellite) or a component within a non-terrestrial network device (e.g., a processor, chip, chip system, circuit, component, module, or functional module). The method may include: sending first information, wherein the first information is used to indicate common configuration information of multiple ground cells and different configuration information of the multiple ground cells; the coverage area of ​​the multiple ground cells is included within the coverage area of ​​the satellite.

[0014] Based on the above communication method, the common configuration information and different configuration information of multiple ground cells can be indicated to the terminal device via satellite, which can eliminate the need for the ground cells to send the information, thereby saving the overhead of the ground network and reducing the power consumption and energy consumption of the ground network.

[0015] In one possible design, the common configuration information of the multiple ground cells includes one or more of the following: Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) configuration, Random Access Channel (RACH) configuration, or System Information System (SI) scheduling configuration. This allows configuration information that can be shared by multiple ground cells to be sent via the first message, saving signaling overhead.

[0016] In one possible design, the different configuration information of the multiple ground cells includes the location information of the multiple ground cells. This allows the differences between the multiple ground cells to be sent via the first information, saving signaling overhead.

[0017] In one possible design, a third message is sent for paging terminal devices. This allows non-terrestrial network devices to paging terminal devices that need to be paged by terrestrial network devices, without requiring the terrestrial network devices to page them, thus reducing the paging overhead of the terrestrial network devices.

[0018] In one possible design, the third information may include the identifier of the terminal device. This allows the terminal device that needs to be paged to be accurately identified.

[0019] In one possible design, a second piece of information is received from a terrestrial network device, indicating the terminal device that needs to be paged. This allows the non-terrestrial network device to accurately identify the terminal device that needs to be paged.

[0020] In one possible design, the second information includes one or more of the following: the identifier of the terminal device or the location information of the terminal device. This allows non-terrestrial network devices to accurately determine the terminal device that needs to be paged.

[0021] Thirdly, this application provides a communication method that can be applied to a communication device, which can be a terminal device or a component within the terminal device (e.g., a processor, chip, chip system, circuit, component, module, or functional module, etc.). The method may include: receiving third information from a satellite, the third information being used to page the terminal device; and determining the access ground cell based on the third information.

[0022] Using the above method, the terminal equipment that needs to be paged by the ground network equipment can be paged via satellite, without the need for the ground network equipment to page, thus reducing the paging overhead of the ground network equipment.

[0023] In one possible design, the third information may include the identifier of the terminal device. This allows the terminal device that needs to be paged to be accurately identified.

[0024] Fourthly, this application provides a communication method that can be applied to a communication device, which can be a non-terrestrial network device (e.g., a satellite) or a component within a non-terrestrial network device (e.g., a processor, chip, chip system, circuit, component, module, or functional module). The method may include: receiving second information from a terrestrial network device, the second information indicating a terminal device that needs to be paged; and sending third information for paged the terminal device.

[0025] Using the above method, the terminal equipment that needs to be paged by the ground network equipment can be paged via satellite, without the need for the ground network equipment to page, thus reducing the paging overhead of the ground network equipment.

[0026] In one possible design, the third information may include the identifier of the terminal device. This allows the terminal device that needs to be paged to be accurately identified.

[0027] In one possible design, the second information may include one or more of the following: the identifier of the terminal device or the location information of the terminal device. This allows non-terrestrial network devices to accurately determine the terminal device that needs to be paged.

[0028] In one possible design, the second information from the terrestrial network device can be received either by directly receiving the second information from the satellite or by receiving the second information from the terrestrial network device through a first device. This allows for flexible reception of the second information using various methods.

[0029] Fifthly, this application provides a communication method that can be applied to a communication device, which can be a terrestrial network device or a component (e.g., a processor, chip, chip system, circuit, assembly, module, or functional module, etc.) within the terrestrial network device. The method may include: determining that a terminal device needs to be paged; and sending second information, the second information indicating the terminal device that needs to be paged.

[0030] Using the above method, the terminal device that needs to be paged can be indicated to the non-terrestrial network device, so that the non-terrestrial network device can page the terminal device that needs to be paged by the terrestrial network device, without the terrestrial network device having to page it, thus reducing the paging overhead of the terrestrial network device.

[0031] In one possible design, the second information can be transmitted by either sending it to a satellite or by transmitting it to a satellite via a first device. This allows for flexible transmission of the second information through various methods.

[0032] Sixthly, this application also provides a communication device, which may be a terminal device or a component within a terminal device (e.g., a processor, chip, chip system, circuit, component, module, or functional module, etc.). This communication device has the functionality to implement the methods described in the first aspect or various possible design examples of the first aspect, or the methods described in the third aspect or various possible design examples of the third aspect. The functionality can be implemented in hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the described functionality.

[0033] In one possible design, the communication device may include a processing unit, and optionally a transceiver unit. These units may perform the functions of the methods described in the first aspect or various possible design examples of the first aspect, or the third aspect or various possible design examples of the third aspect, which will not be elaborated here.

[0034] In one possible design, the communication device includes one or more processors, and optionally also includes a memory and / or a transceiver. The transceiver is used to send and receive data, messages, or information, and to communicate and interact with other devices in the system. The processor is configured to support the communication device in performing the corresponding functions of the first aspect or various possible design examples of the first aspect, or the third aspect or various possible design examples of the third aspect. The memory is coupled to the processor and stores the necessary program instructions and data of the communication device.

[0035] Seventhly, this application also provides a communication device, which may be a network device or a component within a network device (e.g., a processor, chip, chip system, circuit, component, module, or functional module, etc.). This communication device has the functionality to implement the methods described in the second aspect or various possible design examples of the second aspect, or the fourth aspect or various possible design examples of the fourth aspect. The functionality can be implemented in hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the described functionality.

[0036] In one possible design, the communication device may include a processing unit, and optionally a transceiver unit. These units may perform the functions of the methods described in the second aspect or various possible design examples of the second aspect, or the fourth aspect or various possible design examples of the fourth aspect, which will not be elaborated here.

[0037] In one possible design, the communication device includes one or more processors, and optionally also includes a memory and / or a transceiver. The transceiver is used to send and receive data, messages, or information, and to communicate and interact with other devices in the system. The processor is configured to support the communication device in performing the functions described in the second aspect or various possible design examples of the second aspect, or the fourth aspect or various possible design examples of the fourth aspect. The memory is coupled to the processor and stores the necessary program instructions and data for the communication device.

[0038] Eighthly, this application also provides a communication device, which can be a terrestrial network device or a component (e.g., a processor, chip, chip system, circuit, component, module, or functional module, etc.) within a terrestrial network device. This communication device has the functionality to implement the methods described in the fifth aspect or various possible design examples of the fifth aspect. The functionality can be implemented in hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the described functions.

[0039] In one possible design, the communication device may include a processing unit, and optionally a transceiver unit, which may perform the functions of the methods described in the fifth aspect or various possible design examples of the fifth aspect, which will not be elaborated here.

[0040] In one possible design, the communication device includes one or more processors, and optionally also includes a memory and / or a transceiver. The transceiver is used to send and receive data, messages, or information, and to communicate with other devices in the system. The processor is configured to support the communication device in performing the corresponding functions in the fifth aspect or various possible design examples of the fifth aspect described above. The memory is coupled to the processor and stores the necessary program instructions and data for the communication device.

[0041] Ninthly, embodiments of this application provide a communication system that may include a terminal device and a non-terrestrial network device. The terminal device may be used to implement the methods described in the first aspect or various possible design examples of the first aspect; the non-terrestrial network device may be used to implement the methods described in the second aspect or various possible design examples of the second aspect.

[0042] In a tenth aspect, embodiments of this application provide a communication system that may include a terminal device, a non-terrestrial network device, and a terrestrial network device. The terminal device may be used to implement the methods described in the third aspect or various possible design examples of the third aspect; the non-terrestrial network device may be used to implement the methods described in the fourth aspect or various possible design examples of the fourth aspect; and the terrestrial network device may be used to implement the methods described in the fifth aspect or various possible design examples of the fifth aspect.

[0043] Eleventhly, embodiments of this application provide a computer-readable storage medium storing program instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the methods described in the first aspect and any possible design of the embodiments of this application, or in the second aspect and any possible design of the second aspect, or in the third aspect and any possible design of the third aspect, or in the fourth aspect and any possible design of the fourth aspect, or in the fifth aspect and any possible design of the fifth aspect. Exemplarily, the computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium accessible to a computer. For example, but not limited to, a computer-readable medium can include a non-transient computer-readable medium, random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage media, or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium capable of carrying or storing desired program code having the form of instructions or data structures and accessible to a computer.

[0044] In a twelfth aspect, embodiments of this application provide a computer program product, including a computer program or instructions, which, when executed on a computer, cause the methods described in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect, or in the second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect, or in the third aspect or any possible design of the third aspect, or in the fourth aspect or any possible design of the fourth aspect, or in the fifth aspect or any possible design of the fifth aspect to be performed.

[0045] In a thirteenth aspect, this application also provides a chip or chip system including one or more processors, the processors being coupled to at least one memory for reading and executing program instructions stored in the memory to enable the chip or chip system to implement the methods described in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect, or in the second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect, or in the third aspect or any possible design of the third aspect, or in the fourth aspect or any possible design of the fourth aspect, or in the fifth aspect or any possible design of the fifth aspect.

[0046] For the various aspects of the above-mentioned sixth to thirteenth aspects and the technical effects that may be achieved by each aspect, please refer to the above description of the technical effects that may be achieved by the various possible solutions for the first aspect or the first aspect, or the various possible solutions for the second aspect or the second aspect, or the various possible solutions for the third aspect or the third aspect, or the various possible solutions for the fourth aspect or the fourth aspect, or the various possible solutions for the fifth aspect or the fifth aspect. It will not be repeated here. Attached Figure Description

[0047] Figure 1A is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided in this application;

[0048] Figure 1B is a schematic diagram of the architecture of another communication system provided in this application;

[0049] Figure 1C is a schematic diagram of the architecture of another communication system provided in this application;

[0050] Figure 1D is a schematic diagram of the architecture of another communication system provided in this application;

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

[0052] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary random access process provided in this application;

[0053] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in this application;

[0054] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a satellite-ground joint coverage scenario provided in this application;

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

[0056] Figure 6 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in this application;

[0057] Figure 7 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in this application;

[0058] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of a terminal device being paged by a satellite provided in this application;

[0059] Figure 9 is a structural schematic diagram of a communication device provided in this application;

[0060] Figure 10 is a structural diagram of a communication device provided in this application. Detailed Implementation

[0061] This application provides a communication method and apparatus to reduce the power consumption and energy consumption of terrestrial networks. The method and apparatus described in this application are based on the same technical concept. Since the principles by which the method and apparatus solve the problem are similar, their implementations can be referred to interchangeably, and repeated details will not be repeated.

[0062] In the description of this application, the terms "first," "second," etc., are used only for the purpose of distinguishing descriptions and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or order.

[0063] In the description of this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "more than one" means two or more. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can mean: a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, or a and b and c, where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0064] In the description of this application, "and / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, or B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. " / " means "or", for example, a / b means a or b.

[0065] To more clearly describe the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, the communication methods and devices provided in the embodiments of this application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0066] The communication method provided in this application can be applied to non-terrestrial networks (NTN) communication scenarios. In NTN communication scenarios, non-terrestrial access network devices such as drones, high altitude platform stations (HAPS), and satellites can provide terminal devices with services such as data transmission and voice communication. Furthermore, NTN communication scenarios may also include other non-terrestrial access network devices, which are not limited in this application. NTN communication scenarios can also support various mobile communication systems, such as new radio (NR) systems, long term evolution (LTE) systems, or future communication systems, etc., which are not limited here.

[0067] The communication method provided in this application can be applied to, but is not limited to, at least one of the following communication systems: fourth-generation (4G) communication systems (e.g., LTE systems), fifth-generation (5G) communication systems (e.g., NR systems), or various future communication networks. The communication method provided in this application can also be applied to fields such as vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, vehicle networking, autonomous driving, or assisted driving.

[0068] Exemplarily, Figure 1A illustrates a possible communication system applicable to an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 1A, the communication system may include at least one access network device (110a, 110b, 110c in Figure 1A) and at least one terminal device (120a-120g in Figure 1A). The terminal devices may be mobile or fixed. Each access network device can provide communication coverage for a specific geographical area and can communicate with terminal devices located within that coverage area. Access network devices can be interconnected with each other, with terminal devices, and with each other via wired or wireless means. Figure 1A is merely a schematic diagram; the communication system may also include other devices, such as wireless relay devices and wireless backhaul devices.

[0069] The embodiments of this application can be applied to communication systems that integrate terrestrial and non-terrestrial communication systems, which can also be called NTN communication systems.

[0070] The terrestrial communication system can be, for example, an LTE system, a 5G system, or various future communication systems, etc., without limitation here.

[0071] Compared to traditional communication systems, NTN communication systems offer wider coverage and can overcome natural geographical obstacles such as oceans, deserts, and mountains. To overcome the shortcomings of traditional communication systems, NTN systems can serve as an effective supplement. Satellite communication systems can be categorized into three types based on orbital altitude: geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) satellite communication systems, medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellite communication systems, and low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communication systems. GEO satellite communication systems can also be called geostationary orbit satellite systems or geostationary orbit satellite communication systems. Generally, compared to terrestrial communication, NTN systems exhibit different channel characteristics (e.g., large transmission delay, Doppler frequency offset, etc.). For example, the round-trip delay of a GEO satellite communication system is 238–270 milliseconds (ms), while that of a LEO satellite communication system is 8 ms–20 ms.

[0072] In NTN communication, NTN network devices can operate in two modes: transparent and regenerative. Based on these modes, the NTN communication architecture can be categorized into two types: transparent and regenerative. In transparent architecture, NTN network devices can act as relays or amplifiers, performing functions such as RF filtering and amplification to regenerate physical layer signals. NTN network devices can handle Layer 1 (L1) relaying for physical layer forwarding, and are invisible to higher layers. Regenerative architecture, on the other hand, provides NTN network devices with the processing capabilities of access network devices. For example, in addition to RF filtering, frequency conversion, and amplification, NTN network devices also perform modulation or encoding, demodulation or decoding, switching, and routing functions. For example, satellites in regeneration mode can be further divided into regeneration satellites without inter-satellite links (ISL), or regeneration satellites with inter-satellite links (i.e., satellites do not have inter-satellite links); or regeneration satellites with inter-satellite links (i.e., satellites have interfaces that can directly exchange data, where the inter-satellite link is the Xn port); or regeneration satellites with distributed unit (DU) processing capabilities of access network equipment, in which case the satellite acts as a DU.

[0073] The NTN communication system described in this application may have various architectures. For example, the architecture of the NTN system may be any of the architectures shown in Figures 1B to 1E.

[0074] Figure 1B illustrates a schematic diagram of an NTN communication system architecture applicable to embodiments of this application. This NTN communication system architecture can be a transparent satellite communication architecture. In the architecture shown in Figure 1B, the terminal device can communicate with the 5G core network (CN) through the access network, and then connect to the data network (DN) through the 5G CN. The satellite and the NTN gateway can act as relay devices between the terminal device and the access network device, or as remote radio units (RRUs) of the access network device. The satellite's role is: radio frequency filtering, frequency conversion and amplification; that is, the satellite mainly acts as an L1 relay, regenerating the physical layer number, and does not have other higher protocol layers. In the transparent satellite communication architecture, the link between the satellite and the terminal device can be called the service link, and the link between the satellite and the NTN gateway or base station can be called the feeder link. In Figure 1B, the satellite replicates the NR Uu radio interface signal from the feeder link (between the NTN gateway and the satellite) to the service link (between the satellite and the UE), and vice versa. The satellite radio interface on the feeder link transmits NR-Uu interface signals, meaning the satellite does not terminate the NR-Uu interface signal but rather replicates it. The NTN gateway supports all necessary functions for forwarding NR-Uu interface signals.

[0075] Figure 1C illustrates another NTN communication system architecture applicable to embodiments of this application. This NTN communication system architecture can be a regenerative communication architecture. In the architecture shown in Figure 1C, the satellite can act as an access network device, forming an access network with the NTN gateway, and communicating with the core network through the NTN gateway. The satellite radio interface (SRI) is the feeder link between the NTN gateway and the satellite. In Figure 1C, the SRI interface can be used as part of the next generation (NG) interface to realize communication interaction between the satellite base station and the core network. Additionally, the satellite can provide wireless access services to terminal devices, transmitting NR Uu radio interface signals between the terminal devices and the satellite. Figure 1C also exemplarily illustrates a regenerative satellite architecture without inter-satellite links, but with base station processing capabilities. In this architecture, the satellite acts as a base station.

[0076] Figure 1D illustrates another NTN communication system architecture applicable to embodiments of this application, featuring a regenerating satellite with inter-satellite links and base station processing capabilities. In this scenario, the satellite acts as a base station, and an inter-satellite link (ISL) exists. In this regenerating architecture, the link between the satellite and the terminal device is called the service link, and the link between the satellite and the NTN gateway can be called the feeder link.

[0077] Figure 1E illustrates another NTN communication system architecture applicable to embodiments of this application, which has a regenerative satellite based on gNB-DU with DU processing capabilities at the base station; in this scenario, the satellite acts as the DU.

[0078] Furthermore, the embodiments of this application can also be applied to scenarios with gNB processed payload based on relay-like architectures, where the satellite serves as the integrated access and backhaul (IAB), which will not be illustrated in the figures in this application.

[0079] It should be noted that the number of satellites and NTN gateways shown in Figures 1B, 1C, 1D, and 1E are merely examples and are not intended to limit this application. In actual use, an architecture with multiple satellites and / or multiple NTN gateways can be adopted as needed. Each satellite can provide services to one or more terminal devices, and each NTN gateway can correspond to one or more satellites. This application does not specifically limit the implementation of these embodiments. Furthermore, Figures 1B, 1C, 1D, and 1E are only examples of NTN communication architectures. NTN communication architectures may also include other specific devices, which this application does not limit.

[0080] In this application, terminal equipment may also be referred to as user equipment (UE), access terminal, subscriber unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station (MS), remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal equipment, wireless communication equipment, user agent, or user device, etc.

[0081] A terminal device can be a device that provides wireless communication capabilities, such as a handheld device or an in-vehicle device with wireless connectivity. Currently, some examples of terminals include: mobile phones, satellite mobile terminals, cellular phones, smartphones, tablets, laptops, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices (such as smartwatches, smart bracelets, pedometers, smart glasses, etc.), in-vehicle equipment (such as cars, bicycles, electric vehicles, airplanes, ships, trains, high-speed trains, etc.), satellite terminals, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, smart point-of-sale (POS) machines, customer-premises equipment (CPE), wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving cars, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, and wireless terminals in smart homes. Wireless terminals in the home (e.g., refrigerators, televisions, air conditioners, electricity meters, etc.), intelligent robots, robotic arms, cellular phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld devices with wireless communication capabilities, computing devices or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, flying devices (e.g., intelligent robots, hot air balloons, drones, airplanes), terminals in 5G networks, or terminals in future evolved public land mobile networks (PLMNs), etc., are not limited to these in this application embodiment. For ease of introduction, the following uses terminal devices as examples to describe the solution of this application. In actual applications, the terminal devices can also be replaced with the various terminals or devices described above.

[0082] This application does not limit the form of the terminal device. The device used to implement the function of the terminal device can be the terminal device itself; it can also be a device that supports the terminal device in implementing the function, such as a module or a chip system. The device can be installed in the terminal device or used in conjunction with the terminal device. In this application, the chip system can be composed of chips or can include chips and other discrete components.

[0083] In this application, the access network equipment can be an access network device in the following communication systems: 3GPP-related cellular systems, such as 4G, 5G mobile communication systems, or future-oriented evolution systems. The access network equipment can also be an access network device in an open RAN (O-RAN or ORAN), cloud radio access network (CRAN), or WiFi system. The access network equipment can also be an access network device in a communication system that integrates two or more of the above systems.

[0084] An access network device is a device that provides wireless communication capabilities to terminal devices, enabling them to communicate with core network devices. As a node in a radio access network (RAN), an access network device can also be called a base station, a RAN node (or device), or an access point (AP). A communication system may include one or more access network devices, which can be nodes of the same type or different types. In some scenarios, the roles of access network devices and terminal devices are relative. For example, network element #A can be a helicopter or drone, configured as a mobile base station, accessing the RAN through network element #B. For terminal devices accessing the RAN through network element #A, network element #A is a base station; however, for network element #B, network element #A is a terminal device.

[0085] In one possible scenario, the access network device can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB), a base station in a future mobile communication system, a satellite, an upper-air platform, or an access node in a WiFi system. The access network device can be a macro base station, a micro base station, an indoor station, a relay node, a donor node, or a radio controller in a CRAN scenario. Optionally, the access network device can also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle, or an in-vehicle device. For example, the access network device in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology can be a roadside unit (RSU). All or part of the functions of the access network device in this application can also be implemented through software functions running on hardware, or through virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform). The access network device in this application can also be a logical node, logical module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the access network device functions.

[0086] In another possible scenario, multiple access network devices collaborate to assist terminal devices in achieving wireless access, with each access network device performing a portion of the base station's functions. For example, the access network devices can be a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU), etc. The CU and DU can be configured separately or included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in radio frequency equipment or radio frequency units, such as a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0087] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU may have different names, but those skilled in the art will understand their meaning. For example, in an ORAN system, CU can also be called an open CU (O-CU), DU can also be called an open DU (O-DU), CU-CP can also be called an open CU-CP (O-CU-CP), CU-UP can also be called an open CU-UP (O-CU-UP), and RU can also be called an open RU (O-RU). Any of the units among CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, and RU in this application can be implemented through software modules, hardware modules, or a combination of software and hardware modules.

[0088] In this embodiment, the form of the access network device is not limited. The device used to implement the function of the access network device can be the access network device itself; it can also be a device that supports the access network device in implementing the function, such as a module or chip system. The device can be installed in the access network device or used in conjunction with the access network device.

[0089] Access network equipment and terminal equipment can be fixed or mobile. They can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; they can also be deployed on water; and they can be deployed in the air on aircraft, balloons, and satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of the access network equipment and terminal equipment.

[0090] The communication system and business scenarios (or application scenarios) described in the embodiments of this application are for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application. As those skilled in the art will know, with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios (or new application scenarios), the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0091] The relevant technologies involved in the embodiments of this application will be explained below. It should be noted that these explanations are for the purpose of making the embodiments of this application easier to understand, and should not be regarded as limiting the scope of protection claimed by this application.

[0092] 1) Random access (RA)

[0093] Generally, for cell access, the terminal device first detects the synchronization signal block (SSB) sent by the network device to complete downlink time and frequency synchronization. Then, it receives system information sent by the network device, including system information block 1 (SIB1) and other system information blocks (SIBs), to obtain the cell configuration information. The cell configuration information includes cell camping, RA (Radio Access) and other related configuration information. Subsequently, the terminal device completes uplink time synchronization with the network device through a random access procedure and establishes an RRC (Remote Access Control) connection with the network device. After the terminal device and the network device establish an RRC connection, uplink and downlink service data transmission can proceed.

[0094] After receiving the SSB, the terminal device completes timing synchronization and frequency synchronization, confirms the time and frequency position of SIB1 according to the information in the SSB, and completes the parsing of SIB1 to obtain cell information.

[0095] For satellite systems, SIB19 is detected and its data is parsed based on the search space configured in SIB1 to obtain the satellite's ephemeris information. After obtaining the cell configuration information and ephemeris information, the terminal device performs random access.

[0096] Based on whether there is a conflict in the transmission of preamble between terminal devices, the random access procedure includes contention-based random access (CBRA) and contention-free random access (CFRA).

[0097] Taking CBRA as an example, an exemplary random access process can be shown in Figure 2, which can specifically include the following four steps:

[0098] Step 201: The terminal device sends a preamble through the physical random access channel (PRACH), that is, the terminal device sends random access message 1 (message1, Msg1).

[0099] Before the terminal device sends Msg1, it obtains the resource configuration of PRACH by reading system messages, which mainly includes time, frequency and preamble sequence.

[0100] For example, a terminal device can receive multiple Service Channel Blocks (SSBs) from a network device. The terminal device can detect the received power of these multiple SSBs and select the SSB with the highest received power. The terminal device can then randomly select an RO (Random Access Channel Occasion) associated with the index of the SSB with the highest received power to send a preamble. Here, RO can be understood as a time-frequency resource used for random access. The association between the SSB index and the RO can be pre-configured by the network device.

[0101] Step 202: After sending Msg1, the terminal device starts the random access response window and detects the random access response (RAR) sent by the network device in the window. RAR can also be understood as random access message 2 (message2, Msg2).

[0102] Step 203: The terminal device sends a random access message 3 (message3, Msg3) to the network device.

[0103] If the terminal device successfully detects its own RAR in step 202, the random access is successful. The terminal device continues to send Msg3 according to the instructions of the RAR. The main function of Msg3 is to send an RRC connection establishment request.

[0104] If the terminal device does not receive its own RAR, the random access fails. The terminal device then re-initiates the random access process according to the fallback parameters indicated by the network device until the maximum number of random access attempts is reached.

[0105] Step 204: After sending Msg3, the terminal device detects and receives random access message 4 (message4, Msg4) from the network device. msg4 carries a contention resolution flag and air interface parameter configurations for the terminal device.

[0106] If the terminal device successfully receives Msg4, the RA (Automatic Access Request) is considered successful; otherwise, the RA fails. If the RA succeeds, the terminal device continues to send message 5 (message5, Msg5), which is mainly used to send the RRC (Registered Receipt Control) establishment completion command. If the RA fails, the terminal re-initiates the random access procedure according to the fallback parameters indicated by the network device until the maximum number of random access attempts is reached.

[0107] 2) Beam refers to the main lobe of the radiation pattern of the antenna array.

[0108] 3) Coverage area

[0109] The projection range of the beam onto the ground surface. By adjusting the antenna weights, the base station can direct the beam in different directions, resulting in different coverage areas. In this application, the coverage area refers to the beam's coverage area on the ground.

[0110] As satellites move and their weights are adjusted, their coverage area will change.

[0111] In the current process of providing services to terminal devices via terrestrial networks, the increasing load, new frequencies, and new services lead to increased power consumption and energy consumption of the terrestrial networks. Based on this, embodiments of this application provide a communication method that assists terrestrial networks in saving energy through non-terrestrial network devices (such as satellites), thereby reducing the power consumption and energy consumption of the terrestrial networks.

[0112] In the following embodiments, the communication method provided in this application is described in detail using terminal devices, network devices, and satellites as examples. It should be understood that the operations performed by the terminal devices can also be implemented by a processor, chip, chip system, or functional module in the terminal devices. The operations performed by the network devices can also be implemented by a processor, chip, chip system, or functional module in the network devices, and this application does not limit this. The operations performed by the satellites can also be implemented by a processor, chip, chip system, or functional module in the satellites, and this application does not limit this.

[0113] It should be understood that this application only uses satellite as an example of non-terrestrial network equipment. The operations performed by the satellite can also be replaced by other non-terrestrial network equipment, and this application does not limit this.

[0114] In the following embodiments of this application, the network device referred to is a terrestrial network device.

[0115] Based on the above description, this application provides a communication method that uses non-terrestrial network devices (such as satellites) to assist terrestrial networks in saving energy, thereby reducing the power consumption and energy usage of terrestrial networks. Referring to Figure 3, the process of this method may include:

[0116] Step 301: The satellite transmits first information, which indicates the common configuration information and different configuration information of multiple ground cells; the coverage area of ​​the multiple ground cells is included in the coverage area of ​​the satellite. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the first information from the satellite.

[0117] Because satellite coverage is relatively large, there are usually multiple ground-based network devices within the coverage area of ​​a single satellite. Consequently, the coverage area of ​​a satellite can include multiple ground cells, as shown in Figure 4. The scenario shown in Figure 4 can be understood as a satellite-ground joint coverage scenario, in which terminal devices can obtain continuous service.

[0118] The first information indicates the common configuration information and the different configuration information of multiple ground cells. The first information may include the common configuration information and the different configuration information of multiple ground cells, or it may indicate the common configuration information and the different configuration information of multiple ground cells in other ways. This application does not limit this.

[0119] In some embodiments, the satellite may broadcast first information so that at least one terminal device can receive the first information to assist in accessing the ground cell. This application only uses one terminal device as an example.

[0120] In one optional implementation, the common configuration information of multiple ground cells may include one or more of the following: synchronization signal block (SSB) configuration, random access channel (RACH) configuration, random access channel occasion (RO) or system information (SI) scheduling configuration, etc. The common configuration information of multiple ground cells can be understood as the same configuration information shared by multiple cells. Transmitting the common configuration information of multiple ground cells via satellite eliminates the need for the ground cells to transmit it themselves, saving some common channel overhead and thus saving energy and power consumption.

[0121] It should be understood that the above public configuration information is only an example, and the configuration information shared by ground cells can be flexibly configured as public configuration information.

[0122] In some examples, the different configuration information for multiple ground cells may include the location information of multiple ground cells, etc.

[0123] Step 302: The terminal device accesses the first ground cell among multiple ground cells based on the first information.

[0124] In some embodiments, the terminal device may determine the first ground cell (i.e., the target cell) to be accessed based on the first information.

[0125] For example, the terminal device can determine the first ground cell based on the location information of the terminal device and the location information of the plurality of ground cells indicated in the first information. The first ground cell is the ground cell with the smallest distance from the terminal device among the plurality of ground cells.

[0126] For example, the first information may also include indication information, which is used to indicate the first ground cell that the terminal device needs to access, so that the terminal device can determine the first ground cell based on the indication information in the first information.

[0127] Optionally, the indication information may indicate the identifier of the first ground cell and / or the location information of the first ground cell.

[0128] For example, the terminal device can also determine the signal quality of multiple ground cells based on the location information of multiple ground cells included in the first information, and then determine the ground cell with the best signal quality as the first ground cell.

[0129] In some possible implementations, when the terminal device determines the first ground cell to be accessed based on the first information, it can select a suitable first ground cell based on the access requirements.

[0130] After the first ground cell is determined, the terminal device can perform random access based on the public configuration information indicated by the first information to access the first ground cell.

[0131] In some embodiments, the terminal device can receive an SSB from the network device to complete downlink time synchronization and frequency synchronization, determine the RO according to the common configuration information indicated by the first information, and send a random access preamble (Msg1) on the corresponding RO. The subsequent random access procedure can be referred to steps 202-204 above. Through the above process, the terminal device can access the first terrestrial cell, which provides services (e.g., data transmission services) to the terminal device. In the above process, the network device no longer needs to send the common configuration information of the terrestrial cell to the terminal device, saving the common channel overhead of the terrestrial cell and reducing power consumption.

[0132] Optionally, in data transmission, downlink data can be transmitted using a downlink single-carrier method to obtain peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) gain.

[0133] In some embodiments, in addition to choosing to access the first terrestrial cell, if both the terrestrial cell and the satellite can provide services, the terminal device may also choose to access the satellite to obtain services. In this way, within the same coverage area, the terminal device does not need to frequently switch cells, and the overhead of the terrestrial network can also be saved.

[0134] The following examples illustrate the beneficial effects obtained by using the method provided in this application, with reference to Table 1.

[0135] Table 1

[0136] A comparative analysis of satellite cells and ground cells shown in Table 1 reveals that the satellite orbital altitude is 600 km, while the ground cell altitude is 12 m. The coverage radius of a satellite cell can reach 850 km, while the coverage radius of a ground cell is less than 100 km. Therefore, it can be deduced that the coverage area of ​​a single satellite can reach 2.27 million km², while the coverage area of ​​a ground cell is less than 31,400 km². Thus, the coverage area of ​​a satellite cell is approximately 72 times that of a ground cell.

[0137] Based on the above, a simple gain analysis can be performed. Assuming that the common channel overhead saved by the ground cell decreases from 30% (4*SSB + 4*SIB1 transmitted in 20 milliseconds) to 10% (4*SSB transmitted in 20 milliseconds) (which can be understood as a saving factor of 3), the gain is 10log(3)3 = 4.7 dB. The satellite can achieve 72 times the coverage of the ground cell, and a single satellite can save the overhead of 72 ground cells. Further, the gain is 10log(72*3) = 23.3 dB.

[0138] Furthermore, if the terminal device connects to the first ground cell or a satellite and uses a downlink single carrier to transmit downlink data, the PAPR of the signal can be further reduced, thereby reducing the requirements for the power amplifier and further reducing power consumption.

[0139] Based on the above communication method, the common configuration information and different configuration information of multiple ground cells can be indicated to the terminal device via satellite, which can eliminate the need for the ground cells to send the information, thereby saving the overhead of the ground network and reducing the power consumption and energy consumption of the ground network.

[0140] Based on the embodiment shown in FIG3, the communication method provided by the embodiment shown in FIG3 will be illustrated below with the example shown in FIG5.

[0141] Figure 5 illustrates an example of a communication method. Exemplarily, the process in this example may include:

[0142] Step 501: Satellite broadcast of the first message.

[0143] The first piece of information can be found in the relevant description in Figure 3 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0144] Step 502: After receiving the first information, the terminal device determines the first ground cell that needs to be accessed based on the first information.

[0145] The method by which the terminal device determines the first ground cell to be accessed can be found in the relevant description in Figure 3 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0146] Step 503: The terrestrial network equipment sends an SSB to the terminal equipment.

[0147] Step 504: The terminal device completes time and frequency synchronization according to the SSB.

[0148] Step 505: The terminal device determines the RO based on the first information and sends a random access preamble to the terrestrial network device from the RO.

[0149] Step 506: The terrestrial network equipment sends the RAR to the terminal equipment.

[0150] Optionally, the terrestrial network equipment can determine the timing advance (TA) based on the random access preamble and carry the timing advance command (TAC) value that needs to be adjusted in the RAR.

[0151] Step 507: The terminal device sends Msg3 to the terrestrial network device.

[0152] Optionally, upon receiving the RAR, the terminal device adjusts the TA according to the RAR's instructions and sends Msg3 at the corresponding time-frequency position to initiate an RRC connection establishment request.

[0153] Step 508: The terrestrial network equipment sends Msg4 to the terminal equipment.

[0154] If the terminal device successfully receives Msg4, then the terminal device has successfully accessed the first ground cell.

[0155] Step 509: After the terminal device accesses the first terrestrial cell, the terrestrial network equipment provides data transmission services to the terminal device through the first terrestrial cell.

[0156] Based on the above example, by sending the common configuration information and different configuration information of multiple ground cells to the terminal device via satellite, it is possible to eliminate the need for the ground cells to send the information, thereby saving the overhead of the ground network and reducing the power consumption and energy consumption of the ground network.

[0157] This application also provides another communication method that uses non-terrestrial network devices (such as satellites) to assist terrestrial networks in saving energy, thereby reducing the power consumption and energy usage of terrestrial networks. Referring to Figure 6 or Figure 7, the process of this method may include:

[0158] Step 601: The terrestrial network equipment determines the need for paging terminal equipment.

[0159] In some embodiments, when a terrestrial network device has a new service that requires the participation of a terminal device, the terrestrial network device determines that it needs to page the terminal device.

[0160] In some embodiments, when the terrestrial network device determines that the terminal device is being called by other terminal devices, the terrestrial network device can determine that the terminal device needs to be paged.

[0161] Of course, there are other situations where terminal devices need to be paged, which will not be listed here.

[0162] Step 602: The terrestrial network equipment sends a second message, which indicates the terminal equipment that needs to be paged. Accordingly, the satellite receives the second message from the terrestrial network equipment.

[0163] In an alternative implementation, the terrestrial network device can directly send the second information to the satellite, as shown in step 602a of Figure 6.

[0164] In another alternative implementation, the terrestrial network device can send second information to the satellite via the first device. That is, the terrestrial network device sends second information to the first device, and the first device sends second information to the satellite, as shown in steps 602b and 602c in Figure 7.

[0165] The first device may be a device that communicates directly or indirectly with terrestrial network equipment and satellites, and this application does not limit it.

[0166] In some examples, the second information may include one or more of the following: the identifier of the terminal device or the location information of the terminal device, etc. The identifier and / or location information of the terminal device in the second information can also enable the satellite to determine the terminal device that needs to be paged.

[0167] Understandably, this example only uses a single terrestrial network device. When multiple terrestrial networks identify a terminal device that needs to be paged, these networks can send a second message to indicate their respective terminal devices that need to be paged, so that the satellite can identify the multiple terminal devices that need to be paged.

[0168] Step 603: The satellite transmits third information, which is used to page the terminal equipment. Accordingly, the terminal equipment receives the third information from the satellite.

[0169] The third information can be understood as a paging message, or the third information is contained within a paging message.

[0170] Optionally, the third information may include the identifier of the terminal device, etc. Alternatively, the third information may include other information that can uniquely identify the terminal device, etc.

[0171] Understandably, when multiple terrestrial network devices send the second message, the third message sent by the satellite can contain the identifiers of multiple terminal devices. This avoids each terrestrial network device individually pageing its corresponding terminal device; the satellite can use a single message to page multiple terminal devices that need to be paged by the terrestrial network, saving on terrestrial network overhead.

[0172] Optionally, the satellite can transmit third information via downlink single-carrier waveforms (such as discrete fourier transform spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM) waveforms) to obtain PAPR gain.

[0173] Step 604: The terminal device determines the access ground cell based on the third information.

[0174] In some embodiments, the terminal device may reside on satellite monitoring paging messages when it is in an idle state.

[0175] When the terminal device receives the third information, it can determine that it is being paged based on the identifier of the terminal device in the third information. Furthermore, the terminal device determines that it is accessing the ground cell.

[0176] In some possible embodiments, the terminal device may determine the ground cell to be accessed based on at least one of the terminal device's location information, the location information of the ground cell, and the location information of the satellite, in accordance with service requirements.

[0177] Optionally, the terminal device can first select ground cells within the satellite coverage area (which can be understood as eligible ground cells) based on the satellite's location information and the location information of the ground cells, and then determine the ground cell to be accessed from the eligible ground cells based on the following method.

[0178] For example, the terminal device can determine the ground cell with the smallest distance from the terminal device as the ground cell that needs to be accessed based on the location information of the (qualified) ground cell and the location information of the terminal device.

[0179] For example, terminal equipment can also determine the ground cell with the best link signal quality as the ground cell to be accessed based on the location information of the (qualified) ground cell.

[0180] In some other possible embodiments, the third information may also include the load information or idle level of the ground cell, and the terminal device may determine the ground cell to be accessed based on the load information or idle level of the ground cell.

[0181] Optionally, the terminal device can also combine the above methods to jointly determine the ground cell to be accessed. For example, the terminal device can combine one or more of the following to jointly determine the ground cell to be accessed: the distance between the ground cell and the terminal device, the link signal quality, load information, or idle level.

[0182] In some other possible embodiments, the third information may also indicate the terrestrial cell that needs to be accessed, so that the terminal device can determine the terrestrial cell that needs to be accessed based on the indication of the third information.

[0183] For example, as shown in Figure 8, within the satellite's coverage area, a terminal device can obtain data transmission services from either the satellite or a terrestrial cell. When the terminal device enters an idle state, it can choose to reside on the satellite to monitor paging messages sent by the satellite. When a terminal device that has previously accessed a terrestrial cell needs to be paging, the paging message is sent via the interaction between the terrestrial network equipment and the satellite using a wide-area coverage beam, paging the corresponding terminal device. The terminal device then ultimately accesses the terrestrial cell, such as cell 0 in Figure 8. This saves on the paging overhead of the terrestrial network equipment.

[0184] In some embodiments, if the ground cell does not need to transmit paging messages, the overhead saving gain is 2dB+. If the satellite transmits paging messages via a single downlink carrier, a PAPR gain of 3dB can be obtained. Furthermore, since the satellite can achieve 72 times the coverage of the ground cell, a single satellite can save the overhead of 72 cells.

[0185] Based on the above communication method, the terminal equipment that needs to be paged by the ground network equipment can be paged via satellite, without the need for the ground network equipment to page, which can reduce the paging overhead of the ground network equipment.

[0186] In some embodiments, the embodiments shown in FIG3 or FIG5 and the embodiments shown in FIG6 or FIG7 can be implemented in combination with each other or individually, and this application does not limit this.

[0187] For example, after a terminal device accesses a ground cell through the embodiment shown in Figure 3 or Figure 5, the terminal device can remain on the satellite when it enters an idle state. When the terminal device needs to be paged, it can be paged using the method shown in Figure 6 or Figure 7.

[0188] For example, when a terminal device is paged using the method shown in Figure 6 or Figure 7, the terminal device can access a ground cell using the method shown in Figure 3 or Figure 5.

[0189] Based on the above embodiments, this application also provides a communication device. Referring to FIG9, the communication device 900 may include a transceiver unit 901 and a processing unit 902. The transceiver unit 901 is used for communication by the communication device 900, such as receiving or sending information (signals or data). The processing unit 902 is used for controlling and managing the operation of the communication device 900. The processing unit 902 can also control the steps performed by the transceiver unit 901.

[0190] For example, the communication device 900 may specifically be a terminal device, a processor, chip, chip system, component, module, or functional module as described in the above embodiments. Alternatively, the communication device 900 may specifically be a non-terrestrial network device (such as a satellite), a processor, chip, chip system, component, module, or functional module as described in the above embodiments. Or, the communication device 900 may specifically be a terrestrial network device, a processor, chip, chip system, component, module, or functional module as described in the above embodiments.

[0191] In one embodiment, when the communication device 900 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device in the embodiment shown in FIG3 or FIG5, the transceiver unit 901 can be used to receive first information from the satellite, the first information being used to indicate common configuration information of multiple ground cells and different configuration information of the multiple ground cells; the coverage of the multiple ground cells is included in the coverage of the satellite; the processing unit 902 can be used to access the first ground cell among the multiple ground cells according to the first information.

[0192] For example, the common configuration information of the multiple ground cells includes one or more of the following: Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) configuration, Random Access Channel (RACH) configuration, or System Information System (SI) scheduling configuration.

[0193] Optionally, the different configuration information of the plurality of ground cells includes the location information of the plurality of ground cells.

[0194] In an optional implementation, the processing unit 902 may further be used to determine the first ground cell based on the location information of the terminal device and the location information of the plurality of ground cells, wherein the first ground cell is the ground cell with the smallest distance from the terminal device among the plurality of ground cells.

[0195] In some embodiments, the transceiver unit 901 can also be used to receive third information from a satellite, the third information being used for paging terminal equipment.

[0196] Optionally, the third information includes the identifier of the terminal device.

[0197] In another embodiment, when the communication device 900 is used to implement the functions of the non-terrestrial network device in the embodiments shown in FIG3 or FIG5, the transceiver unit 901 can be used to send first information, the first information being used to indicate common configuration information of multiple ground cells and different configuration information of the multiple ground cells; the coverage area of ​​the multiple ground cells is included in the coverage area of ​​the satellite. The processing unit 902 can be used to control the operation of the transceiver unit 901.

[0198] For example, the common configuration information of the multiple ground cells includes one or more of the following: Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) configuration, Random Access Channel (RACH) configuration, or System Information System (SI) scheduling configuration.

[0199] Optionally, the different configuration information of the plurality of ground cells includes the location information of the plurality of ground cells.

[0200] In an optional implementation, the transceiver unit 901 can also be used to send third information, which is used for paging terminal devices.

[0201] In one example, the third information includes the identifier of the terminal device.

[0202] In one possible approach, the transceiver unit 901 can also be used to receive second information from a terrestrial network device, the second information being used to indicate a terminal device that needs to be paged.

[0203] The second information may include one or more of the following: the identifier of the terminal device or the location information of the terminal device.

[0204] In another embodiment, when the communication device 900 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device in the embodiments shown in FIG6 or FIG7, the transceiver unit 901 can be used to receive third information from the satellite, the third information being used to page the terminal device; the processing unit 902 can be used to determine the access ground cell based on the third information.

[0205] For example, the third information may include the identifier of the terminal device.

[0206] In another embodiment, when the communication device 900 is used to implement the functions of the non-terrestrial network device in the embodiments shown in FIG6 or FIG7, the transceiver unit 901 can be used to receive second information from the terrestrial network device, the second information being used to indicate a terminal device that needs to be paged; and to send third information, the third information being used to page the terminal device. The processing unit 902 can be used to control the operation of the transceiver unit 901.

[0207] For example, the third information includes the identifier of the terminal device.

[0208] Optionally, the second information includes one or more of the following: the identifier of the terminal device or the location information of the terminal device.

[0209] In some embodiments, when the transceiver unit 901 receives the second information from the terrestrial network device, it may be used to: receive the second information from the terrestrial network device through a first device.

[0210] In another embodiment, when the communication device 900 is used to implement the function of the terrestrial network device in the embodiment shown in FIG6 or FIG7, the processing unit 902 can be used to determine that a terminal device needs to be paged; the transceiver unit 901 can be used to send second information, the second information being used to indicate the terminal device that needs to be paged.

[0211] In some examples, when transmitting the second information, the transceiver unit 901 can be used to: transmit the second information to a satellite; or transmit the second information to a satellite via a first device.

[0212] It should be noted that the division of units in the embodiments of this application is illustrative and only represents one logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods. The functional units in the embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit. The integrated units described above can be implemented in hardware or as software functional units.

[0213] If the integrated unit is implemented as a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or all or part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) or processor to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0214] Based on the above embodiments, this application also provides a communication device. Referring to FIG10, the communication device 1000 may include one or more processors 1002. Optionally, the communication device 1000 may further include one or more transceivers 1001. Optionally, the communication device 1000 may further include at least one memory 1003. The memory 1003 may be located inside the communication device 1000 or outside the communication device 1000. The processor 1002 can control the transceiver 1001 to receive and send information, messages, or data.

[0215] Specifically, the processor 1002 may be a central processing unit (CPU), a network processor (NP), or a combination of a CPU and an NP. The processor 1002 may further include a hardware chip. The hardware chip may be an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), or a combination thereof. The PLD may be a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a generic array logic (GAL), or any combination thereof.

[0216] The transceiver 1001, processor 1002, and memory 1003 are interconnected. Optionally, the transceiver 1001, processor 1002, and memory 1003 are interconnected via bus 1004; bus 1004 can be a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus or an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus, etc. The bus can be divided into address bus, data bus, control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is used in Figure 10, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0217] In one optional embodiment, the memory 1003 is used to store programs, etc. Specifically, the program may include program code, which includes computer operation instructions. The memory 1003 may include RAM, and may also include non-volatile memory, such as one or more disk storage devices. The processor 1002 executes the application program stored in the memory 1003 to implement the above-mentioned functions, thereby realizing the functions of the communication device 1000.

[0218] For example, the communication device 1000 can specifically implement the functions of the terminal device, non-terrestrial network device (such as satellite) or terrestrial network device in the above embodiments.

[0219] In one embodiment, when the communication device 1000 implements the functions of the terminal device in the aforementioned method embodiments, the transceiver 1001 can perform the send / receive operations executed by the terminal device in the aforementioned method embodiments; the processor 1002 can perform other operations besides the send / receive operations executed by the terminal device in the aforementioned method embodiments. Specific details can be found in the relevant descriptions in the above method embodiments, and will not be elaborated upon here.

[0220] In another embodiment, when the communication device 1000 implements the functions of the terminal device in the aforementioned method embodiments, the processor 1002 can implement the operations performed by the terminal device in the aforementioned method embodiments. For specific details, please refer to the relevant descriptions in the above method embodiments, which will not be elaborated upon here.

[0221] In another embodiment, when the communication device 1000 performs the functions of a non-terrestrial network device (such as a satellite) in the aforementioned method embodiments, the transceiver 1001 can perform the transmit and receive operations performed by the non-terrestrial network device (such as a satellite) in the aforementioned method embodiments; the processor 1002 can perform other operations besides the transmit and receive operations performed by the non-terrestrial network device (such as a satellite) in the aforementioned method embodiments. Specific details can be found in the relevant descriptions in the above method embodiments, and will not be elaborated upon here.

[0222] In yet another embodiment, when the communication device 1000 performs the functions of a non-terrestrial network device (such as a satellite) in the aforementioned method embodiments, the processor 1002 can perform the operations executed by the network device in the aforementioned method embodiments. Specific details can be found in the relevant descriptions in the above method embodiments, and will not be elaborated upon here.

[0223] In yet another embodiment, when the communication device 1000 implements the functions of the terrestrial network device in the aforementioned method embodiments, the transceiver 1001 can perform the transmit / receive operations executed by the terrestrial network device in the aforementioned method embodiments; the processor 1002 can perform other operations besides the transmit / receive operations executed by the terrestrial network device in the aforementioned method embodiments. Specific details can be found in the relevant descriptions in the above method embodiments, and will not be elaborated upon here.

[0224] In yet another embodiment, when the communication device 1000 implements the functions of the terrestrial network device in the aforementioned method embodiments, the processor 1002 can implement the operations performed by the network device in the aforementioned method embodiments. Specific details can be found in the relevant descriptions in the above method embodiments, and will not be elaborated upon here.

[0225] Based on the above embodiments, this application provides a communication system, which may include the terminal equipment, non-terrestrial network equipment and terrestrial network equipment involved in the above embodiments.

[0226] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing computer programs or instructions. When the computer programs or instructions are executed by a computer, the computer can implement the communication methods provided in the above-described method embodiments.

[0227] This application also provides a computer program product for storing computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are executed by a computer, the computer can implement the communication method provided in the above method embodiments.

[0228] This application also provides a chip or chip system, including logic circuitry, which is used to execute the communication method provided in the above-described method embodiments.

[0229] This application also provides a chip or chip system, including one or more processors, wherein the one or more processors are coupled to at least one memory, for calling a program in the memory to enable the chip or chip system to implement the communication method provided in the above method embodiments.

[0230] This application also provides a chip or chip system coupled to at least one memory, which is used to implement the communication method provided in the above method embodiments.

[0231] Those skilled in the art will understand that embodiments of this application can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, this application can take the form of a completely hardware embodiment, a completely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, this application can take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0232] This application is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to this application. It should be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in one or more blocks of the flowchart illustrations and / or one or more blocks of the block diagrams.

[0233] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium produce an article of manufacture including instruction means that implement the functions specified in one or more flowcharts and / or one or more block diagrams.

[0234] These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process, such that the instructions, which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus, provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more flowcharts and / or one or more block diagrams.

[0235] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to this application without departing from the scope of this application. Therefore, if such modifications and variations fall within the scope of the claims of this application and their equivalents, this application also intends to include such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, include: Receive first information from the satellite, the first information being used to indicate common configuration information of multiple ground cells and different configuration information of the multiple ground cells; The coverage area of ​​the plurality of ground cells is included in the coverage area of ​​the satellite; Access the first ground cell among the plurality of ground cells based on the first information.

2. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The common configuration information of the multiple ground cells includes one or more of the following: Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) configuration, Random Access Channel (RACH) configuration, or System Information (SI) scheduling configuration.

3. The method as described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The different configuration information of the multiple ground cells includes the location information of the multiple ground cells.

4. The method as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The method further includes: Based on the location information of the terminal device and the location information of the plurality of ground cells, the first ground cell is determined, and the first ground cell is the ground cell with the smallest distance from the terminal device among the plurality of ground cells.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive third information from the satellite, which is used for paging terminal equipment.

6. The method as described in claim 5, characterized in that, The third piece of information includes the identifier of the terminal device.

7. A communication method, characterized in that, include: Send a first message, which is used to indicate the common configuration information of multiple ground cells and the different configuration information of the multiple ground cells; The coverage area of ​​the plurality of ground cells is included in the coverage area of ​​the satellite.

8. The method as described in claim 7, characterized in that, The common configuration information of the multiple ground cells includes one or more of the following: Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) configuration, Random Access Channel (RACH) configuration, or System Information (SI) scheduling configuration.

9. The method as described in claim 7 or 8, characterized in that, The different configuration information of the multiple ground cells includes the location information of the multiple ground cells.

10. The method according to any one of claims 7-9, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a third message, which is used to page the terminal device.

11. The method as described in claim 10, characterized in that, The third piece of information includes the identifier of the terminal device.

12. The method as described in claim 10 or 11, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive second information from terrestrial network equipment, the second information being used to indicate the terminal equipment that needs to be paged.

13. The method as described in claim 12, characterized in that, The second information includes one or more of the following: the identifier of the terminal device or the location information of the terminal device.

14. A communication method, characterized in that, include: Receive third information from a satellite, the third information being used for paging terminal equipment; The access ground cell is determined based on the third information.

15. The method as described in claim 14, characterized in that, The third piece of information includes the identifier of the terminal device.

16. A communication method, characterized in that, include: Receive second information from terrestrial network equipment, the second information being used to indicate terminal equipment that needs to be paged; Send a third message, which is used to page the terminal device.

17. The method as described in claim 16, characterized in that, The third piece of information includes the identifier of the terminal device.

18. The method as described in claim 16 or 17, characterized in that, The second information includes one or more of the following: the identifier of the terminal device or the location information of the terminal device.

19. The method according to any one of claims 16-18, characterized in that, Receiving the second information from the terrestrial network device includes: The first device receives the second information from the terrestrial network device.

20. A communication method, characterized in that, include: It is determined that a paging terminal device is required; Send a second message, which is used to indicate the terminal device that needs to be paged.

21. The method as described in claim 20, characterized in that, Sending the second information includes: Send the second information to the satellite; or The second information is transmitted to the satellite via the first device.

22. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes units or modules for performing the method as described in any one of claims 1-6, or units or modules for performing the method as described in any one of claims 7-13, or units or modules for performing the method as described in any one of claims 14-15, or units or modules for performing the method as described in any one of claims 16-19, or units or modules for performing the method as described in any one of claims 20-21.

23. A communication device, characterized in that, The method includes a processor for executing computer programs or instructions to implement the method as claimed in any one of claims 1-6, or the method as claimed in any one of claims 7-13, or the method as claimed in any one of claims 14-15, or the method as claimed in any one of claims 16-19, or the method as claimed in any one of claims 20-21.

24. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program or instructions that, when executed by a communication device, implement the method as described in any one of claims 1-6, or the method as described in any one of claims 7-13, or the method as described in any one of claims 14-15, or the method as described in any one of claims 16-19, or the method as described in any one of claims 20-21.

25. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes a computer program or instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the method as described in any one of claims 1-6 to be implemented, or the method as described in any one of claims 7-13 to be implemented, or the method as described in any one of claims 14-15 to be implemented, or the method as described in any one of claims 16-19 to be implemented, or the method as described in any one of claims 20-21 to be implemented.

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