Communication method and apparatus, and storage medium

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and apparatus, and a storage medium. In the method, a terminal device determines that a demand for a first service exists, and if the number of remaining DRBs of the terminal device is less than the number of DRBs required by the first service, that is, the terminal device currently does not have a sufficient number of DRBs, then the terminal device triggers release or deactivation of at least one DRB occupied by a second service of the terminal device, so that the terminal device can establish a DRB for the first service, thereby enabling the first service to proceed normally.

Description

Communication methods, devices and storage media

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202510127761.1, filed on January 27, 2025, entitled "Communication Method, Apparatus and Storage Medium", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

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

[0003] With the development of communication technology, terminal devices can now access networks via non-terrestrial devices such as satellites. For example, a terminal device can access the Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) via satellite to enable voice calls. Besides IMS services, terminal devices can also perform data services, such as a power meter terminal reporting meter data to a cloud server. Therefore, how to ensure normal access to IMS services in scenarios where data services consume the wireless data capacity of the terminal device is a pressing issue that needs to be addressed. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application provides a communication method, apparatus, and storage medium that enable new services (such as IMS services) to function normally when a terminal device has a new service requirement.

[0005] In a first aspect, embodiments of this application provide a communication method, which can be executed by a first device. The first device may be, for example, a terminal device, a component in the terminal device (e.g., a processor, circuit, chip, or chip system), or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the terminal device.

[0006] The following explanation uses the first device as the terminal equipment and the terminal equipment executing the method as an example.

[0007] In this method, the terminal device determines that there is a first service requirement. If a first condition is met, the terminal device triggers the release or deactivation of the first data radio bearer (DRB). The first DRB is included in at least one DRB occupied by the terminal device's second service. The first condition includes that the number of second DRBs is less than the number of third DRBs, where the second DRBs are the remaining DRBs of the terminal device, and the third DRBs are the DRBs required by the first service.

[0008] The first DRB refers to the DRB currently occupied by the terminal device. The DRB currently occupied by the terminal device may include the DRB occupied by the terminal device's second service. The remaining DRBs of the terminal device refer to: DRBs not occupied by the terminal device, DRBs still available to the terminal device after being occupied by the second service, or DRBs not used by the terminal device. DRBs not occupied by the terminal device may include available but not yet established DRBs, and may also include available but suspended (or temporarily stopped) DRBs. The DRBs required for the first service refer to the DRBs required by the terminal device to initiate the first service. The priority of the first service is higher than that of the second service. The DRBs available to the terminal device may include available but not yet established DRBs, and may also include suspended DRBs.

[0009] In one scenario, before a terminal device has a first service requirement, the terminal device and network equipment have already established at least one DRB for the second service (i.e., the terminal device's second service occupies at least one DRB). When the terminal device has a first service requirement, if the terminal device does not currently have a sufficient number of DRBs (i.e., the first condition is met), the terminal device triggers the release or deactivation of one or more DRBs occupied by the terminal device's second service, so that the terminal device can establish a DRB for the first service and enable the first service to proceed normally.

[0010] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one optional implementation, the number of remaining DRBs in the terminal device is the difference between the number of DRBs occupied by the second service of the terminal device and the number of DRBs supported by the terminal device.

[0011] For example, the terminal device supports 2 DRBs. Before the terminal device establishes the DRB for the first service, it has already established the DRB for the second service. For example, if the second service of the terminal device occupies 1 DRB, then the terminal device has 1 DRB remaining.

[0012] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one alternative implementation, the first service includes Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) service.

[0013] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one alternative implementation, the second business includes Internet of Things (IoT) business.

[0014] In some embodiments, IoT services can also be described as data services.

[0015] In some embodiments, the first service can be a high-priority IoT service, and the second service can be a low-priority IoT service.

[0016] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one optional implementation, the terminal device determines a first service requirement, including any one of the following: the terminal device initiates a Session Initiation Protocol Invitation (SIP INVITE), or the terminal device initiates the establishment of a user plane connection for the first service, or the terminal device receives a SIP INVITE.

[0017] In some embodiments, the first service is IMS service, and the terminal device can be the calling device. The calling device initiating a SIP INVITE can be regarded as the calling device having an IMS service requirement.

[0018] In some embodiments, the first service is an IMS service, and the terminal device can be a calling device. The user plane bearer initiated by the calling device to establish an IMS service can be regarded as the calling device having an IMS service requirement.

[0019] In some embodiments, the first service is IMS service, and the terminal device can be the called device. The called device receiving a SIP INVITE can be regarded as the called device having an IMS service requirement.

[0020] In conjunction with the first aspect, in an optional implementation, the first condition further includes at least one of the following: the network allows the terminal device to access the first service via a geostationary orbit GEO satellite; or, the terminal device accesses the network via a geostationary orbit GEO satellite; or, the terminal device supports accessing the first service via a geostationary orbit GEO satellite; or, the terminal device supports low-rate encoding / decoding; or, the terminal device supports at least one DRB; or, the terminal device supports accessing the first service via IoT.

[0021] In some embodiments, the terminal device receives second indication information, which indicates that the terminal device is permitted to access the first service via a geostationary orbit GEO satellite. Based on the second indication information, the terminal device learns that the network permits it to access the first service via a geostationary orbit GEO satellite.

[0022] In conjunction with the first aspect, in an optional implementation, the method further includes: the terminal device sending first indication information; the first indication information is used to indicate at least one of the following: the terminal device supports accessing the first service via a geostationary orbit GEO satellite, or the terminal device supports low-rate encoding / decoding, or the terminal device supports at least one DRB, or the terminal device supports accessing the first service via IoT.

[0023] The terminal device can send a first instruction message to the network device so that the network device can know the terminal device's capability information.

[0024] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one optional implementation, the first indication information is carried in a first message, which is an access stratum AS message or a non-access stratum NAS message.

[0025] In conjunction with the first aspect, in an optional implementation, the method further includes: the terminal device receiving second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate that the terminal device is permitted to access the first service via a geostationary orbit GEO satellite.

[0026] Optionally, the second indication information is carried in a NAS message (e.g., Attach Accept).

[0027] After the terminal device reports its capability information (such as the aforementioned first indication information) to the network device, the terminal device receives the second indication information from the network device. Based on the second indication information, the terminal device can access the network via GEO satellite.

[0028] In conjunction with the first aspect, in an optional implementation, the method further includes: the terminal device determining that the DRB occupied by the terminal device has been released or deactivated; if the second condition is met, the terminal device initiates the establishment of a DRB for the second service, or initiates the restoration of a DRB for the second service.

[0029] The second condition includes at least one of the following: the terminal device has a second service requirement; or, the number of DRBs currently occupied by the terminal device is less than the number of DRBs supported by the terminal device. Optionally, the terminal device determining that the DRBs occupied by the terminal device have been released or deactivated includes: the terminal device determining that the DRBs occupied by the terminal device's first service have been released or deactivated.

[0030] A terminal device having a second service requirement can refer to either the terminal device initiating a user plane connection to establish a second service, or the terminal device initiating a PDN connection to establish a second service. The DRBs currently occupied (or used) by the terminal device can include DRBs already established by the terminal device, or DRBs that were established but then suspended (or temporarily stopped). If the number of DRBs currently occupied by the terminal device is less than the number of DRBs supported by the terminal device, it indicates that the terminal device has remaining DRBs (or DRBs that are not occupied or used by the terminal device, or DRBs that are still available after being occupied by the second service). The DRBs not occupied by the terminal device can include available but not yet established DRBs, or available but suspended (or temporarily stopped) DRBs.

[0031] When a DRB occupied by a terminal device is released or deactivated (e.g., the DRB occupied by the terminal device's first service is released or deactivated), in one example, if there are remaining DRBs, the terminal device can establish a DRB for the second service before a second service is needed, or restore the DRB for the second service. In another example, if the terminal device needs a second service and there are remaining DRBs, the terminal device can establish a DRB for the second service, or restore the DRB for the second service, so that the second service can proceed normally.

[0032] Secondly, embodiments of this application provide a communication method, which can be executed by a second device. The second device may be, for example, a network device, or a component in the network device (e.g., a processor, circuit, chip, or chip system), or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the network device.

[0033] The following explanation uses the second device as a network device and the network device executing this method as an example.

[0034] In this method, the network device receives a first request. If a first condition is met, the network device triggers the release or deactivation of the first data radio bearer (DRB). The first request is used to trigger the establishment of a dedicated bearer for the terminal device's first service. The first DRB is included in at least one DRB occupied by the terminal device's second service. The first condition includes that the number of second DRBs is less than the number of third DRBs, where the second DRBs are the remaining DRBs of the terminal device, and the third DRBs are the DRBs required for the first service.

[0035] Before the network device receives the first request, the network device and the terminal device have already established at least one DRB for the second service (i.e., the terminal device's second service occupies at least one DRB). Upon receiving the first request, the network device can determine that the terminal device has a first service requirement. If the network device determines that the terminal device currently does not have a sufficient number of DRBs (i.e., the first condition is met), the network device triggers the release or deactivation of one or more DRBs occupied by the terminal device's second service, so that the terminal device can establish a DRB for the first service and enable the first service to proceed normally.

[0036] In conjunction with the second aspect, in one optional implementation, the number of remaining DRBs in the terminal device is the difference between the number of DRBs occupied by the second service of the terminal device and the number of DRBs supported by the terminal device.

[0037] In conjunction with the second aspect, in one optional implementation, the first service includes the Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) service.

[0038] In conjunction with the second aspect, in one alternative implementation, the second business includes Internet of Things (IoT) business.

[0039] In conjunction with the second aspect, in an optional implementation, the first condition further includes at least one of the following: the network allows the terminal device to access the first service via a geostationary orbit GEO satellite; or, the terminal device accesses the network via a geostationary orbit GEO satellite; or, the terminal device supports accessing the first service via a geostationary orbit GEO satellite; or, the terminal device supports low-rate encoding / decoding; or, the terminal device supports at least one DRB; or, the terminal device supports accessing the first service via IoT.

[0040] In conjunction with the second aspect, in an optional implementation, the network device includes a Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) network element. The network device receives a first request, including: the PCRF network element receiving an Authentication and Authorization Request (AAR).

[0041] In some embodiments, the PCRF network element can be replaced by the policy control function PCF network element.

[0042] In conjunction with the second aspect, in an optional implementation, the network device includes a Packet Data Network Gateway (PGW) element. The network device receives a first request, including: the PGW element receiving an update request.

[0043] In some embodiments, the PGW network element can be replaced by the Session Management Function (SMF) network element.

[0044] In conjunction with the second aspect, in an optional implementation, the update request is a request sent by the Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) network element to the PGW network element based on the AAR. For example, the update request is an IP CAN Session Modification procedure.

[0045] In conjunction with the second aspect, in an optional implementation, the AAR includes any of the following: an AAR sent by the Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) based on Session Initiation Protocol SIP 183; or an AAR sent by the IMS based on Session Initiation Protocol SIP 180; or an AAR sent by the IMS based on SIP INVITE.

[0046] In conjunction with the second aspect, in an optional implementation, the method further includes: a network device receiving first indication information; the first indication information is used to indicate at least one of the following: the terminal device supports accessing the first service via a geostationary orbit GEO satellite, or the terminal device supports low-rate encoding / decoding, or the terminal device supports at least one DRB, or the terminal device supports accessing the first service via IoT.

[0047] In conjunction with the second aspect, in an optional implementation, the method further includes: the network device determining, based on first indication information and third indication information, whether to allow the terminal device to access the first service via GEO satellite. The third indication information is used to instruct the terminal device to access the network via GEO satellite.

[0048] In conjunction with the second aspect, in an optional implementation, the first indication information is carried in a first message, which is an access stratum AS message or a non-access stratum NAS message.

[0049] In conjunction with the second aspect, in an optional implementation, the method further includes: the network device sending second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate that the terminal device is permitted to access the first service via a geostationary orbit GEO satellite.

[0050] In one example, the network device is a Mobility Management Entity (MME) network element. When the MME network element determines that the terminal device is allowed to access the first service via GEO satellite, the MME network element sends a second instruction message to the terminal device.

[0051] In one example, the network device is a PCRF network element. When the PCRF network element determines that the terminal device is allowed to access the first service via GEO satellite, the PCRF network element sends a second instruction message to the terminal device.

[0052] In one example, the network device is a PGW network element. When the PGW network element determines that the terminal device is allowed to access the first service via GEO satellite, the PGW network element sends a second instruction message to the terminal device.

[0053] In conjunction with the second aspect, in an optional implementation, the method further includes: the network device determining that the DRB occupied by the terminal device has been released or deactivated; if the second condition is met, the network device initiates the establishment of a DRB for the second service, or initiates the restoration of a DRB for the second service.

[0054] The second condition includes at least one of the following: the terminal device has a second service requirement; or, the number of DRBs currently occupied by the terminal device is less than the number of DRBs supported by the terminal device.

[0055] When a network device determines that a DRB occupied by a terminal device has been released or deactivated (e.g., the network device determines that the DRB occupied by the terminal device's first service has been released or deactivated), in one example, if the terminal device currently has remaining DRBs, the network device can either establish a DRB for the terminal device's second service or restore the DRB for the terminal device's second service before determining that the terminal device has a second service requirement. In another example, if the network device determines that the terminal device has a second service requirement and the terminal device currently has remaining DRBs, the network device establishes a DRB for the terminal device's second service or restores the DRB for the terminal device's second service, so that the terminal device's second service can operate normally.

[0056] Thirdly, this application provides a communication device, including a module or unit for performing the communication method as described in the first aspect or any of the optional embodiments therein, or including a module or unit for performing the communication method as described in the second aspect or any of the optional embodiments therein.

[0057] Fourthly, this application provides a communication device, comprising: a processor coupled to a memory for storing a computer program, the processor for executing the computer program stored in the memory, such that the communication device performs the method as described in the first aspect or any of the optional embodiments thereof, or performs the method as described in the second aspect or any of the optional embodiments thereof.

[0058] Fifthly, this application provides a communication device, comprising: a processor and a communication interface, wherein the processor is configured to control the communication interface to implement the method as described in the first aspect or any of the optional embodiments thereof, or to implement the method as described in the second aspect or any of the optional embodiments thereof.

[0059] In a sixth aspect, this application provides a communication system, comprising: a first communication device and a second communication device, wherein the first communication device is configured to perform the method as described in the first aspect or any optional embodiment thereof, and the second communication device is configured to perform the method as described in the second aspect or any optional embodiment thereof; or, the first communication device is configured to perform the method as described in the second aspect or any optional embodiment thereof, and the second communication device is configured to perform the method as described in the first aspect or any optional embodiment thereof.

[0060] In a seventh aspect, this application provides a communication system, comprising: a first core network device, the first core network device being configured to perform the method described in the second aspect or any of the optional embodiments thereof. Optionally, the first core network device comprises at least one of the following: a Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) network element, or a Packet Data Network Gateway (PGW) network element.

[0061] In conjunction with the seventh aspect, in an optional implementation, the communication system further includes: a second core network device. The second core network device includes a Mobility Management Entity (MME) network element.

[0062] In a seventh aspect, this application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method as described in the first aspect or any of the alternative embodiments therein, or cause the computer to perform the method as described in the second aspect or any of the alternative embodiments therein.

[0063] Eighthly, this application provides a computer program product comprising: a computer program that, when run, causes a computer to perform the method as described in the first aspect or any of the optional embodiments thereof, or causes a computer to perform the method as described in the second aspect or any of the optional embodiments thereof.

[0064] Ninthly, this application provides a chip system applied to an electronic device. The chip system includes one or more processors, which are configured to invoke computer instructions to cause the electronic device to perform the method as described in the first aspect or any of the optional embodiments thereof, or to cause the electronic device to perform the method as described in the second aspect or any of the optional embodiments thereof. Attached Figure Description

[0065] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an architecture of a communication system applicable to the communication method provided in this application;

[0066] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of another architecture of a communication system applicable to the communication method provided in this application;

[0067] Figure 3 illustrates a satellite network architecture provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0068] Figure 4 shows another satellite network architecture provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0069] Figure 5 is a comparison chart of application scenarios for various networks;

[0070] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of two types of transmission IoT services;

[0071] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) call flow;

[0072] Figure 8 is a flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0073] Figure 9 is a flowchart of the communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0074] Figure 10 is a flowchart of the communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0075] Figure 11 is a flowchart of the communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0076] Figure 12 is a flowchart of the communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0077] Figure 13 is a flowchart of the communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0078] Figure 14 is a flowchart of the communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0079] Figure 15 is a flowchart of the communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0080] Figure 16 is a flowchart of the communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0081] Figure 17 is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0082] Figure 18 is a schematic diagram of the communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0083] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of this application, the following points will be explained first:

[0084] In this application, "instruction" can include direct instruction, indirect instruction, explicit instruction, and implicit instruction. When describing a certain instruction information for the purpose of instructing A, it can be understood that the instruction information carries A, directly instructs A, or indirectly instructs A.

[0085] In this application, " / " can indicate that the objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. For example, A / B can mean A or B. "And / or" can be used to describe three relationships between the related objects. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. A and B can be singular or plural.

[0086] In this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "more than one" means two or more, such as three, four, or more. Similar expressions (such as at least one, at least one, etc.) are used in the same way. "At least one of the following," "one or more of the following," or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, which may include only a single item or a combination of multiple items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can mean: a, or b, or c; a and b; or a and c; or b and c; or a, b, and c. Where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0087] In this application, for the convenience of describing the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, the terms "first" and "second" may be used to distinguish them. The terms "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity or execution order, and the terms "first" and "second" are not necessarily different.

[0088] In this application, the words "exemplary," "example," or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary," "example," or "for example" should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or designs. The use of the words "exemplary," "example," or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a specific manner to facilitate understanding.

[0089] In this application, "sending information / data" only indicates the direction of information / data transmission, including direct transmission via the device's communication interface (such as an air interface, or simply air interface). "Sending" can also be understood as the "output" of a module interface. "Sending" can include indirect transmission by the processing unit through the communication interface, meaning that after the processing unit outputs information / data through the module interface, it is transmitted to the device's communication interface and then sent out. "Receiving information / data" only indicates the direction of information / data transmission, including direct reception via the communication interface. "Receiving" can also be understood as the "input" of a module interface. "Receiving information / data" can include indirect reception by the processing unit through the communication interface, meaning that after the communication interface receives information / data, it is transmitted to the processing unit's module interface and then input to the processing unit. "Sending information / data to… (such as a terminal)" can be understood as the destination of the information being the terminal. It can include sending information / data directly or indirectly to the terminal. "Receiving information / data from… (such as a terminal)" can be understood as the source of the information being the terminal, and can include receiving information / data directly or indirectly from the terminal. Information / data may undergo necessary processing, such as format changes, between the source and destination, but the destination can understand the valid information / data from the source. Similar statements in this application can be understood in a similar way, and will not be repeated here.

[0090] The technical solutions of this application embodiment can be applied to various communication systems, such as: narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) systems, wireless local access network (WLAN) systems, long term evolution (LTE) systems, and fourth-generation (4G) systems. th Generation 4G) communication system, fifth generation (5G) thThis application does not limit the scope to 5G (generation, 5G) communication systems, satellite communication systems, wireless fidelity (WiFi) systems, future communication systems, or other communication systems.

[0091] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an architecture of a communication system applicable to the communication method provided in this application. Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of a possible, non-limiting system architecture. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system 100 includes: user equipment (UE), radio access network (RAN), and core network. The core network includes: access and mobility management function (AMF) network elements, session management function (SMF) network elements, policy control function (PCF) network elements, user plane function (UPF) network elements, unified data management (UDM) network elements, etc. In addition, the communication system 100 also includes other network elements, such as application function (AF) network elements.

[0092] In this application embodiment, the user equipment can also be referred to as a terminal, terminal device, mobile station, mobile terminal, etc. Terminals can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grids, smart furniture, smart offices, smart wearables, smart transportation, smart cities, etc. Terminals can be mobile phones, tablets, computers with wireless transceiver capabilities, wearable devices, vehicles, drones, helicopters, airplanes, ships, robots, robotic arms, smart home devices, etc.

[0093] In this embodiment, the RAN node may also be referred to as an access network device, RAN entity, or access node. An RAN node 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, or an access node in a WiFi system. An RAN node 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, an RAN node can also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle, or in-vehicle equipment. For example, the access network device in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology can be a roadside unit (RSU).

[0094] In some embodiments, the RAN node can be a non-terrestrial device such as a satellite. A satellite as a RAN node can be implemented in the following two ways:

[0095] Method 1: The satellite processes the signal (e.g., filtering, amplification), but does not process the data (or payload). In other words, the satellite primarily performs transparent relay functions. In the network architecture shown in Figure 3, the satellite RAN includes satellites, gateway stations, and base stations.

[0096] Method 2: The satellite processes the data, including modulation, demodulation, encoding, and decoding. In the network architecture shown in Figure 4, the satellite acts as a separate RAN (or satellite RAN).

[0097] Optionally, the satellite can be a geostationary orbit (GEO) satellite.

[0098] AMF (Access Module) network elements are primarily responsible for access and mobility management in mobile networks, such as user registration management, connection management, and reachability management. Specific functions include non-access stratum signaling termination, registration area management, and access authentication.

[0099] The SMF network element is responsible for session management tasks, UPF function selection, policy implementation, quality of service (QoS) control, and billing data collection.

[0100] The PCF (Programmable Component Function) network element is responsible for user policy control, including session policies and mobility policies, and manages user control policies, involving QoS control and service access control. The PCF network element works in conjunction with other network elements such as the SMF (Service Provider Function) to ensure the effective allocation and use of network resources.

[0101] UPF network elements are primarily responsible for processing user packets, such as forwarding and billing statistics.

[0102] UDM network elements manage user subscriptions, grant access authorization, and generate authentication information.

[0103] As a service provider, the AF network element can interact with the core network to meet service needs, such as indicating requirements and subscribing to user plane events.

[0104] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of another architecture of a communication system applicable to the communication method provided in this application. Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of a possible, non-limiting system architecture. As shown in Figure 2, the communication system 200 includes: a UE, an access network (e.g., E-UTRAN), and a core network. The evolved UMTS terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) includes multiple evolved NodeBs (eNodeBs), each eNodeB responsible for transmitting and receiving radio signals. The core network includes a mobility management entity (MME) network element, a serving gateway (SGW), a packet data network gateway (PGW), a policy and charging rules function (PCRF) network element, a home subscriber server (HSS), etc.

[0105] The MME (Member Element) is a key control node in the LTE access network, responsible for paging user equipment in idle mode and marking processes, including retransmissions. The functions of the MME are similar to those of the AMF (Active Element) and SMF (Small Element Element) in 5G.

[0106] The SGW (Service Controller Gateway) is a mobile core network element. The SGW is responsible for user plane data forwarding, essentially functioning as the user plane of a Serving GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) Support Node (SGSN). Under the control of the MME (Mobile Equipment Manager) element, it routes and forwards data packets, delivering received user data to the designated PGW element. The SGW also supports the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). rd The SGW (Server-Side Wire) network element serves as the anchor point for the user plane during handover between different access technologies in the Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Its function is similar to that of the 5G UPF (Uplink Filter) and (partially) SMF (Signal-Mobile Filter) network elements. It can be understood that the SGW element can control forwarding and traffic offloading, i.e., it is divided into SGW-C and SGW-U.

[0107] The PGW (Power Gateway) network element acts as a connection point, providing the UE with transmission between the UE and the public data network (PDN). A UE can access multiple PDNs simultaneously through multiple PGW network elements. The PGW network element is responsible for implementing control policies, filtering user-specific data packets, billing, legality management, and data packet screening. The function of the PGW network element is similar to that of the 5G UPF (User-Defined Frame Frame) network element and (some) SMF (Small Frame Frame) network element. It can be understood that the PGW network element can control forwarding and traffic splitting, i.e., dividing it into PGW-C and PGW-U.

[0108] The PCRF network element is an architecture defined in the 3GPP standard. It is a fusion of the policy decision function (PDF) and the charging rules function (CRF), performing dynamic QoS policy control and dynamic flow-based charging control functions, while also providing authorization control functions based on user subscription information. The PCRF network element corresponds to the 5G PCF network element.

[0109] The core database in the HSS stores user information. It is used to store subscription information for Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) users within the home network and provides a management interface for operators and end users to customize and modify the subscription data. The information stored in the HSS includes IMS user identifiers, IMS user security contexts, IMS user routing information, and service subscription information. The HSS is similar to the Home Location Register (HLR) in the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) system. The HSS corresponds to the UDM network element in 5G.

[0110] In the embodiments of this application, the terminal device and the network device can be hardware devices, or software functions running on dedicated hardware, or software functions running on general-purpose hardware, such as virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform), or entities that include dedicated or general-purpose hardware devices and software functions. This application does not limit the specific form of the terminal and network device.

[0111] To facilitate understanding of the solution, the two business aspects involved in this application are briefly introduced below.

[0112] (I) IoT Business

[0113] Both NB-IoT and enhanced Machine-Type Communication (eMTC) belong to the Internet of Things (IoT) as defined in the 3GPP protocol standard. Compared with conventional access, they can reduce the power consumption of terminals. As shown in Figure 5, both NB-IoT and eMTC are long-distance communication technologies, but eMTC focuses on medium data rates, while NB-IoT focuses on low data rates. The power consumption of eMTC terminals is greater than that of NB-IoT terminals.

[0114] Table 1 shows a feature comparison table of NB-IoT and eMTC.

[0115] Table 1

[0116] Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) supports low-power devices for cellular data connections over wide-area networks, also known as low-power wide-area (LPWA). NB-IoT enables efficient connections for devices with long standby times and high network connectivity requirements.

[0117] Currently, NB-IoT terminals support 0 to 2 data radio bearers (DRBs), and the QoS corresponding to the radio bearers is a non-guaranteed bit rate (non-GBR) QoS.

[0118] IoT terminals (such as NB-IoT terminals and eMTC terminals) have low data transmission and reception frequencies, small data packets, and are mostly unidirectional (e.g., smart water meters reporting data to the network). 3GPP defines the following two methods for transmitting IoT services:

[0119] 1) Data transmission method based on the control plane (or signaling plane, or NAS) (corresponding to 0DRB)

[0120] Control plane cellular internet of things (CP-CIoT) supports carrying IoT services via non-access stratum (NAS) signaling. Figure 6 illustrates two schematic diagrams for transmitting IoT services. As shown in Figure 6, transmission path 1 for transmitting IoT services based on the control plane CP method can be: UE—MME—SGW—PGW. After the control forwarding is offloaded from SGW to PGW, transmission path 1 becomes: UE—MME—SGW-U—PGW-U.

[0121] This data transmission method carries IoT service data packets via NAS signaling, avoiding the repeated establishment and release of evolved radio access bearers (E-RABs) on the RAN side, thus saving signaling overhead. Because the number of messages interacting with the network is reduced, terminal power consumption is lowered, thereby extending terminal battery life.

[0122] 2) User plane-based data transmission method (corresponding to 1-2 DRB)

[0123] User plane cellular internet of things (UP-CIoT) supports the saving of S1-AP associations, UE context, and bearer context data for connection recovery by the UE, access network nodes (such as eNodeB), and core network elements (such as MME) when the terminal enters the evolved packet system connection management idle (ECM-IDLE) state. When data transmission needs to be resumed, frequent E-RAB reconstructions are unnecessary, improving data transmission efficiency and saving signaling overhead.

[0124] As shown in Figure 6, the transmission path 2 for transmitting IoT services based on the user plane can be: UE—RAN—SGW—PGW.

[0125] (II) IMS Services

[0126] IMS is a standardized architecture framework for multimedia services based on the Internet Protocol (IP), supporting the transmission of voice, video, and messages. IMS typically uses a unique Access Point Name (APN), such as the IMS APN. That is, the IMS APN is different from the APN used to access the Internet. Services corresponding to the Internet-accessing APN can be called data services, including, for example, IoT services.

[0127] IMS services can include IMS signaling and IMS voice. Table 2 shows the Quality of Service (QoS) parameters for IMS services.

[0128] Table 2

[0129] Based on Table 2, the QoS parameters corresponding to IMS signaling include QCI equal to 5, which corresponds to the non-GBR resource type, meaning the DRB for transmitting IMS signaling is a non-GBR bearer. The QoS parameters corresponding to IMS voice include QCI equal to 1, which corresponds to the guaranteed bit rate (GBR) resource type, meaning the DRB for transmitting IMS voice is a GBR bearer.

[0130] The following is a brief introduction to the IMS voice call flow (or IMS call procedure). Figure 7 shows a schematic diagram of the IMS call flow. This call flow mainly involves: UE1 (calling UE), IMS, and UE2 (called UE), as shown in Figure 7. The call flow includes the following steps:

[0131] S1, UE1 sends a session initiation protocol invite (SIP INVITE) to UE2 via IMS.

[0132] S2, IMS sends SIP 100trying to UE1.

[0133] SIP 100trying is used to indicate that a SIP INVITE has been successfully received and a call is being attempted.

[0134] S3, UE2 sends SIP 183 to UE1 via IMS.

[0135] SIP 183 is the called party's response, used to indicate the establishment of a dedicated bearer.

[0136] S4, UE1 sends a session initiation protocol provisional response acknowledgement (SIP PRACK) to UE2 via IMS.

[0137] SIP PRACK is used to indicate successful reception of SIP 183, and optionally, it can also be used to indicate that the calling side has completed resource reservation.

[0138] S5, UE2 sends SIP 200OK (PRACK) to UE1 via IMS.

[0139] SIP 200OK(PRACK) is used to indicate that a SIP PRACK has been successfully received.

[0140] S6, UE1 sends a session initiation protocol update (SIP UPDATE) to UE2 via IMS.

[0141] SIP UPDATE is used to instruct the caller to complete resource reservation.

[0142] S7, UE2 sends SIP 200 OK (UPDATE) to UE1 via IMS.

[0143] SIP 200 OK (UPDATE) is used to indicate that SIP UPDATE has been successfully received.

[0144] S8, UE2 sends SIP 180 ringing to UE1 via IMS.

[0145] SIP 180 ringing is the called party's return ringing response.

[0146] S9, UE1 sends PRACK to UE2 via IMS.

[0147] PRACK is used to indicate successful reception of SIP 180 ringing.

[0148] S10, UE2 sends 200 OK (PRACK) to UE1 via IMS.

[0149] SIP 200OK(PRACK) is used to indicate that a PRACK has been successfully received.

[0150] S11, UE2 sends 200 OK (INVITE) to UE1 via IMS.

[0151] SIP 200OK (INVITE) is used to instruct the called party to answer the call.

[0152] S12, UE1 sends an acknowledgment (ACK) to UE2 via IMS.

[0153] ACK is the acknowledgment message returned by the calling party.

[0154] It should be noted that steps S2 and S6 in the above process are optional. Figure 7 only shows the process of the calling UE calling the called UE through IMS, and the timing relationship between the steps in the process, and does not constitute a limitation on the call process.

[0155] It should be noted that some devices, such as access network devices and core network devices, are omitted in the IMS call flow shown in Figure 7. Furthermore, the IMS shown in Figure 7 specifically includes the IMS on the calling UE side and the IMS on the called UE side.

[0156] The communication method shown in this application relates to S1, S3 and S8 in the IMS call flow, as detailed in the embodiments below.

[0157] Currently, some terminals (such as smartphones) support IMS services based on GEO, meaning they can access IMS services via GEO. However, this communication mechanism relies on a specific implementation of the terminal; for example, the terminal needs to be configured with a dedicated chip.

[0158] 3GPP plans to promote terminals based on 3GPP mechanisms to access IMS (IMS over GEO) services via GEO. This would eliminate the terminal's reliance on dedicated chips, making the application scenarios more universal. Table 3 shows some potential indicators for accessing IMS via GEO.

[0159] Based on the aforementioned introduction to IoT services, a terminal (such as an NB-IoT terminal) supports a maximum of two DRBs. When a terminal transmits data services (such as IoT services), it may occupy (or use) one DRB. For example, if an NB-IoT terminal transmits IoT services based on the user plane, it occupies one DRB; if it transmits IoT services based on the control plane, it does not occupy a DRB. If the terminal also supports other services (such as IMS services), based on the aforementioned introduction to IMS services, accessing IMS services requires two DRBs: one for transmitting IMS signaling and the other for transmitting IMS voice. Therefore, in a scenario where the terminal's data services occupy one DRB, ensuring the normal operation of IMS services if the terminal also initiates IMS services is a problem that urgently needs to be solved. It is understandable that IMS services can also occupy only one DRB, meaning that this DRB supports the transmission of both IMS signaling and IMS voice, and both IMS signaling and IMS voice are transmitted on this DRB. Even in this scenario, the aforementioned problem still exists.

[0160] To address this issue, this application provides a communication method in which, when a terminal requires a new service (such as IMS service), if the number of remaining DRBs is less than the number of DRBs required by the first service, at least one DRB occupied by the second service (such as IoT service) is released or deactivated. The number of remaining DRBs is the difference between the number of DRBs occupied by the second service on the terminal device and the number of DRBs supported by the terminal device. By releasing or deactivating at least one DRB of the second service, the new service on the terminal can proceed normally.

[0161] In this context, the priority of the second service is lower than that of the new service. In one example, the new service and the second service can be different services, such as the new service being an IMS service and the second service being an IoT service. In another example, the new service and the second service can be services with different priorities, such as the new service being a high-priority data service and the second service being a low-priority data service. This application uses an IMS service as an example for illustration.

[0162] In this embodiment, the entity that triggers the release or deactivation of the DRB can be a terminal device or a network device. When the new service is an IMS service, the terminal device that triggers the release or deactivation of the DRB can be the calling device or the called device, or it can be a core network device (such as a PCRF or PWG network element in a 4G architecture, or a PCF or SMF network element in a 5G architecture, etc.).

[0163] It should be noted that in the embodiments of this application, DRB can also be replaced with QoS flow.

[0164] The above solution will be described in detail below with reference to specific embodiments.

[0165] The communication method provided in this application will now be described with reference to Figure 8. As shown in Figure 8, the communication method includes S801-S802.

[0166] S801, the terminal equipment determines the primary service requirement.

[0167] The first business includes the Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) service.

[0168] In one optional implementation, the terminal device determines a first service requirement, including: the terminal device initiating a SIP INVITE. This initiation of a SIP INVITE can also be described as: the terminal device initiating a first service, or the terminal device initiating a calling process. For example, the first service is an IMS service, the terminal device is the calling device, and when the calling device initiates a SIP INVITE (the calling device initiates an IMS call process), it is determined that the calling device has an IMS service requirement.

[0169] In one optional implementation, the terminal device determines a first service requirement, including: the terminal device initiating the establishment of a user plane connection for the first service. This can also be described as: the terminal device initiating the establishment of a packet data network (PDN) connection for the first service. For example, the first service is an IMS service, the terminal device is the calling device, and the calling device determining that it has an IMS service requirement can be described as the calling device initiating the establishment of an IMS PDN connection.

[0170] In one optional implementation, the terminal device determines a first service requirement, including: the terminal device receiving a SIP INVITE. For example, the first service is an IMS service, the terminal device is a called device, and the called device determining that it has an IMS service requirement can be described as the called device receiving a SIP INVITE from the calling device.

[0171] S802, if the first condition is met, the terminal device releases or deactivates the first DRB, which is contained in at least one DRB of the second service occupation (or use) of the terminal device.

[0172] The first condition includes that the number of second DRBs is less than the number of third DRBs, where the second DRBs are the remaining DRBs of the terminal equipment, and the third DRBs are the DRBs required by the first service.

[0173] It should be noted that releasing a DRB usually refers to completely terminating or deleting an established DRB. Deactivating a DRB means temporarily stopping or suspending an established DRB, rather than completely deleting it.

[0174] The remaining DRBs on the terminal device are the difference between the number of DRBs occupied by the second service and the number of DRBs supported by the terminal device. Remaining DRBs refer to: DRBs not occupied by the terminal device, DRBs still available after being occupied by the second service, or DRBs not used by the terminal device. Unoccupied DRBs can include available but not yet established DRBs, or available but suspended (or temporarily stopped) DRBs. The DRBs required for the first service refer to the DRBs required for the terminal device to initiate the first service. Available DRBs on the terminal device can include available but not yet established DRBs, or suspended DRBs.

[0175] For example, taking IMS service as an example to explain the number of DRBs occupied by a service, the IMS service of a terminal device typically requires two DRBs, that is, the number of DRBs required for the IMS service of a terminal device is 2. As another example, taking service-A as an example to explain the DRBs occupied by the terminal device, service-A occupies one DRB. The terminal device or network device can suspend this DRB. For example, when service-A is not transmitted for a long time, this situation can be interpreted as 1) the DRB occupied by the terminal includes this DRB; 2) the DRB occupied by the terminal does not include this DRB.

[0176] Optionally, the second business includes Internet of Things (IoT) services. These IoT services can also be described as data services. For example, if the terminal device is a smart water meter, the IoT service reported by the terminal device is water usage data. Alternatively, if the terminal device is an environmental monitoring device, the IoT service reported by the terminal device is environmental data, including but not limited to climate data (such as temperature, humidity, and air pressure), water quality data (such as water quality parameters and pollutant concentrations), and air quality data (such as particulate matter (PM2.5), PM10, and harmful gas concentrations).

[0177] In some embodiments, the first service can be an IMS service, and the second service can be an IoT service. For example, when a terminal device has an IMS service requirement, if the terminal device's IoT service occupies at least one DRB, and the number of remaining DRBs in the terminal device is less than the number of DRBs required for the terminal device's IMS service, the terminal device releases or deactivates the at least one DRB occupied by the IoT service.

[0178] In some embodiments, the first service can be a high-priority IoT service, and the second service can be a low-priority IoT service. For example, when a terminal device has a high-priority IoT service requirement, if the terminal device's low-priority IoT service occupies at least one DRB, and the number of remaining DRBs in the terminal device is less than the number of DRBs required by the terminal device's high-priority IoT service, the terminal device releases or deactivates the at least one DRB occupied by the low-priority IoT service.

[0179] In some embodiments, the terminal device releasing the first DRB can also be described as: the terminal device releasing the PDN connection for the second service. The terminal device releasing the first DRB can correspond to: the terminal device initiating a connection release request (such as UE-requested PDN disconnection), for example, the UE sending a connection release request to the MME network element to release the PDN connection for the second service.

[0180] In some embodiments, the deactivation of the first DRB by the terminal device can also be described as: the terminal device deactivating the PDN connection of the second service. The deactivation of the first DRB by the terminal device can correspond to: the terminal device initiating a deactivation request (such as UE-requested bear deactivation), for example, the UE sending a deactivation request to the MME network element to deactivate the PDN connection of the second service.

[0181] In some embodiments, deactivating the first DRB by the terminal device can also be described as the terminal device modifying the PDN connection of the second service. Deactivating the first DRB by the terminal device can correspond to the terminal device initiating a QoS modification of the bearer, for example, the UE sending a bearer modification request or a PDN connection modification request to the MME network element to deactivate the first DRB. For example, the PDN connection of the second service includes, for example, two DRBs, and the terminal device modifying the PDN connection of the second service can mean that the terminal device deactivates at least one of the two DRBs.

[0182] In the above scheme, when the terminal device's second service occupies at least one DRB, if the terminal device has a first service requirement and the number of remaining DRBs is less than the number of DRBs required for the first service (i.e., there are not enough DRBs currently), the terminal device triggers the release or deactivation of one or more DRBs occupied by the second service. Optionally, the terminal device can release or deactivate some or all of the DRBs occupied by the second service based on the number of remaining DRBs, the number of DRBs required for the first service, and the number of DRBs occupied by the second service, so that the terminal device can establish a DRB for the first service and enable the first service to operate normally.

[0183] For example, if the terminal device has 1 DRB remaining, the first service requires 2 DRBs, and the second service occupies 2 DRBs, then the terminal device can release or deactivate the 1 DRB occupied by the second service (i.e., release or deactivate a portion of the DRB occupied by the second service). For instance, the terminal device can choose to release or deactivate the DRB occupied by the second service with the lower priority.

[0184] For example, if the terminal device has 1 DRB remaining, the first service requires 2 DRBs, and the second service occupies 1 DRB, then the terminal device can release or deactivate the 1 DRB occupied by the second service (i.e., release or deactivate all DRBs occupied by the second service).

[0185] For example, if the terminal device has 0 DRBs remaining, the first service requires 2 DRBs, and the second service occupies 2 DRBs, then the terminal device can release or deactivate the 2 DRBs occupied by the second service (i.e., release or deactivate all DRBs occupied by the second service).

[0186] In some embodiments, the terminal device can access the first service via a GEO satellite.

[0187] In some embodiments, the first condition in S802 may further include at least one of the following: the network allows the terminal device to access the first service via GEO satellite, or the terminal device accesses the network via GEO satellite, or the terminal device supports accessing the first service via GEO satellite, or the terminal device supports low-rate encoding / decoding, or the terminal device supports at least one DRB, or the terminal device supports accessing the first service via IoT.

[0188] Accessing the first service via GEO satellite can be described as accessing the first service via NB-IoT (GEO).

[0189] The network allowing terminal devices to access the first service via GEO satellite can mean that the core network allows terminal devices to access the first service via GEO satellite. For example, referring to the embodiment in Figure 9, the terminal device receives second indication information from a core network device (e.g., an MME network element), the second indication information indicating that the terminal device is allowed to access the first service via GEO satellite.

[0190] "Terminal equipment accessing the network via GEO satellite" can refer to: terminal equipment accessing the core network via GEO satellite.

[0191] The terminal device supports at least one DRB, including, for example, two DRBs.

[0192] In some embodiments, before accessing the first service via GEO satellite, the terminal device may report its capability information to the network device. This capability information may include at least one of the following: the terminal device supports accessing the first service via GEO satellite; or, the terminal device supports low-rate encoding / decoding; or, the terminal device supports at least one DRB; or, the terminal device supports accessing the first service via IoT. After receiving the capability information reported by the terminal device, the network device determines whether to allow the terminal device to access the first service via GEO satellite. If the network device allows it to access the first service via GEO satellite, the terminal device may execute the aforementioned steps S801-S802.

[0193] The communication method shown in this application will be described below with reference to Figure 9.

[0194] As shown in Figure 9, prior to S801, the communication method also included:

[0195] S901, the terminal device sends the first instruction information to the network device.

[0196] The first indication information is used to indicate at least one of the following: the terminal device supports accessing the first service via GEO satellite, or the terminal device supports low-rate encoding and decoding, or the terminal device supports at least one DRB, or the terminal device supports accessing the first service via IoT.

[0197] Optionally, the first indication information is carried in the first message, which is an access stratum AS message or a non-access stratum NAS message (e.g., an attach request as shown in Figure 10).

[0198] S902, the network device determines whether to allow the terminal device to access the first service via GEO satellite based on the first indication information.

[0199] After receiving the first instruction information from the terminal device, the network device determines whether to allow the terminal device to access the first service via GEO satellite based on the first instruction information.

[0200] Optionally, if the terminal device supports accessing the first service via GEO satellite, or if the terminal device supports low-rate encoding / decoding, or if the terminal device supports at least one DRB, or if the terminal device supports accessing the first service via IoT, the network device allows the terminal device to access the first service via GEO satellite.

[0201] In some embodiments, the network device determines whether to allow the terminal device to access the first service via GEO satellite based on first indication information and third indication information. The third indication information is used to instruct the terminal device to access the network via GEO satellite.

[0202] If at least one of the following conditions is met: the terminal device supports accessing the first service via GEO satellite, or the terminal device supports low-rate encoding / decoding, or the terminal device supports at least one DRB, or the terminal device supports accessing the first service via IoT, or the terminal device accesses the network via GEO satellite, then the network device allows the terminal device to access the first service via GEO satellite.

[0203] Optionally, the network device determines whether to allow the terminal device to access the first service via GEO satellite based on at least one of the terminal device's subscription information or policy information, the first instruction information, and the third instruction information.

[0204] If at least one of the following conditions is met: the terminal device supports accessing the first service via GEO satellite; or, the terminal device supports low-rate encoding / decoding; or, the terminal device supports at least one DRB; or, the terminal device supports accessing the first service via IoT; or, the terminal device accesses the network via GEO satellite; or, the terminal device's subscription information authorizes or allows the terminal device to access the first service via GEO satellite; or, the terminal device's policy information allows the terminal device to access the first service via GEO satellite, then the network device allows the terminal device to access the first service via GEO satellite.

[0205] In some embodiments, when a terminal device accesses the network via a GEO satellite (or the network device receives third indication information), the network device determines whether to allow the terminal device to access the first service via the GEO satellite.

[0206] S903, the network device sends a second instruction message to the terminal device, the second instruction message being used to indicate that the terminal device is allowed to access the first service via GEO satellite.

[0207] In the above scheme, the terminal device can initiate the establishment of the user plane bearer for the first service, or initiate a SIP INVITE, provided that the network device allows it to access the first service via GEO satellite. When the terminal device has a demand for the first service, if the number of DRBs remaining on the terminal device is less than the number of DRBs required by the first service (i.e., there are not enough DRBs currently), the terminal device triggers the release or deactivation of one or more DRBs currently occupied by the terminal device. In one example, the one or more DRBs currently occupied by the terminal device are one or more DRBs occupied by the second service, and the terminal device triggers the release or deactivation of one or more DRBs occupied by the second service.

[0208] The one or more DRBs currently occupied by the terminal device include: one or more DRBs that the terminal device has established, or one or more DRBs that the terminal device has established but is suspended (or temporarily stopped).

[0209] It should be noted that the network device shown in Figure 9 can be an MME network element, a PCRF network element, or a PGW network element.

[0210] It should be noted that the communication method shown in this application is illustrated using a 4G system architecture as an example. This communication method can also be adapted to other system architectures, including 5G system architecture, as well as the architecture of future communication systems.

[0211] Based on the foregoing embodiments, the communication method of this application will be described in detail below with reference to FIG10.

[0212] Figure 10 takes IMS service as the first service and UE1 as the terminal device as an example. The communication method involves: UE1 (calling UE), access network equipment (such as eNodeB), core network equipment (such as MME network element, SGW network element, PGW network element, PCRF network element, etc.), IMS and UE2 (called UE), where IMS includes proxy call session control function (P-CSCF) network element.

[0213] In one possible design, as shown in Figure 10, the communication method includes S800, S801a, and S802.

[0214] S800, UE1 initiates the PDN connection process for the second service.

[0215] Among them, the priority of the second service is lower than that of the IMS service. For example, the second service is the IoT service.

[0216] UE1 initiates the PDN connection procedure for the second service. In this procedure, UE1 can report its capability information to the MME network element so that the MME network element can determine whether to allow UE1 to access the IMS service via GEO satellite. For details, please refer to S800a to S800e.

[0217] S800a, UE1 sends an AS message to eNodeB.

[0218] The AS message includes an attach request. The attach request includes first indication information (the first indication information is carried in the attach request), which indicates at least one of the following: UE1 supports accessing IMS services via GEO satellite, or UE1 supports low-rate codec, or UE1 supports at least one DRB, or UE1 supports accessing IMS services via IoT.

[0219] The fact that UE1 supports accessing IMS services via GEO satellite can also be described as: UE1 supports accessing IMS services via NB-IoT (GEO) (i.e., UE1 supports accessing IMS services via both GEO and NB-IoT).

[0220] Optionally, the attach request may also include the APN of the second service, which indicates that UE1 requests to establish a PDN connection for the second service.

[0221] S800b, the eNodeB sends an S1 message to the MME network element.

[0222] The S1 message includes at least one of an attach request or a third indication message. The third indication message indicates the radio access technology (RAT) used by UE1. For example, the third indication message indicates that UE1 accesses the network via GEO satellite. Another example is that the third indication message indicates that UE1 accesses IMS services via NB-IoT (GEO).

[0223] In S800c, the MME network element determines whether UE1 is allowed to access IMS services via GEO satellite.

[0224] After receiving the S1 message, the MME network element can determine whether to allow UE1 to access IMS services via GEO satellite based on at least one of the following: first indication information (or UE1 capability information), third indication information (or RAT indication information), UE1's subscription information, and UE1's policy information. The MME network element can obtain UE1's subscription information from the HSS and UE1's policy information from the PCRF network element. It is understood that the MME network element can interact with the HSS and PCRF network elements through other network elements, rather than directly.

[0225] For example, if at least one of the following conditions is met: UE1 supports accessing IMS services via GEO satellite, or UE1 supports low-rate encoding and decoding, or UE1's subscription information authorizes or allows UE1 to access IMS services via GEO satellite, or UE1's policy information allows or authorizes UE1 to access IMS services via GEO satellite, or UE1 supports accessing IMS services via IoT, then the MME network element allows UE1 to access IMS services via GEO satellite.

[0226] In some embodiments, when UE1 accesses the network via GEO satellite, the MME network element determines whether to allow UE1 to access IMS services via GEO satellite.

[0227] In some embodiments, the MME network element allowing UE1 to access IMS services via GEO satellite can also be described as: the MME network element allowing UE1 to establish an IMS PDN connection.

[0228] S800d, the MME network element sends a fourth indication message to the PGW network element and / or the PCRF network element. The fourth indication message is used to instruct the network to allow UE1 to access IMS services via GEO satellite.

[0229] In one example, after determining that UE1 is permitted to access IMS services via GEO satellite, the MME network element can send a fourth indication message to the PGW network element. For instance, the MME network element sends the fourth indication message to the PGW network element through the SGW network element.

[0230] In one example, after determining that UE1 is permitted to access IMS services via GEO satellite, the MME network element can send a fourth indication message to the PCRF network element. For instance, the MME network element sends the fourth indication message to the PCRF network element through the SGW network element and the PGW network element.

[0231] In one example, after determining that UE1 is allowed to access IMS services via GEO satellite, the MME network element can send a fourth indication message to the PGW network element. Upon receiving the fourth indication message, the PGW network element sends a fourth indication message to the PCRF network element.

[0232] S800d is an optional step, and S800d is applicable to the embodiments shown in FIG12 (including embodiments 1 to 3 based on the embodiments shown in FIG12).

[0233] Optionally, in some embodiments, the MME network element also sends a first indication message (i.e., UE1 capability information) to the PGW network element, which then determines whether to allow UE1 to access IMS services via GEO satellite (the PGW network element's judgment logic is the same as that of the MME network element). For example, the MME network element sends the first indication message to the PGW network element through the SGW network element.

[0234] Optionally, in some embodiments, the MME network element may also send a first indication message (i.e., UE1 capability information) to the PCRF network element, which then determines whether to allow UE1 to access IMS services via GEO satellite (the PCRF network element's judgment logic is the same as that of the MME network element). For example, the MME network element sends the first indication message to the PCRF network element through the SGW network element and the PGW network element.

[0235] In S800e, the MME network element sends an attach accept to UE1.

[0236] Optionally, the attach acceptance includes second indication information (or second indication information carried on the attach acceptance), which indicates that UE1 is permitted to access IMS services via GEO satellite. The MME network element sends the attach acceptance to UE1 through the eNode.

[0237] UE1 initiates the PDN connection procedure for the second service to establish the DRB for the second service.

[0238] In some embodiments, after S800, the communication method further includes:

[0239] S801a, UE1 initiates the PDN connection process for IMS service.

[0240] The PDN connection initiated by UE1 for IMS service can also be described as: UE1 initiates the establishment of user plane connection for IMS service, or UE1 initiates a request for PDN connection.

[0241] In one example, before UE1 initiates the PDN connection process for IMS service, UE1's second service occupies at least one DRB.

[0242] It should be noted that the PDN connection for establishing IMS service corresponds to a non-GBR bearer with QCI equal to 5. This bearer is used to carry IMS signaling (such as SIP REGISTRATION) and can also be called the default bearer.

[0243] S802, if UE1 meets the first condition, UE1 releases or deactivates at least one DRB occupied by the second service of UE1.

[0244] The first condition for UE1 to meet is: the number of remaining DRBs in UE1 is less than the number of DRBs required by UE1's IMS service.

[0245] Optionally, UE1 satisfying the first condition also includes at least one of the following: the network allows UE1 to access IMS services via GEO satellite, or UE1 accesses the network via GEO satellite, or UE1 supports accessing IMS services via GEO satellite, or UE1 supports low-rate codec, or UE1 supports at least one DRB, or UE1 supports accessing IMS services via IoT.

[0246] In some embodiments, S801a and S802 are executed simultaneously. That is, while UE1 initiates the PDN connection for the IMS service, if the first condition is met, UE1 triggers the release or deactivation of at least one DRB occupied by the second service of UE1.

[0247] In some embodiments, S802 is executed before S801a. That is, before UE1 initiates the PDN connection for the IMS service, if the first condition is met, UE1 triggers the release or deactivation of at least one DRB occupied by the second service of UE1.

[0248] In the above scheme, if the first condition is met, UE1 can release or deactivate at least one DRB occupied by its second service before or at the same time as initiating the PDN connection for IMS service (i.e., UE1 has IMS service requirements), so that UE1 can establish the DRB required for IMS service and enable UE1's IMS service to proceed normally.

[0249] Another possible design, as shown in Figure 10, includes communication methods S800, S801b, and S802.

[0250] S800, UE1 initiates the PDN connection process for the second service.

[0251] S801b, UE1 sends SIP INVITE.

[0252] In one example, UE1 sends a SIP INVITE to UE2 via its eNodeB, SGW, PGW, and IMS, and UE2's PGW, SGW, and eNodeB. Figure 10 illustrates the eNodeB, SGW, PGW, P-CSCF, and IMS on UE1's side, where the P-CSCF is a network element within UE1's IMS.

[0253] It should be noted that when UE1 sends a SIP INVITE, the P-CSCF network element in IMS receives the SIP INVITE from UE1 and then performs the subsequent call setup procedure.

[0254] S802, if UE1 meets the first condition, UE1 releases or deactivates at least one DRB occupied by the second service of UE1.

[0255] In some embodiments, S801b and S802 are executed simultaneously. That is, while UE1 sends a SIP INVITE, if the first condition is met, UE1 triggers the release or deactivation of at least one DRB occupied by the second service of UE1.

[0256] In some embodiments, S802 is executed before S801b. That is, before UE1 sends a SIP INVITE, if the first condition is met, UE1 triggers the release or deactivation of at least one DRB occupied by the second service of UE1.

[0257] In the above scheme, if the first condition is met, UE1 can release or deactivate at least one DRB occupied by its second service before or at the same time as sending SIP INVITE (i.e., UE1 has IMS service requirements), so that UE1 can establish the DRB required for IMS service and enable UE1's IMS service to proceed normally.

[0258] It should be noted that in Figure 10, before UE1 sends the SIP INVITE, UE1 initiates a PDN connection for the IMS service. That is, UE1 initiates the IMS call process (such as UE1 sending the SIP INVITE) after establishing a PDN connection for the IMS service.

[0259] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG10, UE2 receives a SIP INVITE from UE1 (S801b). If UE2 meets the first condition, UE2 releases or deactivates at least one DRB occupied by the second service of UE2 (S803).

[0260] The first condition for UE2 to meet is: the number of remaining DRBs in UE2 is less than the number of DRBs required by UE2's IMS service.

[0261] Optionally, UE2 satisfying the first condition also includes at least one of the following: the network allows UE2 to access IMS services via GEO satellite, or UE2 accesses the network via GEO satellite, or UE2 supports accessing IMS services via GEO satellite, or UE2 supports low-rate codec, or UE2 supports at least one DRB, or UE2 supports accessing IMS services via IoT.

[0262] In the above scheme, if the first condition is met, UE2 can release or deactivate at least one DRB occupied by UE2's second service before or at the same time as receiving the SIP INVITE from UE1 (i.e., UE2 has IMS service requirements), so that UE2 can establish the DRB required for IMS service and enable UE2's IMS service to proceed normally.

[0263] In some embodiments, after S803, the following is also included:

[0264] S804, remaining IMS process.

[0265] The remaining IMS process includes S4 to S12 as shown in Figure 7.

[0266] In some embodiments, after at least one DBR occupied by the second service of the terminal device is released or deactivated, the terminal device may determine, based on periodic detection and / or event-based detection, whether to (re)establish at least one DBR of the second service, or whether to restore at least one DBR of the second service. Event-based detection includes detecting whether the terminal device has a first service requirement. (Re)establishing at least one DBR of the second service may refer to at least one DBR required to (re)establish the second service. Restoring at least one DBR of the second service may refer to restoring at least one DBR of the second service that has been suspended (or temporarily stopped).

[0267] The communication method provided in this application is described below with reference to Figure 11.

[0268] As shown in Figure 11, after S801-S802, the communication method also includes S1101-S1102.

[0269] S1101, the terminal device determines that the DRB occupied by the terminal device has been released or deactivated.

[0270] Optionally, the terminal device determines that the DRB occupied by the terminal device has been released or deactivated, including: the terminal device determines that the DRB occupied by the first service of the terminal device has been released or deactivated.

[0271] In one example, when the first service of the terminal device ends or terminates, the terminal device triggers the release or deactivation of the DRB occupied by the first service, and the terminal device determines that the DRB occupied by the first service has been released or deactivated. In another example, when the first service of the terminal device ends or terminates, the network device triggers the release or deactivation of the DRB occupied by the first service, the terminal device receives a release or deactivation request from the network device, and the terminal device determines that the DRB occupied by the first service has been released or deactivated.

[0272] It should be noted that S1101 can also be described as the terminal device determining that the DRB occupied by the service has been released or deactivated. In other words, as long as the terminal device determines that there is an occupied DRB that has been released or deactivated, S1102 will continue to be executed.

[0273] S1102, if the second condition is met, the terminal device initiates the establishment of the DRB for the second service, or initiates the restoration of the DRB for the second service.

[0274] The second condition includes at least one of the following: the terminal device has a second service requirement, or the number of DRBs currently occupied by the terminal device is less than the number of DRBs supported by the terminal device.

[0275] A terminal device having a second service requirement can refer to: the terminal device initiating the establishment of a user plane connection for the second service, or the terminal device initiating the establishment of a PDN connection for the second service. The DRBs currently occupied (or used) by the terminal device can include DRBs already established by the terminal device, or DRBs that were established but then suspended (or temporarily stopped). If the number of DRBs currently occupied by the terminal device is less than the number of DRBs supported by the terminal device, it indicates that the terminal device has remaining DRBs (or DRBs not occupied by the terminal device, or DRBs still available after being occupied by the second service). The DRBs not occupied by the terminal device can include available but not yet established DRBs, or available but suspended (or temporarily stopped) DRBs. The DRBs available to the terminal device can include available but not yet established DRBs, or suspended DRBs.

[0276] A DRB initiated by a terminal device to establish a second service can also be described as: the terminal device initiates the establishment of a PDN connection for the second service (which may correspond to a UE-requested PDN connection). A DRB initiated by a terminal device to restore a second service can also be described as: the terminal device initiates the restoration of a PDN connection for the second service, for example, the terminal device sends a request to the MME network element to restore the PDN connection for the second service.

[0277] In some embodiments, if the terminal device determines that the DRB occupied by the first service has been released or deactivated, and if the terminal device has a second service requirement, and / or the number of DRBs currently occupied by the terminal device is less than the number of DRBs supported by the terminal device, the terminal device initiates the establishment of a DRB for the second service. The initiation of the establishment of a DRB for the second service by the terminal device can also be described as: the terminal device initiating a PDN connection establishment process for the second service, or initiating a PDN connection modification process for the second service.

[0278] In some embodiments, if the terminal device determines that the DRB occupied by the first service has been released or deactivated, and if the terminal device has a second service requirement, and / or the number of DRBs currently occupied by the terminal device is less than the number of DRBs supported by the terminal device, the terminal device initiates the restoration of the DRB for the second service. The terminal device initiating the restoration of the DRB for the second service can also be described as: the terminal device initiating a modification process for the PDN connection of the second service.

[0279] In some embodiments, when a terminal device has a second service requirement, the terminal device determines whether there are remaining DRBs: if so, the terminal device initiates the establishment of a DRB for the second service, or initiates the restoration of a DRB for the second service. If not, the terminal device does not initiate the establishment of a DRB for the second service, or does not initiate the restoration of a DRB for the second service. Furthermore, the remaining DRBs can meet the DRB quantity requirement for the second service. The terminal device determines the DRB quantity requirement for the second service based on its local configuration.

[0280] In some embodiments, the terminal device periodically checks whether there are remaining DRBs: if so, the terminal device initiates the establishment of a DRB for the second service, or initiates the restoration of a DRB for the second service. If not, the terminal device does not initiate the establishment of a DRB for the second service, or does not initiate the restoration of a DRB for the second service. In this embodiment, when remaining DRBs are detected, the terminal device can trigger the establishment or restoration of a DRB for the second service in advance. Thus, when there is a demand for the second service, the terminal device can directly transmit the second service based on the rebuilt or restored DRB for the second service. Furthermore, the remaining DRBs can meet the DRB quantity requirement for the second service. The terminal device determines the DRB quantity requirement for the second service based on its local configuration.

[0281] In the foregoing embodiments, if a terminal device's second service occupies at least one DRB, the terminal device determines that it has a first service requirement. If the first condition is met, the terminal device triggers the release or deactivation of at least one DRB for the second service. In some embodiments, the release or deactivation of at least one DRB for the terminal device's second service can also be triggered by a network device.

[0282] The communication method shown in this application will be described below with reference to Figure 12.

[0283] As shown in Figure 12, the communication method includes S1201-S1202.

[0284] S1201, the network device receives a first request, which is used to trigger the establishment of a dedicated bearer for the first service for the terminal device.

[0285] In one optional implementation, the network device includes a PCRF network element. The network device receives a first request, including: the PCRF network element receiving an authentication authorization request (AAR). That is, the first request can be an AAR.

[0286] In one optional implementation, the network device includes a PGW network element. The network device receives a first request, including: the PGW network element receiving an update request. That is, the first request can be an update request. Optionally, the update request is a request sent by the PCRF network element to the PGW network element based on a received AAR. For example, the update request is an IP CAN Session Modification procedure.

[0287] In the two embodiments described above, the AAR received by the PCRF network element includes any one of the following: an AAR transmitted by IMS based on SIP 183, or an AAR transmitted by IMS based on SIP 180, or an AAR transmitted by IMS based on SIP INVITE.

[0288] S1202, if the first condition is met, the network device releases or deactivates the first DRB, which is contained in at least one DRB occupied by the second service of the terminal device.

[0289] The first condition includes that the number of second DRBs is less than the number of third DRBs, where the second DRBs are the remaining DRBs of the terminal device, and the third DRBs are the DRBs required for the first service. The number of remaining DRBs of the terminal device is the difference between the number of DRBs occupied by the second service of the terminal device and the number of DRBs supported by the terminal device.

[0290] It should be noted that the DRB required for the first service can also be described as the DRB required to establish the first service. The DRB required for the first service includes the dedicated bearer for establishing the first service, that is, the third DRB includes the dedicated bearer for establishing the first service. For example, taking the first service as an IMS service, the third DRB is the DRB required to access the IMS service. The third DRB includes the DRB for transmitting IMS signaling (a non-GBR bearer with QCI equal to 5) and the DRB for transmitting IMS voice (a GBR bearer with QCI equal to 1). The DRB for transmitting IMS voice can also be called the dedicated bearer for IMS, and the DRB for transmitting IMS signaling can also be called the default bearer for IMS.

[0291] It should also be noted that network devices can determine that a terminal device's second service occupies at least one DRB based on the stored context information of the terminal device's second service (such as QoS parameters and bearer identifiers). The network device can be a PCRF network element, a PGW network element, or an MME network element.

[0292] Optionally, the first service includes IMS services.

[0293] Optionally, the second business includes IoT business.

[0294] In some embodiments, the release of the first DRB by the network device can also be described as the network device releasing the PDN connection for the second service. For example, taking a PGW network element as an example, the release of the PDN connection for the second service by the network device includes: the PGW network element sending indication information to the MME network element to indicate the release of the PDN connection for the second service.

[0295] In some embodiments, network device deactivation of the first DRB can also be described as: network device deactivating the PDN connection of the second service. Network device deactivation of the first DRB can correspond to the "PDN GW initiated bearer deactivation" process.

[0296] In some embodiments, deactivating the first DRB by the network device can also be described as the network device modifying the PDN connection of the second service. Deactivating the first DRB by the network device can correspond to a "PDN GW initiated bearer modification" process, in which the first DRB is deactivated. For example, the PDN connection of the second service includes, for instance, two DRBs, and modifying the PDN connection of the second service by the network device can mean that the network device deactivates at least one of the two DRBs.

[0297] It should be noted that the relevant content of S1201 can be referred to the aforementioned S802. The difference between S1201 and S802 is that the entity responsible for releasing or deactivating the first DRB is the network device. Optionally, the network device can be a PCRF network element (or PCF network element), or a PGW network element (or SMF network element).

[0298] In the above scheme, when the terminal device's second service occupies at least one DRB, when the network device receives the first request, if the number of remaining DRBs on the terminal device is less than the number of DRBs required by the first service (i.e., there are not enough DRBs currently), the network device triggers the release or deactivation of one or more DRBs occupied by the terminal device's second service. Optionally, the network device can release or deactivate some or all of the DRBs occupied by the second service based on the number of remaining DRBs on the terminal device, the number of DRBs required by the first service, and the number of DRBs occupied by the second service, so that the terminal device can establish the DRB for the first service and enable the first service to operate normally.

[0299] Optionally, the first condition further includes at least one of the following: the network allows the terminal device to access the first service via GEO satellite; or, the terminal device accesses the network via GEO satellite; or, the terminal device supports accessing the first service via GEO satellite; or, the terminal device supports low-rate encoding / decoding; or, the terminal device supports at least one DRB; or, the terminal device supports accessing the first service via IoT. For example, referring to the embodiment of FIG9, the network device receives first indication information from the terminal device to learn about the terminal device's capabilities, such as the terminal device supporting access to the first service via GEO satellite, the terminal device supporting low-rate encoding / decoding, the terminal device supporting at least one DRB, and the terminal device supporting access to the first service via IoT. For example, referring to the embodiment of FIG10, the network device is a core network device (e.g., an MME network element), and the core network device receives an S1 message (including third indication information) from the access network device to learn that the terminal device accesses the core network via GEO satellite.

[0300] It should be noted that the network device shown in Figure 12 can be a PCRF network element or a PGW network element.

[0301] Based on the embodiment shown in Figure 12, when the second service of the terminal device occupies at least one DRB, when the network device receives the first request, if the first condition is met, the network device triggers the release or deactivation of at least one DRB of the second service of the terminal device. Optionally, the network device can be a PCRF network element or a PGW network element. The communication method of this application will be described in detail below for different network devices.

[0302] In implementation method 1, the network device is a PCRF network element. The PCRF network element, based on SIP 183 or SIP 180, triggers the release or deactivation of at least one DRB of the second service of the terminal device. For example, as shown in Figure 13, the communication method includes:

[0303] S800, UE1 initiates the PDN connection process for the second service.

[0304] S801a, UE1 initiates the PDN connection process for IMS service.

[0305] S801b, UE1 initiates SIP INVITE.

[0306] In this embodiment, S800, S801a-S801b can be referred to the embodiment in Figure 10, and will not be described again here.

[0307] It should be noted that in S800 of this embodiment, the MME network element can send fourth indication information to the PCRF network element. This fourth indication information is used to instruct the network to allow UE1 to access IMS services via GEO satellite. Optionally, the MME network element can also send first indication information to the PCRF network element. This first indication information indicates at least one of the following: UE1 supports accessing IMS services via GEO satellite; or, UE1 supports low-rate encoding / decoding; or, UE1 supports at least one DRB; or, UE1 supports accessing IMS services via IoT. The PCRF network element can determine whether to allow UE1 to access IMS services via GEO satellite based on the first indication information.

[0308] After the P-CSCF network element receives the SIP INVITE from UE1, it includes: S1301-S1308.

[0309] S1301, the P-CSCF network element sends an Authentication and Authorization Request (AAR) to the PCRF network element.

[0310] S1302, the PCRF network element sends an authentication authorization answer (AAA) to the P-CSCF network element.

[0311] S1301 and S1302 are optional steps.

[0312] S1303, the P-CSCF network element sends a SIP INVITE to UE2.

[0313] S1304, UE2 sends SIP 183 or SIP 180 to the P-CSCF network element.

[0314] It should be noted that some steps are omitted between S1303 and S1304, as can be seen in the embodiment in Figure 7.

[0315] S1305, the P-CSCF network element sends an AAR to the PCRF network element.

[0316] Optionally, after S1305, the following is also included: the PCRF network element sends AAA to the P-CSCF network element (not shown in Figure 13).

[0317] S1306, the PCRF network element, based on the AAR, triggers the PDN connection release or deactivation procedure for the second service if the first condition is met. The PCRF network element receives the AAR, which can be an AAR sent by the IMS (e.g., the P-CSCF network element in the IMS) based on SIP 183 from UE2, or an AAR sent by the IMS (e.g., the P-CSCF network element in the IMS) based on SIP 180 from UE2.

[0318] The PDN connection process triggered by the PCRF network element to release or deactivate the second service may include: S1306a-S1306b.

[0319] S1306a, the PCRF network element sends an update request to the PGW network element.

[0320] For example, the update request is an IP CAN Session Modification procedure.

[0321] S1306b, PGW network element releases or deactivates PDN connection for second service.

[0322] S1307, Establish a dedicated bearer for IMS services.

[0323] In one example, after the PDN connection of the second service is released or deactivated, the PGW network element triggers the establishment of a dedicated bearer corresponding to the IMS service to carry IMS voice.

[0324] S1308, Remaining IMS Processes. The remaining IMS processes include resource reservation, SIP PRACK, etc., as detailed in the embodiment shown in Figure 7.

[0325] Based on the embodiment shown in Figure 13, when the second service of the called UE2 occupies at least one DRB, the called side can execute similar processing logic: the called side's PCRF network element receives the AAR (which can be an AAR sent by IMS based on SIP183 or SIP180). If the first condition is met (e.g., the number of remaining DRBs of UE2 is less than the number of DRBs required by the IMS service), the called side's PCRF network element first triggers the release or deactivation of the DRB of the second service of UE2, and then establishes a dedicated bearer corresponding to the IMS service to carry IMS voice.

[0326] In implementation method 2, the network device is a PCRF network element. The PCRF network element triggers the release or deactivation of at least one DRB of the second service of the terminal device based on SIP INVITE. For example, as shown in FIG14, the communication method includes:

[0327] S800, UE1 initiates the PDN connection process for the second service.

[0328] S801a, UE1 initiates the PDN connection process for IMS service.

[0329] S801b, UE1 initiates SIP INVITE.

[0330] S800, S801a-S801b of this embodiment can be referred to the description of the embodiment in FIG13, and will not be repeated here.

[0331] After the P-CSCF network element receives the SIP INVITE from UE1, it includes: S1301, S1401-S1403.

[0332] S1301, the P-CSCF network element sends an Authentication and Authorization Request (AAR) to the PCRF network element.

[0333] Optionally, after S1301, the following is also included: the PCRF network element sends AAA to the P-CSCF network element (not shown in Figure 14).

[0334] S1401, the PCRF network element, based on the AAR, triggers the release or deactivation of the PDN connection for the second service if the first condition is met. The PCRF network element receives the AAR, which can be an AAR sent by the IMS (e.g., the P-CSCF network element in the IMS) based on SIP INVITE.

[0335] The process of PCRF network elements triggering the release or deactivation of the second service PDN connection may include: S1401a-S1401b.

[0336] S1401a, the PCRF network element sends an update request to the PGW network element.

[0337] S1401b, PGW network element releases or deactivates the PDN connection for the second service.

[0338] S1402, Establish a dedicated bearer for IMS services.

[0339] S1403, Remaining IMS process.

[0340] In this embodiment, S1401a-S1401b and S1402-S1403 correspond to S1306a-S1306b and S1307-S1308 in the previous embodiment, respectively. For details, please refer to the previous text, which will not be repeated here.

[0341] Based on the embodiment shown in Figure 14, when the second service of the called UE2 occupies at least one DRB, the called side can execute similar processing logic: the called side's PCRF network element receives the AAR (which can be an AAR sent by IMS based on SIP INVITE). If the first condition is met (e.g., the number of remaining DRBs of UE2 is less than the number of DRBs required by the IMS service), the called side's PCRF network element first triggers the release or deactivation of the DRB of the second service of UE2, and then establishes a dedicated bearer corresponding to the IMS service to carry IMS voice.

[0342] In implementation method 3, the network device is a PGW network element. The PGW network element, based on SIP 183 or SIP 180, triggers the release or deactivation of at least one DRB of the second service of the terminal device. For example, as shown in FIG15, the communication method includes:

[0343] S800, UE1 initiates the PDN connection process for the second service.

[0344] S801a, UE1 initiates the PDN connection process for IMS service.

[0345] S801b, UE1 initiates SIP INVITE.

[0346] In this embodiment, S800, S801a-S801b can be referred to the embodiment in Figure 10, and will not be described again here.

[0347] It should be noted that in S800 of this embodiment, the MME network element can send fourth indication information to the PGW network element. This fourth indication information is used to instruct the network to allow UE1 to access IMS services via GEO satellite. Optionally, the MME network element can also send first indication information to the PGW network element. This first indication information indicates at least one of the following: UE1 supports accessing IMS services via GEO satellite; or, UE1 supports low-rate encoding / decoding; or, UE1 supports at least one DRB; or, UE1 supports accessing IMS services via IoT. The PGW network element can determine whether to allow UE1 to access IMS services via GEO satellite based on the first indication information.

[0348] After the P-CSCF network element receives the SIP INVITE from UE1, it includes: S1301-S1305, S1501-S1504.

[0349] S1301, the P-CSCF network element sends an Authentication and Authorization Request (AAR) to the PCRF network element.

[0350] S1302, the PCRF network element sends an authentication and authorization response AAA to the P-CSCF network element.

[0351] S1301 and S1302 are optional steps.

[0352] S1303, the P-CSCF network element sends a SIP INVITE to UE2.

[0353] S1304, UE2 sends SIP 183 or SIP 180 to the P-CSCF network element.

[0354] S1305, the P-CSCF network element sends an AAR to the PCRF network element.

[0355] S1301-S1305 of this embodiment can be referred to the embodiment in Figure 13, and will not be described again here.

[0356] S1501, the PCRF network element sends an update request to the PGW network element.

[0357] The update request is used to trigger the establishment of a dedicated bearer for the IMS service (a GBR bearer with QCI equal to 1). For example, the update request is the IP CAN Session Modification procedure.

[0358] S1502, based on the update request, if the first condition is met, the PGW network element triggers the PDN connection release or deactivation procedure for the second service. The PGW network element receives the update request, which can be a request sent by the PCRF network element based on a received AAR. The AAR can be an AAR sent by the IMS (e.g., the P-CSCF network element in the IMS) based on SIP 183 from UE2, or an AAR sent by the IMS (e.g., the P-CSCF network element in the IMS) based on SIP 180 from UE2.

[0359] The PGW network element triggers the release or deactivation of the second service's PDN connection process, which may include: S1502a-S1502b.

[0360] S1502a, the PGW network element sends the fifth indication information to the MME network element. The fifth indication information is used to indicate the release or deactivation of the PDN connection for the second service.

[0361] S1502b, MME network element releases or deactivates PDN connection for second service.

[0362] S1503, Establish a dedicated bearer for IMS services.

[0363] S1504, Remaining IMS process.

[0364] S1503-S1504 of this embodiment can be referred to S1307-S1308 of the previous embodiment, and will not be repeated here.

[0365] Based on the embodiment shown in Figure 15, when the second service of the called UE2 occupies at least one DRB, the called side can execute similar processing logic: the called side's PGW network element receives an update request, which is used to request the establishment of a dedicated bearer for the IMS service (this update request can be a request sent by the called side's PCRF network element based on the received AAR, where the AAR can be an AAR sent by IMS based on SIP183 or SIP180). If the first condition is met (e.g., the number of remaining DRBs of UE2 is less than the number of DRBs required by the IMS service), the called side's PGW network element first triggers the release or deactivation of the DRB of the second service of UE2, and then establishes the dedicated bearer corresponding to the IMS service to carry IMS voice.

[0366] In some embodiments, after at least one DRB occupied by the second service of the terminal device is released or deactivated, the network device may determine, based on periodic detection and / or event-based detection, whether to re-establish at least one DRB of the second service, or whether to restore at least one DRB of the second service. Event-based detection includes detecting whether the DRB occupied by the terminal device has been released or deactivated. Re-establishing at least one DRB of the second service may refer to at least one DRB required to re-establish the second service. Restoring at least one DRB of the second service may refer to restoring at least one DRB of the second service that has been suspended (or temporarily stopped).

[0367] The communication method provided in this application is described below with reference to Figure 16.

[0368] As shown in Figure 16, after S1201-S1202, the communication method also includes S1601-S1602.

[0369] S1601, the network device determines that the DRB occupied by the terminal device has been released or deactivated.

[0370] Optionally, the network device determines that the DRB occupied by the terminal device has been released or deactivated, including: the network device determines that the DRB occupied by the first service of the terminal device has been released or deactivated.

[0371] In one example, when the first service of the terminal device ends or terminates, the terminal device triggers the release or deactivation of the DRB occupied by the first service. The network device receives the release or deactivation request from the terminal device and determines that the DRB occupied by the first service has been released or deactivated.

[0372] For details regarding S1601, please refer to the aforementioned S1101; they will not be repeated here.

[0373] S1602 If the second condition is met, the network device initiates the establishment of the DRB for the second service, or initiates the restoration of the DRB for the second service.

[0374] The second condition includes at least one of the following: the terminal device has a second service requirement, or the number of DRBs currently occupied by the terminal device is less than the number of DRBs supported by the terminal device. For details regarding the second condition, please refer to S1102; it will not be repeated here.

[0375] In some embodiments, the network device determines that the DRB occupied by the first service of the terminal device has been released or deactivated. If the terminal device has a second service requirement, and / or the number of DRBs currently occupied by the terminal device is less than the number of DRBs supported by the terminal device, the network device initiates the establishment of a DRB for the second service.

[0376] In some embodiments, the network device determines that the DRB occupied by the first service of the terminal device has been released or deactivated. If the terminal device has a second service requirement, and / or the number of DRBs currently occupied by the terminal device is less than the number of DRBs supported by the terminal device, the network device initiates the restoration of the DRBs for the second service.

[0377] In some embodiments, when the network device determines that the DRB occupied by the first service of the terminal device has been released or deactivated, the network device initiates the establishment of the DRB for the second service of the terminal device, or initiates the restoration of the DRB for the second service of the terminal device. For example, taking the network device as an MME network element, when the MME network element receives a PDN connection release request or deactivation request for the first service, the MME triggers the establishment or restoration of the PDN connection for the second service of the terminal device.

[0378] In some embodiments, the network device periodically checks whether the terminal device has any remaining DRBs. If so, the network device initiates the establishment of a second service DRB for the terminal device, or initiates the restoration of a second service DRB for the terminal device. If not, the network device does not initiate the establishment of a second service DRB for the terminal device, or does not initiate the restoration of a second service DRB for the terminal device. In this embodiment, when remaining DRBs are detected, the network device can initiate the establishment or restoration of a second service DRB for the terminal device in advance. Thus, when the terminal device has a second service requirement, the terminal device can directly transmit the second service based on the rebuilt or restored second service DRB.

[0379] In conjunction with the foregoing embodiments, the communication method shown in this application includes the following schemes:

[0380] Option 1: The terminal device triggers the release of the first DRB, and the terminal device triggers the establishment of the second service DRB.

[0381] Option 2: The terminal device triggers the deactivation of the first DRB, and the terminal device triggers the restoration of the second service's DRB.

[0382] Option 3: The terminal device triggers the release of the first DRB, and the network device triggers the establishment of the second service DRB.

[0383] Option 4: The terminal device triggers the deactivation of the first DRB, and the network device triggers the restoration of the second service's DRB.

[0384] Option 5: The network device triggers the release of the first DRB, and the network device triggers the establishment of the second service's DRB.

[0385] Option 6: The network device triggers the deactivation of the first DRB, and the network device triggers the restoration of the second service's DRB.

[0386] Option 7: The network device triggers the release of the first DRB, and the terminal device triggers the establishment of the second service DRB.

[0387] Option 8: The network device triggers the deactivation of the first DRB, and the terminal device triggers the restoration of the second service's DRB.

[0388] This application provides a communication device including modules or units for performing the communication method of a terminal device as described in the above method embodiments. This application also provides a communication device including modules or units for performing the communication method of a network device as described in the above method embodiments. These two communication devices will be illustrated below with reference to FIG17.

[0389] Figure 17 is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. The device 1700 shown in Figure 17 includes a transceiver unit 1710 and a processing unit 1720.

[0390] One possible design is that the device 1700 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device in the above method embodiments.

[0391] For example, processing unit 1720 is used to determine a first business requirement;

[0392] The processing unit 1720 is further configured to release or deactivate the first data radio bearer DRB if the first condition is met, wherein the first DRB is included in at least one DRB occupied by the second service of the terminal device.

[0393] The first condition includes that the number of second DRBs is less than the number of third DRBs, where the second DRBs are the remaining DRBs of the terminal equipment, and the third DRBs are the DRBs required by the first service.

[0394] In one optional implementation, the number of remaining DRBs in the terminal device is the difference between the number of DRBs occupied by the second service of the terminal device and the number of DRBs supported by the terminal device.

[0395] In one alternative implementation, the first service includes Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) service.

[0396] In one alternative implementation, the second business includes Internet of Things (IoT) services.

[0397] In one optional implementation, the processing unit 1720 determines that there is a first service requirement, including any one of the following:

[0398] Transceiver unit 1710 is used to initiate a session initiation protocol invitation (SIP INVITE); or

[0399] Transceiver unit 1710 is used to initiate the establishment of a user plane connection for the first service; or

[0400] The transceiver unit 1710 is used to receive SIP INVITE.

[0401] In one alternative implementation, the first condition further includes at least one of the following:

[0402] The network allows terminal devices to access primary services via geostationary GEO satellites; or

[0403] Terminal devices access the network via geostationary orbit GEO satellites; or

[0404] Terminal devices support access to primary services via geostationary orbit GEO satellites; or

[0405] The terminal device supports low-bitrate codecs; or

[0406] The terminal device supports at least one DRB; or

[0407] Terminal devices support access to the primary service via IoT.

[0408] In one optional implementation, the transceiver unit 1710 is further configured to send first indication information; the first indication information is configured to indicate at least one of the following: the terminal device supports accessing the first service via a geostationary orbit GEO satellite, or the terminal device supports low-rate encoding and decoding, or the terminal device supports at least one DRB, or the terminal device supports accessing the first service via IoT.

[0409] In one optional implementation, the first indication information is carried in a first message, which is an access stratum AS message or a non-access stratum NAS message.

[0410] In one optional implementation, the transceiver unit 1710 is further configured to receive second indication information, which indicates that the terminal device is permitted to access the first service via a geostationary orbit GEO satellite.

[0411] In one optional implementation, the processing unit 1720 is configured to determine whether the DRB occupied by the terminal device is released or deactivated.

[0412] The processing unit 1720 is also configured to initiate the establishment of a DRB for the second service if the second condition is met, or to initiate the restoration of a DRB for the second service.

[0413] The second condition includes at least one of the following:

[0414] The terminal device has a second service requirement; or

[0415] The number of DRBs currently used by the terminal device is less than the number of DRBs supported by the terminal device.

[0416] One possible design is that the device 1700 is used to implement the functions of the network device in the above method embodiments.

[0417] For example, the transceiver unit 1710 is configured to receive a first request, the first request being used to trigger the establishment of a dedicated bearer for a first service for the terminal device;

[0418] Processing unit 1720 is configured to release or deactivate a first data radio bearer (DRB) if a first condition is met, wherein the first DRB is contained in at least one DRB occupied by a second service of the terminal device.

[0419] The first condition includes that the number of second DRBs is less than the number of third DRBs, where the second DRBs are the remaining DRBs of the terminal equipment, and the third DRBs are the DRBs required by the first service.

[0420] In one optional implementation, the number of remaining DRBs in the terminal device is the difference between the number of DRBs occupied by the second service of the terminal device and the number of DRBs supported by the terminal device.

[0421] In one alternative implementation, the first service includes Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) service.

[0422] In one alternative implementation, the second business includes Internet of Things (IoT) services.

[0423] In one alternative implementation, the first condition further includes at least one of the following:

[0424] The network allows terminal devices to access primary services via geostationary GEO satellites; or

[0425] Terminal devices access the network via geostationary orbit GEO satellites; or

[0426] Terminal devices support access to primary services via geostationary orbit GEO satellites; or

[0427] The terminal device supports low-bitrate codecs; or

[0428] The terminal device supports at least one DRB; or

[0429] Terminal devices support access to the primary service via IoT.

[0430] In one optional implementation, the network device includes a Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) network element; and a transceiver unit 1710 for receiving Authentication and Authorization Requests (AAR).

[0431] In one optional implementation, the network device includes a packet data network gateway (PGW) element; and a transceiver unit 1710 for receiving update requests.

[0432] In one optional implementation, the update request is a request sent by the Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) network element to the transceiver unit 1710 of the PGW network element based on AAR.

[0433] In one alternative implementation, AAR includes any of the following:

[0434] The Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) sends an AAR based on the Session Initiation Protocol SIP 183; or

[0435] The Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) sends an AAR based on the Session Initiation Protocol SIP 180; or

[0436] The Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) transmits AARs based on SIP INVITE.

[0437] In one optional implementation, the transceiver unit 1710 is further configured to receive first indication information; the first indication information is configured to indicate at least one of the following: the terminal device supports accessing the first service via a geostationary orbit GEO satellite, or the terminal device supports low-rate encoding and decoding, or the terminal device supports at least one DRB, or the terminal device supports accessing the first service via IoT.

[0438] In one optional implementation, the processing unit 1720 is further configured to determine, based on the first indication information and the third indication information, whether to allow the terminal device to access the first service via GEO satellite; the third indication information is used to instruct the terminal device to access the network via GEO satellite.

[0439] In one optional implementation, the first indication information is carried in a first message, which is an access stratum AS message or a non-access stratum NAS message.

[0440] In one optional implementation, the transceiver unit 1710 is further configured to send a second instruction message, the second instruction message being used to indicate that the terminal device is permitted to access the first service via a geostationary orbit GEO satellite.

[0441] In one optional implementation, the processing unit 1720 is configured to determine whether the DRB occupied by the terminal device is released or deactivated.

[0442] The processing unit 1720 is also configured to initiate the establishment of a DRB for the second service if the second condition is met, or to initiate the restoration of a DRB for the second service.

[0443] The second condition includes at least one of the following:

[0444] The terminal device has a second service requirement; or

[0445] The number of DRBs currently used by the terminal device is less than the number of DRBs supported by the terminal device.

[0446] It is understood that the division of units in the above-described device is merely a logical functional division. Each function can correspond to a functional unit, or two or more functions can be integrated into one functional unit. In actual implementation, all or some units can be integrated into a single physical entity, or they can be distributed across different physical entities. Furthermore, the aforementioned functional units can be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of both. Whether a function is executed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0447] Figure 18 is a second schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 18, the device 1800 includes one or more processors 1801. The processor 1801 can be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor, etc. For example, it can be a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor can be used to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processing unit can be used to control the device (e.g., a vehicle or a chip), execute software programs, and process data from the software programs.

[0448] Optionally, in one design, processor 1801 may include a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions) that can be executed on processor 1801, causing device 1800 to perform the methods performed by the network device or terminal device in the above method embodiments. In yet another possible design, device 1800 includes circuitry (not shown in FIG18) for implementing the functions of the network device or terminal device in the above method embodiments.

[0449] For example, processor 1801 can be used to execute a computer program in memory to implement the steps performed by the network device or terminal device in the above method embodiments.

[0450] Optionally, the device 1800 may include one or more memories 1802 storing a computer program (sometimes referred to as code or instructions) that can be run on the processor 1801, causing the device 1800 to perform the methods performed by the network device or terminal device in the above method embodiments.

[0451] Optionally, the processor 1801 and / or memory 1802 may also store data. The processor and memory may be configured separately or integrated together.

[0452] Optionally, the device 1800 may also include a communication interface 1803. The processor 1801, sometimes referred to as a processing unit, controls the device (e.g., a network device or a terminal device). The communication interface 1803, sometimes referred to as a transceiver unit, transceiver, transceiver circuit, or transceiver, is used to implement the device's transceiver functions.

[0453] Optionally, the device 1800 also includes a communication interface 1803. The processor 1801 and the communication interface 1803 are coupled to each other. It is understood that the communication interface 1803 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface.

[0454] Optionally, the memory 1802, processor 1801, and communication interface 1803 can communicate with each other via bus 1804.

[0455] When device 1800 is used to implement the method in the above method embodiment, processor 1801 can be used to execute the function of processing unit 1720, and communication interface 1803 can be used to execute the function of transceiver unit 1710. Whether communication interface 1803 is used for sending or receiving depends on whether the scheme executed by device 1800 is used to perform a sending action or a receiving action.

[0456] When the aforementioned device 1800 is a chip applied to a terminal device, the chip implements the functions of the terminal device in the above method embodiments. The chip of the terminal device receives signals from other modules (such as radio frequency modules or antennas) in the terminal device, and these signals may be sent to the terminal device by the network device; or, the chip of the terminal device sends signals to other modules (such as radio frequency modules or antennas) in the terminal device, and these signals may be sent to the network device by the terminal device.

[0457] When the aforementioned device 1800 is a chip applied to a network device, the chip implements the functions of the network device in the above method embodiments. The chip of the network device receives signals from other modules in the network device, which may be signals sent by a terminal device to the network device; or, the chip of the network device sends signals to other modules in the network device, which may be signals sent by the network device to a terminal device.

[0458] It is understood that when the device 1800 is a network device or a terminal device, the communication interface 1803 can be a transceiver, specifically including a transmitter and a receiver, with the transmitter used to send signals and the receiver used to receive signals. When the device 1800 is a chip applied to a network device or a terminal device, the communication interface 1803 can be an input / output circuit, wherein the input circuit can be used for receiving and the output interface can be used for sending.

[0459] Optionally, the device 1800 may also include a power supply circuit for supplying power to the device 1800.

[0460] The above-described method embodiments can be applied to a processor, or implemented by a processor. A processor may be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. During implementation, each step of the above method embodiments can be completed through integrated logic circuits in the processor's hardware or through software instructions.

[0461] The aforementioned processor can be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof. A general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0462] The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiments of this application can be directly manifested as being executed by a hardware decoding processor, or executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software modules can reside in mature storage media in the art, such as random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, or registers. This storage medium is located in memory, and the processor reads information from the memory and, in conjunction with its hardware, completes the steps of the above method.

[0463] The memory in the embodiments of this application can be volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory can be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. The volatile memory can be random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example, but not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous linked dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory used in the systems and methods described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0464] This application also provides a chip system including at least one processor for supporting the implementation of the functions of the network device or terminal device involved in any of the above method embodiments, such as sending, receiving, or processing the information involved in the above methods.

[0465] In one possible design, the chip system also includes a memory for storing computer program instructions and data, which may be located inside or outside the processor.

[0466] The chip system can consist of chips or include chips and other discrete components.

[0467] This application also provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions), which, when run, executes the method performed by the network device or the method performed by the terminal device in the above method embodiments.

[0468] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions). When the computer program is run, the method executed by the network device or the method executed by the terminal device in the above method embodiments is executed.

[0469] This application also provides a communication system, which includes the aforementioned terminal equipment and network equipment.

[0470] This application also provides a communication system, including: a first core network device, the first core network device including at least one of the following: a Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) network element, or a Packet Data Network Gateway (PGW) network element. Optionally, the network device shown in Figure 12 can be a PCRF network element or a PGW network element.

[0471] In one optional implementation, the communication system further includes a second core network device. The second core network device includes a Mobility Management Entity (MME) network element. Optionally, the network device shown in Figure 9 can be an MME network element.

[0472] The methods provided in the above embodiments can be implemented, in whole or in part, by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, they can be implemented, in whole or in part, as a computer program product. This computer program product may include one or more computer instructions. When these computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the flow or function according to the embodiments of this application is generated. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium accessible to a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic disk), an optical medium (e.g., DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., solid-state disk (SSD)).

[0473] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the units and algorithm steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0474] Those skilled in the art will understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the specific working processes of the systems, devices, and units described above can be referred to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0475] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatuses, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces; the indirect coupling or communication connection between apparatuses or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0476] The unit described as a separate component may or may not be physically separate. The component shown as a unit may or may not be a physical unit; that is, it may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0477] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

[0478] If this function 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, or part of it, 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.) 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, random access memory, magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0479] In the various embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified or in case of logical conflict, the terminology and / or descriptions of different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features of different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: (The method is applied to a terminal device or a chip in a terminal device.) Identify the primary business requirement; If the first condition is met, the first data radio bearer (DRB) is released or deactivated, and the first DRB is included in at least one DRB occupied by the second service of the terminal device. The first condition includes that the number of second DRBs is less than the number of third DRBs, where the second DRBs are the remaining DRBs of the terminal device, and the third DRBs are the DRBs required by the first service.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The number of DRBs remaining in the terminal device is the difference between the number of DRBs occupied by the second service in the terminal device and the number of DRBs supported by the terminal device.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The first service includes the Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) service.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The second business includes Internet of Things (IoT) business.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The determination of the first business requirement includes any one of the following: Initiate a session by initiating a protocol invitation via SIP INVITE; or Initiate the establishment of a user plane connection for the first service; or The SIP INVITE was received.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The first condition also includes at least one of the following: The network allows the terminal device to access the first service via a geostationary GEO satellite; or The terminal device accesses the network via a geostationary GEO satellite; or The terminal device supports accessing the first service via a geostationary orbit GEO satellite; or The terminal device supports low-rate encoding and decoding; or The terminal device supports at least one DRB; or The terminal device supports accessing the first service via the Internet of Things (IoT).

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a first indication message; the first indication message is used to indicate at least one of the following: the terminal device supports accessing the first service via a geostationary orbit GEO satellite, or the terminal device supports low-rate encoding and decoding, or the terminal device supports at least one DRB, or the terminal device supports accessing the first service via the Internet of Things (IoT).

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The first indication information is carried in a first message, which is either an access layer AS message or a non-access layer NAS message.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive a second instruction message, which indicates that the terminal device is permitted to access the first service via a geostationary orbit GEO satellite.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that, The method further includes: Determine whether the DRB occupied by the terminal device has been released or deactivated; If the second condition is met, initiate the establishment of the DRB for the second service, or initiate the restoration of the DRB for the second service; The second condition includes at least one of the following: The terminal device has a second service requirement; or The number of DRBs currently occupied by the terminal device is less than the number of DRBs supported by the terminal device.

11. A communication method, characterized in that, A chip applied to or in a network device, the method comprising: Receive a first request, the first request being used to trigger the establishment of a dedicated bearer for a first service for the terminal device; If the first condition is met, the first data radio bearer (DRB) is released or deactivated, and the first DRB is included in at least one DRB occupied by the second service of the terminal device. The first condition includes that the number of second DRBs is less than the number of third DRBs, where the second DRBs are the remaining DRBs of the terminal device, and the third DRBs are the DRBs required by the first service.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that, The number of DRBs remaining in the terminal device is the difference between the number of DRBs occupied by the second service in the terminal device and the number of DRBs supported by the terminal device.

13. The method according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that, The first service includes the Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) service.

14. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, characterized in that, The second business includes Internet of Things (IoT) business.

15. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 14, characterized in that, The first condition also includes at least one of the following: The network allows the terminal device to access the first service via a geostationary GEO satellite; or The terminal device accesses the network via a geostationary GEO satellite; or The terminal device supports accessing the first service via a geostationary orbit GEO satellite; or The terminal device supports low-rate encoding and decoding; or The terminal device supports at least one DRB; or The terminal device supports accessing the first service via the Internet of Things (IoT).

16. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 15, characterized in that, The network device includes a Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) network element; receiving the first request includes: the PCRF network element receiving an Authentication and Authorization Request (AAR).

17. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 15, characterized in that, The network device includes a Packet Data Network Gateway (PGW) element; receiving the first request includes: the PGW element receiving an update request.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that, The update request is a request sent by the Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) network element to the PGW network element based on AAR.

19. The method according to claim 16 or 18, characterized in that, The AAR includes any of the following: The Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) sends an AAR based on the Session Initiation Protocol SIP 183; or The Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) sends an AAR based on the Session Initiation Protocol SIP 180; or The Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) transmits AARs based on SIP INVITE.

20. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 19, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive first indication information; the first indication information is used to indicate at least one of the following: the terminal device supports accessing the first service via a geostationary orbit GEO satellite, or the terminal device supports low-rate encoding and decoding, or the terminal device supports at least one DRB, or the terminal device supports accessing the first service via the Internet of Things (IoT).

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that, The method further includes: determining, based on the first indication information and the third indication information, whether to allow the terminal device to access the first service via the GEO satellite; The third indication information is used to instruct the terminal device to access the network via the GEO satellite.

22. The method according to claim 20 or 21, characterized in that, The first indication information is carried in a first message, which is either an access layer AS message or a non-access layer NAS message.

23. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 22, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a second instruction message, which indicates that the terminal device is permitted to access the first service via a geostationary orbit GEO satellite.

24. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 23, characterized in that, The method further includes: Determine whether the DRB occupied by the terminal device has been released or deactivated; If the second condition is met, initiate the establishment of the DRB for the second service, or initiate the restoration of the DRB for the second service; The second condition includes at least one of the following: The terminal device has a second service requirement; or The number of DRBs currently occupied by the terminal device is less than the number of DRBs supported by the terminal device.

25. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device includes a module or unit for performing the communication method as described in any one of claims 1 to 10, or the communication device includes a module or unit for performing the communication method as described in any one of claims 11 to 24.

26. A communication device, characterized in that, The processor includes a processor coupled to a memory for storing computer programs, and the processor for executing the computer programs stored in the memory. So that the communication device performs the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 10; or, So that the communication device performs the method as described in any one of claims 11 to 24.

27. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer stores instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 10, or cause the computer to perform the method as claimed in any one of claims 11 to 24.

28. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes: a computer program that, when run, causes a computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 10, or causes a computer to perform the method of any one of claims 11 to 24.

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