WO2021088061A1

WO2021088061A1 - Communication method and apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2021088061A1
Application number: PCT/CN2019/116861
Authority: WO
Inventors: 应江威; 李岩; 许胜锋
Original assignee: 华为技术有限公司
Priority date: 2019-11-08
Filing date: 2019-11-08
Publication date: 2021-05-14
Also published as: CN114731731A

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and apparatus, said method comprising: a second mobility management entity receiving a first message from a terminal device, the first message containing a first identifier corresponding to a first user and a second identifier corresponding to a second user, the first message being used for indicating the establishment of an association between the first user and the second user, the first user corresponding to a first USIM, the second user corresponding to a second USIM, both the first USIM and the second USIM being located in the terminal device; the second mobility management entity contains the context of the first user corresponding to the first identifier, and the second mobility management entity establishes an association between the first user and the second user. On the basis of the solution, the same mobility management entity is used to serve different users and the mobility management entity is associated with different users such that information between different users can be exchanged on the network side. Thus the communication service experience of the user is improved.

Description

Communication method and device

Technical field

This application relates to the field of mobile communication technology, and in particular to communication methods and devices.

Background technique

The universal subscriber identity module (USIM) is an application for terminal user identification, and is generally a module in the universal intergrated circuit card (UICC). The USIM stores the identity verification, authentication and encryption related information of the subscribers of the wireless communication system, and the terminal equipment uses the USIM to access the wireless communication system. In addition, the USIM can be regarded as an upgraded subscriber identification module (SIM), which has upgraded the algorithm in terms of security and added the authentication function of the USIM to the network, which has higher security performance.

In the current communication technology, there is a requirement for holding multiple USIMs (ie, Multi-Universal Subscriber Identity Module (MUSIM)) at the same time in the same terminal device. In the MUSIM scenario, users can contact different user groups through multiple USIMs of the same terminal device, or perform different communication services. In addition, future enterprise scenarios also have a strong demand for one terminal device to support multiple USIMs. There are many ways to implement MUSIM. For example, there are multiple card slots on the terminal device and multiple USIMs can be installed; or, multiple USIMs are stored in one UICC on the terminal device; or, multiple USIMs can be stored in the terminal device. Without UICC, that is, soft SIM or soft USIM.

At present, in the scenario of multiple USIMs, the network controls users corresponding to multiple USIMs in the same terminal device respectively. Since the user can only be controlled based on the user's information corresponding to a USIM, the user's communication service experience is poor.

Summary of the invention

This application provides a communication method and device to improve the user's communication service experience.

In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, including: a second mobility management network element receives a first message from a terminal device, the first message including a first identifier corresponding to the first user and a second user corresponding to the second user. Second identification, the first message is used to instruct to establish an association between the first user and the second user, the first user corresponds to the first USIM, the second user corresponds to the second USIM, the first USIM and the second user Both USIMs are located in the terminal device; the second mobility management network element includes the context of the first user corresponding to the first identifier, and the second mobility management network element establishes a connection between the first user and the second user ’S association. Based on the above solution, the same AMF is used to serve different users, and different users are associated on the AMF, so that information between different users can be exchanged on the network side and the synchronization of user information can be maintained. In this way, it will help to improve the communication quality between the network device and the UE, avoid conflicts in communication services, and thus improve the user's communication service experience. Further, since the information of different users is located in the same AMF, it helps to avoid the overhead of interactive signaling between different AMFs in the same operator.

In a possible implementation method, the second mobility management network element establishing an association between the first user and the second user includes: the second mobility management network element is in the context of the first user Store the second identifier, and store the first identifier in the context of the second user.

In a possible implementation method, the context of the first user further includes one or more of the following: the connection management status of the first user, the service priority information of the first user, and the service information of the first user The context of the second user also includes one or more of the following: the connection management status of the second user, the service priority information of the second user, and the service information of the second user.

In a possible implementation method, the second mobility management network element sends a second message to the terminal device, and the second message includes configuration information of the second user; wherein, the configuration information includes the configuration information of the second user. A second timer, the duration of the second timer is greater than the duration of the first timer of the first user, or the configuration information includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate the timing of the second user The device is turned off, or the configuration information includes a third timer of the second user and second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate that the third timer is invalid.

In a possible implementation method, the first identifier is the first SUPI, or the first SUCI, or the first GUTI, and the second identifier is the second SUPI, or the second SUCI, or the second GUTI.

In a possible implementation method, before the second mobility management network element establishes the association between the first user and the second user, the second mobility management network element determines the first USIM, the second USIM corresponds to the same PLMN.

In a possible implementation method, the second mobility management network element performs control of the first user according to the context of the first user and the context of the second user.

In a possible implementation method, the context of the first user includes that the first user is in an idle state, and the context of the second user includes that the second user is in an idle state; and the second mobility management network element is based on the first user. The context of a user and the context of the second user to perform control on the first user includes: if the first user fails to page, the second mobility management network element performs the control on the first user according to the paging policy Paging; the paging strategy includes at least one of the following: the number of paging attempts is less than the number of paging attempts of a single USIM, and the expanded paging range is less than the expanded paging range of a single USIM; or, the paging strategy includes at least the following One: The number of paging attempts is more than that of a single USIM, and the time interval between the next paging attempt and the current paging attempt is increased.

In a possible implementation method, the context of the first user includes that the first user is in an idle state, and the context of the second user includes that the second user is in a connected state; and the second mobility management network element is based on the first user. The context of a user and the context of the second user to perform control of the first user includes: the second mobility management network element paging the first user according to a paging policy, and the paging policy includes at least the following One: Terminate paging attempts, the number of paging attempts is less than the number of paging attempts of a single USIM, and the expanded paging range is less than the expanded paging range of a single USIM.

In a possible implementation method, the context of the first user includes that the first user is in an idle state, and the context of the second user includes that the second user is in a connected state; and the second mobility management network element is based on the first user. The context of a user and the context of the second user to perform control of the first user includes: if the first user fails to page, the second mobility management network element informs the terminal through the communication connection of the second user The first user of the device has a downlink service.

In a possible implementation method, the context of the first user includes that the first user is in a connected state, and the context of the second user includes that the second user is in an idle state; and the second mobility management network element is based on the first user. The context of a user and the context of the second user to perform control of the first user includes: if the second user fails to paging, the second mobility management network element sends a communication link to the first user The terminal device notifies that the second user has a downlink service.

In a possible implementation method, the context of the first user includes that the first user is in an idle state and the priority of the service to be initiated by the first user, and the context of the second user includes that the second user is connected. Status, the priority of the ongoing service of the second user; the second mobility management network element performs control of the first user according to the context of the first user and the context of the second user, including: The priority of the service to be initiated by the first user is lower than the priority of the ongoing service of the second user, and the second mobility management network element determines not to initiate paging for the service to be initiated by the first user.

In a possible implementation method, the context of the first user includes that the first user is in a connected state, and the context of the second user includes that the second user is in an idle state;

The second mobility management network element performs control of the first user according to the context of the first user and the context of the second user, including: the second mobility management network element is connected through the communication of the first user, Send the signaling or control plane information of the second user to the terminal device.

In a possible implementation method, the context of the first user includes that the first user is in an idle state, and the context of the second user includes that the second user is in a connected state; and the second mobility management network element is based on the first user. The context of a user and the context of the second user to perform control of the first user includes: the second mobility management network element sends the first user’s information to the terminal device through the communication connection of the second user. Order or control surface information.

In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, including: a second mobility management network element receives a first message from a terminal device, the first message including a first identifier corresponding to the first user and a second user corresponding to the second user. Second identification, the first message is used to instruct to establish an association between the first user and the second user, the first user corresponds to the first USIM, the second user corresponds to the second USIM, the first USIM and the second user Both USIMs are located in the terminal device; the second mobility management network element does not include the context of the first user corresponding to the first identifier, and the second mobility management network element obtains the first mobility corresponding to the first identifier The identification and/or address information of the management network element, the first mobility management network element is a mobility management network element that provides services to the first user; the second mobility management network element reports to the first mobility management network Yuan sends this first message. Based on the above solution, the same mobility management network element is used to serve different users, and different users are associated on the mobility management network element, which can realize the interaction of information between different users on the network side and keep the synchronization of user information . In this way, it will help to improve the communication quality between the network device and the terminal device, avoid conflicts in communication services, and thus improve the user's communication service experience. Further, since the information of different users is located in the same mobility management network element, it helps to avoid the exchange signaling overhead between different mobility management network elements in the same operator.

In a possible implementation method, the second mobility management network element sends to the data management network element a second identifier corresponding to the second user, an identifier of the second mobility management network element, and/or Address information to register request.

In a possible implementation method, the establishing an association between the first user and the second user includes: storing the second identifier in the context of the first user, and, in the context of the second user The first identifier is stored in.

In a possible implementation method, before the second mobility management network element obtains the identification and/or address information of the first mobility management network element corresponding to the first identification, the method further includes: the second mobility management network The element determines that the first USIM and the second USIM correspond to the same PLMN.

In a possible implementation method, the first identifier is the first user hidden identifier SUCI of the first user; the second mobility management network element obtains the identifier of the first mobility management network element corresponding to the first identifier And/or address information, including: the second mobility management network element determines the authentication network element and the data management network element corresponding to the first user according to the first SUCI; the second mobility management network element authenticates to the The right network element sends the first SUCI; the second mobility management network element receives the first SUPI of the first user from the authentication network element, and the first SUPI comes from the data management network element; the second mobility management The network element sends the first SUPI to the data management network element; the second mobility management network element receives the identification and/or address information of the first mobility management network element from the authentication network element.

In a possible implementation method, the first identifier is the first SUCI of the first user; the second mobility management network element obtains the identifier of the first mobility management network element corresponding to the first identifier and/or The address information includes: the second mobility management network element determines the first network element corresponding to the first user according to the first SUCI; the second mobility management network element sends the first SUCI to the first network element The second mobility management network element receives the identification and/or address information of the first mobility management network element from the first network element; wherein, the first network element is an authentication network element, and the first mobility The identification and/or address information of the management network element comes from a data management network element corresponding to the first user; or, the first network element is a data management network element.

In a possible implementation method, the first network element is a data management network element; the second mobility management network element sending the first SUCI to the first network element includes: the second mobility management network element Send a registration request to the first network element, the registration request includes the first SUCI, and the registration request is used to request that the second user be registered to the data management network element; the second mobility management network element is sent from the first SUCI; The network element receiving the identification and/or address information of the first mobility management network element includes: the second mobility management network element receives a registration response from the first network element, the registration response including the first mobility management network Meta’s identification and/or address information.

In a possible implementation method, the first identifier is the first SUPI of the first user; the second mobility management network element obtains the identifier and/or the first mobility management network element corresponding to the first identifier The address information includes: the second mobility management network element determines the data management network element corresponding to the first user according to the first SUPI; the second mobility management network element sends the first SUPI to the data management network element ; The second mobility management network element receives the identification and/or address information of the first mobility management network element from the data management network element.

In a possible implementation method, the second mobility management network element sending the first SUPI to the data management network element includes: the second mobility management network element sends a registration request to the data management network element, the The registration request includes the first SUPI, and the registration request is used to request the registration of the second user to the data management network element; the second mobility management network element receives the first mobility management network element from the data management network element The identification and/or address information includes: the second mobility management network element receives a registration response from the data management network element, and the registration response includes the identification and/or address information of the first mobility management network element.

In a possible implementation method, the first identifier is the first GUTI of the first user; the second mobility management network element obtains the identifier and/or the first mobility management network element corresponding to the first identifier The address information includes: the second mobility management network element determines the identity and/or address information of the first mobility management network element according to the first GUTI.

In a possible implementation method, before the second mobility management network element sends the first message to the first mobility management network element, the method further includes: the second mobility management network element determines the first mobility The management network element meets the slicing service requirement of the second user.

In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication method, including: a first mobility management network element receives a first message, the first message including a first identifier corresponding to the first user and a second identifier corresponding to the second user, and One user corresponds to the first USIM, and the second user corresponds to the second USIM. Both the first USIM and the second USIM are located in the terminal device. The first mobility management network element is a mobility management network that provides services for the first user. Element; the first mobility management network element establishes an association between the first user and the second user according to the first message. Based on the above solution, the same mobility management network element is used to serve different users, and different users are associated on the mobility management network element, which can realize the interaction of information between different users on the network side and keep the synchronization of user information . In this way, it will help to improve the communication quality between the network device and the terminal device, avoid conflicts in communication services, and thus improve the user's communication service experience. Further, since the information of different users is located in the same mobility management network element, it helps to avoid the exchange signaling overhead between different mobility management network elements in the same operator.

In a possible implementation method, the first mobility management network element establishing an association between the first user and the second user includes: the first mobility management network element stores in the context of the first user The second identifier, and the first identifier is stored in the context of the second user.

In a possible implementation method, the first mobility management network element receives the context of the second user from the second mobility management network element; or, the first mobility management network element generates the second user context according to the first message The context of the second user.

In a possible implementation method, the first mobility management network element sends a third message to the terminal device, and the third message contains configuration information of the second user; wherein, the configuration information contains the configuration information of the second user. A second timer, the duration of the second timer is greater than the duration of the first timer of the first user, or the configuration information includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate the timing of the second user The device is turned off, or the configuration information includes a third timer of the second user and second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate that the third timer is invalid.

In a possible implementation method, the first mobility management network element receiving the first message includes: the first mobility management network element receives the first message from a second mobility management network element or an access network device.

In a possible implementation method, before the first mobility management network element establishes the association between the first user and the second user according to the first message, the method further includes: the first mobility management network element It is determined that the first USIM and the second USIM correspond to the same PLMN.

In a possible implementation method, the first mobility management network element performs control of the first user according to the context of the first user and the context of the second user.

In a possible implementation method, the context of the first user includes that the first user is in an idle state, and the context of the second user includes that the second user is in an idle state; The context of a user and the context of the second user, performing control on the first user, includes: if the first user fails to page, the first mobility management network element performs the control on the first user according to the paging policy Paging; the paging strategy includes at least one of the following: the number of paging attempts is less than the number of paging attempts of a single USIM, and the expanded paging range is less than the expanded paging range of a single USIM; or, the paging strategy includes at least the following One: The number of paging attempts is more than that of a single USIM, and the time interval between the next paging attempt and the current paging attempt is increased.

In a possible implementation method, the context of the first user includes that the first user is in an idle state, and the context of the second user includes that the second user is in a connected state; and the first mobility management network element The context of a user and the context of the second user to perform control of the first user includes: the first mobility management network element paging the first user according to a paging policy, and the paging policy includes at least the following One: Terminate paging attempts, the number of paging attempts is less than the number of paging attempts of a single USIM, and the expanded paging range is less than the expanded paging range of a single USIM.

In a possible implementation method, the context of the first user includes that the first user is in an idle state, and the context of the second user includes that the second user is in a connected state; and the first mobility management network element The context of a user and the context of the second user to perform control of the first user includes: if the first user fails to page, the first mobility management network element informs the terminal through the communication connection of the second user The first user of the device has a downlink service.

In a possible implementation method, the context of the first user includes that the first user is in a connected state, and the context of the second user includes that the second user is in an idle state; and the first mobility management network element is based on the The context of a user and the context of the second user to perform control of the first user includes: if the second user fails to page, the first mobility management network element sends the communication link to the first user The terminal device notifies that the second user has a downlink service.

In a possible implementation method, the context of the first user includes that the first user is in an idle state and the priority of the service to be initiated by the first user, and the context of the second user includes that the second user is connected. Status, the priority of the ongoing service of the second user; the first mobility management network element performs control of the first user according to the context of the first user and the context of the second user, including: The priority of the service to be initiated by the first user is lower than the priority of the ongoing service of the second user, and the first mobility management network element determines not to initiate paging for the service to be initiated by the first user.

In a possible implementation method, the context of the first user includes that the first user is in a connected state, and the context of the second user includes that the second user is in an idle state; and the first mobility management network element is based on the The context of a user and the context of the second user to perform the control of the first user includes: the first mobility management network element sends the information of the second user to the terminal device through the communication connection of the first user. Order or control surface information.

In a possible implementation method, the context of the first user includes that the first user is in an idle state, and the context of the second user includes that the second user is in a connected state; and the first mobility management network element The context of a user and the context of the second user to perform control of the first user includes: the first mobility management network element sends the first user’s information to the terminal device through the communication connection of the second user. Order or control surface information.

In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, including: a terminal device sending a first message, the first message containing a first identifier corresponding to the first user and a second identifier corresponding to the second user, and the first message is used for Indicate to establish an association between the first user and the second user, the first user corresponds to a first USIM, the second user corresponds to a second USIM, and both the first USIM and the second USIM are located in the terminal device; the The terminal device receives the second message and successfully establishes an association between the first user and the second user. Based on the above solution, the same mobility management network element is used to serve different users, and different users are associated on the mobility management network element, which can realize the interaction of information between different users on the network side and keep the synchronization of user information . In this way, it will help to improve the communication quality between the network device and the terminal device, avoid conflicts in communication services, and thus improve the user's communication service experience. Further, since the information of different users is located in the same mobility management network element, it helps to avoid the exchange signaling overhead between different mobility management network elements in the same operator.

In a possible implementation method, the terminal device obtains the first GUTI of the first user; the terminal device obtains the identification and/or address information of the mobility management network element corresponding to the first user according to the first GUTI ; The terminal device sends the identification and/or address information of the mobility management network element corresponding to the first user.

In a possible implementation method, before the terminal device sends the first message, the method further includes: the terminal device determines that the first USIM and the second USIM correspond to the same PLMN.

In a possible implementation method, the second message includes configuration information of the second user; wherein, the configuration information includes a second timer of the second user, and the duration of the second timer is greater than that of the first user When the second timer expires, the terminal device sends a periodic registration request of the second user.

In a possible implementation method, the second message includes configuration information of the second user; wherein, the configuration information includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate that the timer of the second user is turned off , The terminal device determines not to send the periodic registration request of the second user.

In a possible implementation method, the second message includes configuration information of the second user; wherein, the configuration information includes a third timer of the second user and second indication information, and the second indication information is used for Indicating that the third timer is invalid, the terminal device starts the third timer, and determines not to send the periodic registration request of the second user after the third timer expires; or, the terminal device determines not to start the second user Three timers.

In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, including: an access network device receives a first message from a terminal device, and the identification and/or address information of the mobility management network element, the first message containing the corresponding information of the first user The first identifier corresponding to the second user and the second identifier corresponding to the second user, the first message is used to indicate to establish an association between the first user and the second user, the first user corresponds to the first USIM, and the second user corresponds to The second USIM, the first USIM and the second USIM are both located in the terminal device, the mobility management network element is a mobility management network element that provides services for the first user; the access network device manages according to the mobility The identification and/or address information of the network element sends the first message to the mobility management network element. Based on the above solution, the same mobility management network element is used to serve different users, and different users are associated on the mobility management network element, which can realize the interaction of information between different users on the network side and keep the synchronization of user information . In this way, it will help to improve the communication quality between the network device and the terminal device, avoid conflicts in communication services, and thus improve the user's communication service experience. Further, since the information of different users is located in the same mobility management network element, it helps to avoid the exchange signaling overhead between different mobility management network elements in the same operator.

In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which may be a mobility management network element, or a chip used for a mobility management network element. The device has the function of realizing the above-mentioned first aspect to third aspect or each embodiment of the first aspect to third aspect. This function can be realized by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above-mentioned functions.

In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a communication device. The device may be a terminal device or a chip for the terminal device. The device has the function of realizing the foregoing fourth aspect or the embodiments of the fourth aspect. This function can be realized by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above-mentioned functions.

In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which may be an access network device or a chip for the access network device. The device has the function of realizing the above-mentioned fifth aspect or the embodiments of the fifth aspect. This function can be realized by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above-mentioned functions.

In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a communication device including a processor and a memory; the memory is used to store computer execution instructions. When the device is running, the processor executes the computer execution instructions stored in the memory to make the device Perform the method as described above in each aspect or each embodiment of each aspect.

In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, including a unit or means for executing each of the above aspects or each step of each aspect.

In an eleventh aspect, the present application provides a communication device including a processor and an interface circuit. The processor is configured to communicate with other devices through the interface circuit and execute the methods of the above aspects or the embodiments of the aspects. The processor includes one or more.

In a twelfth aspect, the present application provides a communication device including a processor, which is configured to be connected to a memory and used to call a program stored in the memory to execute the methods of the above aspects or the embodiments of the aspects. The memory can be located inside the device or outside the device. And the processor includes one or more.

In a thirteenth aspect, this application also provides a computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions in the computer-readable storage medium, which when run on a computer, causes a processor to execute the above aspects or embodiments of each aspect The method.

In a fourteenth aspect, the present application also provides a computer program product including instructions, which when run on a computer, cause the computer to execute the above-mentioned aspects or the methods in the respective embodiments of the aspects.

In a fifteenth aspect, the present application also provides a chip system, including a processor, configured to execute the above-mentioned aspects or the methods in the embodiments of the aspects.

In a sixteenth aspect, the present application also provides a communication system, including a second mobility management network element for executing any method of the foregoing second aspect and a first mobility management network element for executing any method of the foregoing third aspect .

Description of the drawings

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a 5G network architecture based on a service-oriented architecture;

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a 5G network architecture based on a point-to-point interface;

FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided by this application;

FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart of another communication method provided by this application;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided by this application;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of another communication device provided by this application;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of another communication device provided by this application;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a terminal device provided by this application;

Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of an access network device provided by this application;

Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram of a mobility management network element provided by this application.

Detailed ways

In order to make the purpose, technical solutions, and advantages of the application more clear, the application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The specific operation method in the method embodiment can also be applied to the device embodiment or the system embodiment. Among them, in the description of the present application, unless otherwise specified, "multiple" means two or more. "/" means "or", for example, A/B can mean A or B; "and/or" in this application is only an association relationship describing associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / Or B, it can mean that: A alone exists, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone.

As shown in Figure 1, it is a schematic diagram of the fifth generation (5G) network architecture based on a service-oriented architecture. The 5G network architecture shown in FIG. 1 may include three parts, namely a terminal equipment part, a data network (DN), and an operator network part. The functions of some of the network elements are briefly introduced below.

Among them, the operator network may include one or more of the following network elements: authentication server function (AUSF) network elements, network exposure function (NEF) network elements, policy control function (policy control) function, PCF) network element, unified data management (UDM) network element, unified database (Unified Data Repository, UDR), network storage function (Network Repository Function, NRF) network element, application function (AF) ) Network element, access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, session management function (SMF) network element, radio access network (RAN) and user plane function (user plane function, UPF) network elements, etc. In the above-mentioned operator network, parts other than the radio access network part may be referred to as the core network part.

Terminal device (terminal device), also called user equipment (user equipment, UE), is a device with wireless transceiver function, which can be deployed on land, including indoor or outdoor, handheld or vehicle-mounted; it can also be deployed on water It can also be deployed in the air (such as airplanes, balloons, and satellites). The terminal device may be a mobile phone (mobile phone), a tablet computer (pad), a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal, an augmented reality (AR) terminal, an industrial control (industrial control) Wireless terminals in ), wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in remote medical, wireless terminals in smart grid, and wireless terminals in transportation safety , Wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, etc. The terminal device here refers to the 3rd generation partnership project (3rd generation partnership project, 3GPP) terminal.

The above-mentioned terminal equipment may establish a connection with the operator's network through an interface (such as N1, etc.) provided by the operator's network, and use services such as data and/or voice provided by the operator's network. The terminal device can also access the DN through the operator's network, and use the operator's service deployed on the DN and/or the service provided by a third party. Among them, the above-mentioned third party may be a service party other than the operator's network and terminal equipment, and may provide other services such as data and/or voice for the terminal equipment. Among them, the specific form of expression of the above-mentioned third party can be determined according to actual application scenarios, and is not limited here.

RAN is a sub-network of an operator's network, and an implementation system between service nodes and terminal equipment in the operator's network. To access the operator's network, the terminal device first passes through the RAN, and then can be connected to the service node of the operator's network through the RAN. The RAN device in this application is a device that provides wireless communication functions for terminal devices, and the RAN device is also called an access network device. The RAN equipment in this application includes but is not limited to: next-generation base stations (gnodeB, gNB), evolved node B (evolved node B, eNB), radio network controller (RNC), node B in 5G (node B, NB), base station controller (BSC), base transceiver station (BTS), home base station (for example, home evolved nodeB, or home node B, HNB), baseband unit (baseBand) unit, BBU), transmission point (transmitting and receiving point, TRP), transmission point (transmitting point, TP), mobile switching center, etc.

The AMF network element mainly performs functions such as mobility management and access authentication/authorization. In addition, it is also responsible for transferring user policies between UE and PCF.

The SMF network element mainly performs functions such as session management, execution of the control strategy issued by the PCF, selection of the UPF, and UE Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation.

The UPF network element, as the interface UPF with the data network, completes the functions of user plane data forwarding, session/stream-based billing statistics, and bandwidth limitation.

The UDM network element is mainly responsible for functions such as management of contract data and user access authorization.

UDR is mainly responsible for the access function of contract data, strategy data, application data and other types of data.

NEF network elements are mainly used to support the opening of capabilities and events.

The AF network element mainly conveys the requirements of the application side to the network side, for example, quality of service (QoS) requirements or user status event subscriptions. AF can be a third-party functional entity, or an application service deployed by an operator, such as an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) voice call service.

The PCF network element is mainly responsible for policy control functions such as billing, QoS bandwidth guarantee and mobility management, and UE policy decision-making for sessions and service flow levels. In this architecture, the PCF connected to the AMF and the SMF corresponds to AM PCF (PCF for Access and Mobility Control) and SM PCF (PCF for Session Management) respectively, and may not be the same PCF entity in actual deployment scenarios.

The NRF network element can be used to provide the network element discovery function, and provide the network element information corresponding to the network element type based on the request of other network elements. NRF also provides network element management services, such as network element registration, update, de-registration, and network element status subscription and push.

AUSF network element: Mainly responsible for authenticating users to determine whether users or devices are allowed to access the network.

A DN is a network located outside the operator's network. The operator's network can access multiple DNs, and multiple services can be deployed on the DN, which can provide data and/or voice services for terminal devices. For example, DN is a private network of a smart factory. The sensors installed in the workshop of the smart factory can be terminal devices. A control server for the sensors is deployed in the DN, and the control server can provide services for the sensors. The sensor can communicate with the control server, obtain instructions from the control server, and transmit the collected sensor data to the control server according to the instructions. For another example, the DN is the internal office network of a company. The mobile phones or computers of the employees of the company can be terminal devices, and the mobile phones or computers of the employees can access the information and data resources on the internal office network of the company.

In Figure 1, Nausf, Nnef, Npcf, Nudm, Naf, Namf, Nsmf, N1, N2, N3, N4, and N6 are interface serial numbers. The meaning of these interface serial numbers can be referred to the meaning defined in the 3GPP standard protocol, which is not limited here.

As shown in Fig. 2, it is a schematic diagram of a 5G network architecture based on a point-to-point interface. For the introduction of the functions of the network elements therein, reference may be made to the introduction of the functions of the corresponding network elements in Fig. 1, which will not be repeated. The main difference between Figure 2 and Figure 1 is that the interfaces between the various network elements in Figure 2 are point-to-point interfaces rather than service-oriented interfaces.

In the architecture shown in Figure 2, the interface names and functions between each network element are as follows:

1) N7: The interface between PCF and SMF, used to issue protocol data unit (protocol data unit, PDU) session granularity and service data flow granularity control strategy.

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

3) N5: Interface between AF and PCF, used for application service request issuance and network event reporting.

4), N4: The interface between SMF and UPF, used to transfer information between the control plane and the user plane, including controlling the issuance of user-oriented forwarding rules, QoS control rules, traffic statistics rules, etc., and user-plane information Reported.

5) N11: Interface between SMF and AMF, used to transfer PDU session tunnel information between RAN and UPF, transfer control messages sent to UE, transfer radio resource control information sent to RAN, etc.

6) N2: The interface between AMF and RAN, used to transfer radio bearer control information from the core network side to the RAN.

7) N1: The interface between the AMF and the UE, which has nothing to do with access, and is used to deliver QoS control rules to the UE.

8) N8: The interface between AMF and UDM, used for AMF to obtain access and mobility management related subscription data and authentication data from UDM, and AMF to register UE current mobility management related information with UDM, etc.

9) N10: Interface between SMF and UDM, used for SMF to obtain session management related subscription data from UDM, and SMF to register UE current session related information with UDM, etc.

10) N35: Interface between UDM and UDR, used for UDM to obtain user subscription data information from UDR.

11) N36: Interface between PCF and UDR, used for PCF to obtain policy-related contract data and application data-related information from UDR.

12). N12: The interface between AMF and AUSF, used for AMF to initiate an authentication process to AUSF, which can carry a User Concealed Identifier (Subscription Concealed Identifier, SUCI) as a subscription identifier;

13). N13: The interface between UDM and AUSF, used for AUSF to obtain user authentication vector from UDM to execute the authentication process.

It is understandable that the aforementioned network elements or functions may be network elements in hardware devices, software functions running on dedicated hardware, or virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (for example, a cloud platform). Optionally, the foregoing network element or function may be implemented by one device, or jointly implemented by multiple devices, or may be a functional module in one device, which is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application.

The mobility management network element, authentication network element, and data management network element in this application can be AMF, AUSF, UDM in Figure 1 or Figure 2, respectively, or future communications such as the 6th generation (6G) The network elements in the network that have the above-mentioned AMF, AUSF, and UDM functions are not limited in this application. For the convenience of description, this application takes the above-mentioned AMF, AUSF, and UDM as examples for the mobility management network element, authentication network element, and data management network element, respectively. Further, the terminal device is referred to as UE for short in this application.

At present, UEs on the market have different communication capabilities, including: single Rx/single Tx UE, dual Rx/single Tx UE, dual Rx/dual Tx UE.

For example, Dual SIM Dual Standby (DSDS) 1.0 (single Rx/single Tx UE) can only receive signals from a public land mobile network (public land mobile network, PLMN) at the same time, so a search may occur. The problem of paging collision. DSDS 2.0 (dual Rx/single Tx UE) can receive signals from two networks at the same time by switching some radio frequency channels, and there will be no paging conflict problem, but DSDS 2.0 does not support uplink transmission between the two systems. Handover, therefore, the radio resource control (Radio Resource Control, RRC) connection of the two networks cannot be maintained. DSDS 3.0 (dual Rx/single Tx UE) can not only receive signals from two networks at the same time, but also support uplink transmission to dynamically switch between the two systems, so there will be no paging conflict problem, and the two networks can be maintained RRC connection.

In addition, different USIMs in the MUSIM on the UE may belong to the same mobile network operator (Mobile Network Operator, MNO), or may belong to different MNOs.

At present, the support for MUSIM in the prior art is mainly based on a non-standardized solution implemented by the device, resulting in a variety of implementation solutions and UE behaviors.

Although the UE can perceive the user information corresponding to each USIM in MUSIM, it will not report the user information corresponding to one USIM (such as USIM2) to the PLMN (such as PLMN1) corresponding to another USIM (such as USIM1) for use in the PLMN (For example, PLMN1) controls the user corresponding to the USIM (for example, USIM1), but the PLMN controls the user information corresponding to each USIM individually, and there is no association between user information corresponding to different USIMs. For example, if USIM1 belongs to PLMN1 and USIM2 belongs to PLMN2, the UE will not report the user information corresponding to USIM2 to PLMN1 through the connection of USIM1; similarly, the UE will not report the user information corresponding to USIM1 to PLMN2 through the connection of USIM2; and, in PLMN1 The user information corresponding to USIM1 in PLMN2 will not be associated with or perceive the user information corresponding to USIM2 in PLMN2, and the user information corresponding to USIM2 in PLMN2 will not be associated with or perceive the user information corresponding to USIM1 in PLMN1. Among them, PLMN1 and PLMN2 may be the same PLMN or different PLMNs.

The problem with the above solution is that the user information corresponding to the USIM stored in different network elements on the network side only contains the user's own information, and does not contain user information corresponding to other USIMs, which may cause a network device and UE The reduction in communication quality may cause conflicts in some communication services, which affects the user’s communication service experience.

It should be noted that the user information corresponding to the USIM stored in different network elements on the network side only contains the user's own information, and does not contain user information corresponding to other USIMs, including the following two scenarios:

Scenario 1. Different USIMs belong to different PLMNs, and different PLMNs do not exchange user information corresponding to the USIM.

For example, in the above example, PLMN1 will not obtain user information corresponding to USIM2 for USIM1, and PLMN2 will not obtain user information corresponding to USIM1 for USIM2.

Scenario 2: Different USIMs belong to the same PLMN, and the network elements inside the PLMN do not exchange user information corresponding to the USIM.

As an example, USIM1 and USIM2 belong to the same PLMN, where AMF1 in the PLMN manages user information corresponding to USIM1, and AMF2 in the PLMN manages corresponding user information, so AMF1 will not obtain user information corresponding to USIM2 for USIM1. AMF2 will not obtain the user information corresponding to USIM1 for USIM1. Among them, AMF1 and AMF2 can be the same AMF or different AMFs.

Listed below are some examples where different network elements on the network side only contain the user's own information, which may reduce the communication quality between the network device and the UE or cause conflicts in some communication services.

Example 1. When PLMN1 paging the first user (corresponding to USIM1) and PLMN2 paging the second user (corresponding to USIM2) at the same time, there may be a paging moment conflict. When the UE monitors the paging of one of the users, the UE cannot succeed Receiving a paging from another user causes the paging to fail, thereby causing conflicts in communication services and affecting the user's communication service experience. In addition, the PLMN that failed to page may still try to page the user, which may also cause a waste of network resources.

Example 2. The first user of the UE is in the connected state. During the service communication between the first user of the UE and PLMN1, if PLMN2 initiates paging for the second user, if the UE continues to maintain the service of the first user and does not respond to the service Paging may cause the paging of the second user to fail. Optionally, further, the UE cannot even receive the paging of the second user, that is, the UE does not know that the PLMN2 has tried paging the second user. The conflict of the above communication services will also affect the user's communication service experience.

Example 3: When the first user of the UE is in the connected state, during the service communication between the first user of the UE and the PLMN1, if the PLMN2 initiates a paging for the second user, the UE responds to the paging of the second user to receive the second user. The service of the second user, while releasing the connection between the first user and PLMN1 and suspending the current service of the first user, but the first user’s service may have a higher priority than the second user’s service, so the UE needs to re-establish the first user and The PLMN1 is connected and continues the service of the first user, resulting in lower communication quality between the network equipment and the UE.

Example 4: When the first user of the UE is in the connected state, the second user of the UE may need to exchange some signaling or control plane information with the PLMN2 during the service communication process of the UE through the first user, in order to transmit the information of the second user For signaling or control plane information, the connection between the first user and the PLMN1 needs to be released, which causes the service of the first user to be interrupted, resulting in low communication quality between the network device and the UE.

In order to solve the problem that the different network elements on the network side only contain the user's own information and will not contain the user information corresponding to other USIMs, or the same network element on the network side contains the information of different users but does not establish the information of different users. The possible solution is: UE monitors the user information corresponding to different USIMs and reports to another USIM that may cause the communication quality between the network equipment and the UE to degrade or cause some communication services to conflict. The belonging PLMN or the AMF in the PLMN reports the user information corresponding to the USIM. For example, when USIM1 belongs to PLMN1 and USIM2 belongs to PLMN2, the UE monitors the user information corresponding to USIM1 and reports it to the AMF in PLMN2 or PLMN2 through the connection between USIM2 and PLMN2, and the UE monitors the user information corresponding to USIM2 and communicates with USIM1. The connection between PLMN1 is reported to PLMN1 or the AMF in PLMN1. For another example, when USIM1 and USIM2 belong to the same PLMN, and AMF2 in the PLMN manages the corresponding user information of USIM2, and AMF1 in the PLMN manages the user information corresponding to USIM1, the UE monitors the user information corresponding to USIM1 and passes USIM2 The connection with AMF2 is reported to AMF2, and the UE monitors the user information corresponding to USIM2 and reports it to AMF1 through the connection between USIM1 and AMF1. Among them, when USIM1 and USIM2 belong to the same PLMN, AMF1 and AMF2 can be the same AMF.

The above solution can enable different network elements on the network side to obtain all user information, thereby helping to avoid the problems mentioned in the above examples. However, this solution relies on the UE continuously reporting user information corresponding to the USIM to the network side through signaling, which generates a lot of signaling overhead. Therefore, this solution will still cause a waste of UE resources and a decrease in communication quality. For example, when the UE detects that the second user enters the connected state, even if the first user is in the idle state, the UE needs to specifically report the state change of the second user so that the first user enters the connected state.

To solve the above problem, based on the network architecture shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2, as shown in FIG. 3, the present application provides a communication method. The method can be executed by AMF or components used for AMF (such as chip, circuit, etc.) on the network side, and can be executed by UE or components used for UE (such as chip, circuit, etc.) on the terminal side. For ease of description, the following takes the AMF and the UE to execute the method as an example for description.

In this method, the UE has MUSIM capability. For example, there are USIM1 and USIM2 on the UE, USIM1 corresponds to user 1, and USIM2 corresponds to user 2. USIM1 and USIM2 are located in the same PLMN. That is, PLMN1 and PLMN2 described below are the same.

Among them, the user permanent identifier (Subscription Permanent Identifier, SUPI) is stored in the USIM. In this embodiment, USIM1 stores SUPI1, and USIM2 stores SUPI2.

The following example method is completed during the process of user 2 registering to PLMN2; or, during the process of user 2 registering to PLMN2 in other non-access stratum (NAS) signaling interaction processes, such as NAS Transmission messages (such as uplink NAS transmission (UL NAS tra nsport) messages; downlink NAS transmission (DL NAS transport) messages), or NAS messages specifically used to associate multiple UISMs (for example, MUSIM association establishment request/response (MUSIM association establishment) request/response)); or, completed in the NAS signaling interaction process after the registration process, such as NAS transmission messages, or NAS messages specifically used to associate multiple UISMs; or, executed in other processes, such as service request processes , Such as the service request process (service request; service accept).

It should be noted that the following AMF1, AMF2, user 1, user 2, USIM1, USIM2, SUPI1, SUCI1, GUTI1, SUPI2, SUCI2, SUCI2, and GUTI2 can also be referred to as the first AMF, the second AMF, the first user, and the first AMF, respectively. Two users, the first USIM, the second USIM, the first SUPI, the first SUCI, the first GUTI, the second SUPI, the second SUCI, and the second GUTI. In addition, the first SUPI, the first SUCI, and the first GUTI correspond to the first user, and the second SUPI, the second SUCI, and the second GUTI. Corresponds to the second user.

Figure 3 takes the process of user 2 registering to PLMN2 as an example to implement this solution. The method includes the following steps:

In step 301, the UE registers user 1 with PLMN1.

Among them, the UE registers the context of user 1 to AMF1.

In this registration process, the UE registers and stores the identity and/or address information of the service AMF (ie AMF1) of user 1 and the first identity (see the following description) in the UDM.

Step 302: The UE sends a first message to AMF2. Correspondingly, AMF2 can receive the first message.

The first message includes a first identifier corresponding to the first user and a second identifier corresponding to the second user, and the first message is used to instruct to establish an association between the first user and the second user.

As yet another implementation method, the first message carries one of the first SUPI, or the first SUCI, or the first GUTI, and carries one of the second SUPI, or the second SUCI, or the second GUTI. It can be understood that the first identifier is the first SUPI, or the first SUCI, or the first GUTI, and the second identifier is the second SUPI, or the second SUCI, or the second GUTI.

As another implementation method, the first message may carry a first permanent equipment identifier (PEI), and may also carry one of the second SUPI, the first SUCI, and the second GUTI. It can be understood that the first identifier is the first PEI, the second identifier is the second SUPI, or the second SUCI, or the second GUTI.

As yet another implementation method, the first message may carry the first PEI, the second PEI, and also one of the second SUPI, the first SUCI, and the second GUTI. It can be understood that the first identifier is the first PEI, the second identifier is the second SUPI, or the second SUCI, or the second GUTI, or the second PEI.

As another implementation method, the first PEI and the second PEI may be carried in the first message. It can be understood that the first identifier is the first PEI, and the second identifier is the second PEI.

Optionally, the first message may also include capability information, which is used to indicate that the UE supports MUSIM, that is, the UE supports multiple USIMs.

Optionally, before sending the foregoing first message, the UE may also determine that USIM1 and USIM2 correspond to the same PLMN. That is, when USIM1 and USIM2 correspond to the same PLMN, the UE sends the above-mentioned first message.

For example, in the registration process, the first message may be a registration request (Registration request) message.

In step 303, the AMF2 judges whether the context of the user 1 is stored according to the above-mentioned first identifier.

In case 1, the AMF2 includes (ie stores) the context of the user 1 corresponding to the above-mentioned first identifier, indicating that the AMF2 and the above-mentioned AMF1 are the same AMF, and the following steps 304 to 305 are executed.

In the second scenario, the AMF2 does not include (that is, does not store) the context of the user 1 corresponding to the above-mentioned first identifier, indicating that the AMF2 and the above-mentioned AMF1 are not the same AMF, and the following steps 306 to 309 are executed.

Step 304: AMF2 establishes an association between user 1 and user 2.

The establishment of the association between user 1 and user 2, for example, includes: AMF2 stores the second identity of user 2 in the context of user 1, and stores the first identity of user 1 in the context of user 2, thereby establishing The relationship between user 1 and user 2 is described.

At this time, the context of user 1 and the context of user 2 are stored in AMF2, and the association relationship between user 1 and user 2 is established. Wherein, the context of the user 1 includes one or more of the following: the connection management status of the user 1, the service priority information of the user 1, the service information of the user 1, and the second identifier of the user 2. The context of the user 2 includes one or more of the following: the connection management status of the user 2, the service priority information of the user 2, the service information of the user 2, and the first identifier of the user 1.

Optionally, if the embodiment in FIG. 3 is completed in the registration process of user 2, there may be the following methods:

The first implementation manner: before step 304, there is no context information or subscription information of user 2 on AMF2, then AMF2 first sends a registration request to UDM. Correspondingly, UDM can receive the registration request. The registration request is used to request the registration of the second identifier, the AMF2 identifier and/or address information to the UDM. Then, UDM sends a registration response to AMF2. Correspondingly, AMF2 can receive the registration response. Further, the AMF2 obtains the subscription information of the second user from the UDM, and then generates the context information of the user 2 based on the subscription information. Then, in step 304, AMF2 establishes an association between user 1 and user 2.

The second implementation manner: before step 304, the context information of user 2 exists on AMF2, then in step 304 AMF2 establishes an association between user 1 and user 2, and after step 304, AMF2 can also send a registration request to UDM. Correspondingly, UDM can receive the registration request. The registration request is used to request the registration of the second identifier, the AMF2 identifier and/or address information to the UDM. Then, UDM sends a registration response to AMF2. Correspondingly, AMF2 can receive the registration response. In addition, optionally, the methods described in the foregoing two implementation manners may be executed after step 303 or before step 303.

Step 305: AMF2 sends a second message to the UE. Correspondingly, the UE can receive the second message.

Optionally, the second message includes configuration information of the second user. For example, the configuration information includes a second timer of the second user, the duration of the second timer is greater than the duration of the first timer of the first user, and the terminal device is at the second timing After the device expires, send the periodic registration request of the second user. For another example, the configuration information includes first indication information, the first indication information is used to indicate that the timer of the second user is turned off, and the terminal device determines not to send the periodic registration request of the second user . For another example, the configuration information includes a third timer of the second user and second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate that the third timer is invalid, and the terminal device starts the third timer. Timer, after the third timer expires, it is determined not to send the periodic registration request of the second user; or, the terminal device determines not to start the third timer (equivalent to determining not to send the Periodic registration request of the second user).

Optionally, if the embodiment in FIG. 3 is completed in the registration process of user 2, the second message may be a registration acceptance message.

Step 306: AMF2 obtains the identity and/or address information of AMF1 corresponding to the first identity.

Optionally, before acquiring the identity and/or address information of AMF1 corresponding to the first identity, AMF2 also determines that AMF2 determines that the first USIM and the second USIM correspond to the same PLMN. That is, when the AMF2 determines that the first USIM and the second USIM correspond to the same PLMN, the AMF2 executes step 306.

Optionally, after acquiring the identity and/or address information of AMF1 corresponding to the first identity, AMF2 also determines that AMF1 can meet all service requirements of user 2 (such as slicing services) before sending the first message to AMF1. That is, when AMF2 determines that AMF1 can meet all service requirements of user 2 (such as slicing services, etc.), AMF2 executes the following step 307, otherwise, it does not execute step 307.

The implementation method for AMF2 to obtain the identity and/or address information of AMF1 corresponding to the first identity is given below. It should be noted that the method for AMF2 to obtain the identity and/or address information of AMF1 corresponding to the first identity is not limited to these methods. Other methods can also be included.

Method 1. The first identifier is the first SUCI of user 1, AMF2 determines the AUSF and UDM corresponding to user 1 according to the first SUCI, AMF2 sends the first SUCI to AUSF, AUSF sends the first SUCI to UDM, UDM according to the first SUCI Determine the first SUPI and return it to AUSF. AUSF returns the first SUPI to AMF2, and then AMF2 sends the first SUPI to UDM. AUSF obtains the identity and/or address information of AMF1 according to the first SUPI and returns it to AMF2.

Method 2. The first identifier is the first SUCI of user 1, AMF2 determines the AUSF corresponding to user 1 according to the first SUCI, AMF2 sends the first SUCI to AUSF, AUSF sends the first SUCI to UDM, UDM determines the first SUCI according to the first SUCI One SUPI, and obtain the identification and/or address information of AMF1 according to the first SUPI, and return it to AUSF, and then AUSF returns the identification and/or address information of AMF1 to AMF2.

Method 3. The first identifier is the first SUCI of user 1, AMF2 determines the UDM corresponding to user 1 according to the first SUCI, AMF2 sends the first SUCI to UDM, UDM determines the first SUPI according to the first SUCI, and according to the first SUPI Obtain the identification and/or address information of AMF1 and return it to AMF2.

If the embodiment in FIG. 2 is implemented in the registration process of user 2, an implementation of method 3 is: AMF2 determines the UDM corresponding to user 1 according to the first SUCI, and AMF2 sends a registration request to UDM. The request includes the first SUCI, and the registration request is used to request to register the user 2 to the UDM, the UDM determines the first SUPI according to the first SUCI, and obtains the identity and/or address information of AMF1 according to the first SUPI , Then UDM sends a registration response to AMF2, which carries the identification and/or address information of AMF1.

Method 4. The first ID is the first SUPI of user 1, AMF2 determines the UDM corresponding to user 1 according to the first SUPI, AMF2 sends the first SUPI to UDM, and UDM obtains the identity and/or address information of AMF1 according to the first SUPI, And return to AMF2.

If the embodiment in FIG. 2 is implemented in the registration process of user 2, an implementation of method 4 is: AMF2 determines the UDM corresponding to user 1 according to the first SUPI, and AMF2 sends a registration request to UDM. The request includes the first SUPI, and the registration request is used to request to register the user 2 to the UDM. The UDMP obtains the identification and/or address information of AMF1 according to the first SUPI, and then the UDM sends a registration response to AMF2, where Carry the identification and/or address information of AMF1.

Method 5. The first identifier is the first GUTI of user 1, and AMF2 determines the identifier and/or address information of AMF1 according to the first GUTI. That is, the first GUTI carries the identification and/or address information of AMF1.

Optionally, if the embodiment in FIG. 3 is completed in the registration process of user 2, after step 306, AMF2 may also send to UDM the second identifier corresponding to user 2, the identifier of AMF2, and/ Or address information to register the request. For example, AMF2 sends a de-registration request to UDM for requesting the identification and/or address information of AMF2 and the second identification to be de-registered. This is because user 2 will re-initiate the registration process through AMF1, and re-register the identity and/or address information of AMF1, and the second identity to UDM. Optionally, UDM can also send a de-registration response to AMF2. Correspondingly, AMF2 can receive the deregistration response. It should be noted that the de-registration process is optional. When UDM sends AMF1's identification and/or address information to AUSF or AMF2, if UDM determines that AMF1 and AMF2 are not the same AMF, UDM will take the initiative to combine the AMF2's identification with AMF2. /Or the address information and the second identifier are deregistered, thereby saving signaling overhead, that is, there is no need to send deregistration requests and deregistration responses.

Step 307: AMF2 sends the first message to AMF1. Correspondingly, AMF1 can receive the first message.

Step 308: AMF1 establishes an association between the first user and the second user.

AMF1 establishes an association between user 1 and user 2, and the specific association method is similar to the method in step 304, and will not be repeated.

Optionally, the context of user 2 in AMF1 may be sent by AMF2 to AMF1, or may also be generated by AMF1 according to the first message.

Step 309: AMF1 sends a third message to the UE. Correspondingly, the UE can receive the third message.

Optionally, the role of the third message is the same as the content and role of the foregoing second message, and will not be repeated here.

Based on the above solution, the same AMF is used to serve different users, and different users are associated on the AMF, so that information between different users can be exchanged on the network side and the synchronization of user information can be maintained. In this way, it will help to improve the communication quality between the network equipment and the UE, avoid conflicts in communication services, and thus improve the user's communication service experience. Further, since the information of different users is located in the same AMF, it helps to avoid the overhead of interactive signaling between different AMFs in the same operator.

To solve the above problem, based on the network architecture shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2, as shown in FIG. 4, the present application provides another communication method. The method can be executed by AMF or components used for AMF (such as chip, circuit, etc.) on the network side, and can be executed by UE or components used for UE (such as chip, circuit, etc.) on the terminal side. For ease of description, the following takes the AMF and the UE to execute the method as an example for description.

In this method, the UE has MUSIM capability, and there are USIM1 and USIM2 on the UE, USIM1 corresponds to user 1, and USIM2 corresponds to user 2. USIM1 and USIM2 belong to the same PLMN. That is, PLMN1 and PLMN2 described below are the same.

Among them, SUPI is stored in the USIM. In this embodiment, USIM1 stores SUPI1, and USIM2 stores SUPI2.

The following example method is completed in the process of user 2 registering to PLMN2; but it does not exclude other non-access stratum (non-access stratum, NAS) signaling interaction processes in the process of user 2 registering to PLMN2, for example NAS transmission messages (such as uplink NAS transmission (UL NAS transport) messages; downlink NAS transmission (DL NAS transport) messages), or NAS messages specifically used to associate multiple UISMs (for example, MUSIM association establishment request/response); nor It is excluded from completing the NAS signaling interaction process after the registration process, such as NAS transmission messages, or NAS messages specifically used to associate multiple UISMs; it also does not exclude execution in other processes, such as service request processes, such as service request processes (Service request; service accept).

The method includes the following steps:

In step 401, the UE registers user 1 with PLMN1.

Among them, the UE registers the context of user 1 to AMF1.

In this registration process, the UE will register and store the identity and/or address information of the AMF serviced by user 1 and the first identity of user 1 (see the following description) in the UDM.

Step 402: The UE sends the first message and the AMF identification and/or address information to the RAN. Correspondingly, the RAN can receive the first message, as well as the identification and/or address information of the AMF.

That is, the UE sends the first message and the AMF identifier, or sends the first message and the address information of the AMF. The AMF is the AMF that provides services for user 1, or sends the first message, the AMF identifier, and the address information of the AMF.

Optionally, the terminal device obtains the first globally unique temporary identity GUTI of the first user, and obtains the identity and/or address information of the mobility management network element corresponding to the first user according to the first GUTI.

Optionally, the AMF identification and/or address information is carried in the first GUTI of the user 1.

The first message includes a first identifier corresponding to user 1 and a second identifier corresponding to user 2, and the first message is used to instruct to establish an association between user 1 and second user 2.

Optionally, the first identifier is the first SUPI, or the first SUCI, or the first GUTI, and the second identifier is the second SUPI, or the second SUCI, or the second GUTI.

In step 403, the RAN selects AMF.

The AMF selected by the RAN is the AMF corresponding to the AMF identification and/or address information carried in step 402, that is, the AMF that provides services for the user 1. That is, the AMF selected by the RAN for user 2 and the AMF that provides services for user 1 are the same AMF.

Step 404: The RAN sends the first message to the AMF according to the AMF identifier and/or address information. Correspondingly, the AMF can receive the first message.

In step 405, the AMF establishes an association between user 1 and user 2.

The establishment of the association between user 1 and user 2, for example, includes: AMF stores the identity of user 2 in the context of user 1, and stores the identity of user 1 in the context of user 2, thereby establishing user 1 and The relationship between user 2.

The context of the user 1 also includes one or more of the following: the connection management status of the user 1, the service priority information of the user 1, and the service information of the user 1. The context of the user 2 also includes one or more of the following: the connection management status of the user 2, the service priority information of the user 2, and the service information of the user 2.

Optionally, before the AMF establishes the association between user 1 and user 2, it also determines that the AMF can meet all service requirements of user 2 (such as slicing services, etc.). That is, when the AMF can satisfy all the service requirements of user 2 (such as slicing service, etc.), step 405 is executed. Otherwise, step 405 is not executed. For example, the AMF can redirect user 1 and user 2 to the same other AMF, and the AMF can meet all the service requirements of user 1 and user 2 (such as slicing services, etc.).

Optionally, if the embodiment in FIG. 4 is completed in the registration process of user 2, there may be the following methods:

The first implementation manner: before step 405, if the context information or subscription information of user 2 does not exist on the AMF, the AMF first sends a registration request to the UDM. Correspondingly, UDM can receive the registration request. The registration request is used to request the registration of the second identifier, the AMF identifier and/or address information to the UDM. Then, UDM sends a registration response to AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF can receive the registration response. Further, the AMF obtains user 2's subscription information from UDM, and then generates user 2's context information based on the subscription information. Then, in step 405, the AMF establishes an association between user 1 and user 2.

The second implementation manner: before step 405, the context information of user 2 exists on the AMF, then in step 405, the AMF establishes the association between user 1 and user 2, and after step 405, the AMF can also send a registration request to UDM. Correspondingly, UDM can receive the registration request. The registration request is used to request the registration of the second identifier, the AMF2 identifier and/or address information to the UDM. Then, UDM sends a registration response to AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF can receive the registration response.

Step 406: The AMF sends a second message to the UE. Correspondingly, the UE can receive the second message.

The implementation method and function of the second message are the same as those of the second message in the embodiment of FIG.

It should be noted that through the above embodiment in Figure 3 or Figure 4, it is possible to select the same AMF for different users. The AMF stores the contexts of different users, and there are associations between the contexts, which will help improve network equipment. The quality of communication with the UE. For example, for the embodiment in FIG. 3, in scenario 1, AMF2 establishes an association between user 1 and user 2, and in scenario 2, AMF1 establishes an association between user 1 and user 2. For another example, for the embodiment in FIG. 4, the association between the user 1 and the user 2 is established by the AMF that provides services for the user 1 and the user 2 at the same time.

After establishing the association between user 1 and user 2, AMF can perform control on user 1 and/or user 2 according to the context of user 1 and the context of user 2. The following describes the four examples mentioned above.

It should be noted that the following AMF may be the AMF2 in the first case in FIG. 3, or the AMF1 in the second case, or the AMF in FIG. 4. Moreover, the following is an example of controlling the first user, and a similar control method is also available for the second user.

Regarding the situation of Example 1 above, for example, if the UE has MUSIM capability and both the first user and the second user are in an idle state, when the paging fails, the AMF determines that the paging failure may be caused by a paging conflict. Due to the failure of paging, according to the prior art, the paging range will be expanded or the number of paging will be increased to increase the probability of successful paging. However, since the failure of the paging is caused by the paging conflict, it is meaningless to expand the paging range or increase the number of paging. Not only will it not increase the probability of successful paging, but it will also increase the UE overhead. And reduce the communication quality between network equipment and UE. Therefore, in order to reduce the overhead of the UE and improve the communication quality between the network device and the UE, in the embodiment of the present application, the AMF may page the first user according to a preset paging policy. That is, for the above example 1, the control method is: when the information of the first user includes that the first user is in an idle state, and the information of the second user includes that the second user is in an idle state, if the first user fails to page, The AMF pages the first user according to the paging policy.

As an implementation method, the above-mentioned paging strategy includes at least one of the following: the number of paging attempts is less than the number of paging attempts of a single USIM, and the expanded paging range is smaller than the expanded paging range of a single USIM. This method reduces the signaling overhead by reducing the number of paging. Among them, the paging of a single USIM refers to that there is only one USIM on the UE, and the network device also determines that the UE has only one USIM, so that the network device configures a paging policy corresponding to the single USIM for the UE. Here is a unified description and will not be repeated here.

As another implementation method, the number of paging attempts is more than the number of paging attempts of a single USIM, and the time interval between the next paging attempt and the current paging attempt is increased. This method can increase the probability of successful paging by increasing the number of paging.

Regarding the situation of Example 2 above, according to the prior art, the UE may continue to maintain the service of the first user without responding to the paging of the second user or does not know that the second user has tried paging. The embodiments of this application are based on the premise that user information can be exchanged between AMFs. If the second user fails to page but the first user is in the connected state, the AMF can notify the UE through the NAS connection of the first user that the second user has downlink business. Therefore, the paging of the second user can be realized by the first user. That is, for the above example 2, the control method is: in the case where the information of the first user includes that the first user is in a connected state and the information of the second user includes that the second user is in an idle state, if the second user fails to page, The AMF informs the UE through the communication connection of the first user that the second user has downlink services. Further, in a situation, the AMF may also page the second user according to a paging policy, and the paging policy includes at least one of the following: terminating the paging attempt, and the number of paging attempts is less than that of a single USIM. The number of paging attempts and the expanded paging range are smaller than the expanded paging range of a single USIM. Since the first user is already in the connected state, the possibility of successful paging for the second user is low. This method can reduce the signaling overhead by reducing the number of paging.

Regarding the situation of Example 3 above, in this embodiment of the application, when the AMF determines that the priority of the service to be initiated on the first user is lower than the priority of the ongoing service on the second user, it decides not to initiate This service, that is, not paging the first user, helps avoid unnecessary paging, thereby saving the signaling overhead of the UE and improving the communication quality between the network equipment and the UE. Therefore, the network side can decide whether to trigger paging. That is, for the above example 3, the control method is as follows: the information of the first user includes the information of the first user in the idle state, the information of the service to be initiated of the first user, the priority of the service to be initiated, and the information of the second user. In the case where the information includes the second user in the connected state, the information of the ongoing service of the second user, and the priority of the ongoing service, if the priority of the service to be initiated by the first user is lower than that of the second user Priority of the ongoing service, the AMF determines not to initiate paging for the service to be initiated by the first user.

Aiming at the situation of Example 4 above, in this embodiment of the application, for the signaling or control plane information that the second user needs to interact with the PLMN, in order not to interrupt the service of the first user, the AMF can pass the signaling or control plane information through the first user. A user's communication connection is sent to the UE. Therefore, the optimization of signaling transmission can be realized. That is, for the above example 4, the control method is: when the information of the first user includes that the first user is in a connected state and the information of the second user includes that the second user is in an idle state, the first AMF passes through the first user’s The communication connection sends the signaling or control plane information of the second user to the UE. Or, when the information of the first user includes that the first user is in an idle state and the information of the second user includes that the second user is in a connected state, the AMF sends the first user to the UE through the communication connection of the second user. Signaling or control plane information.

The foregoing mainly introduces the solution provided by this application from the perspective of interaction between various network elements. It can be understood that, in order to realize the above-mentioned functions, each network element described above includes hardware structures and/or software modules corresponding to each function. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that in combination with the units and algorithm steps of the examples described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the present invention can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a certain function is executed by hardware or computer software-driven hardware depends on the specific application and design constraint conditions of the technical solution. Professionals and technicians can use different methods for each specific application to implement the described functions, but such implementation should not be considered as going beyond the scope of the present invention.

It can be understood that, in each of the foregoing method embodiments, corresponding to the steps or operations implemented by the terminal device, it can also be implemented by components (such as chips or circuits) that can be configured in the terminal device, and the steps or operations implemented by the access network device , Can also be implemented by components (such as chips or circuits) that can be configured in access network equipment, steps or operations implemented by mobility management network elements, and can also be implemented by components (such as chips or circuits) that can be configured in mobility management network elements. Circuit) to achieve.

The embodiments of the present application also provide a device for implementing any of the above methods. For example, a device is provided that includes units (or means) for implementing each step performed by the terminal device in any of the above methods. For another example, another device is also provided, including units (or means) for implementing each step performed by the access network device in any of the above methods. For another example, another device is also provided, including a unit (or means) for implementing each step performed by the mobility management network element in any of the above methods.

For example, refer to FIG. 5, which is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of this application. The device is used to implement the steps performed by the corresponding terminal device in the foregoing method embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, the device 500 includes a sending unit 510 and a receiving unit 520. Optionally, it further includes a determining unit 530 and a configuration unit 540.

The sending unit 510 is configured to send a first message. The first message includes a first identifier corresponding to the first user and a second identifier corresponding to the second user. The first message is used to instruct to establish a connection between the first user and the second user. Association, the first user corresponds to the first USIM, the second user corresponds to the second USIM, the first USIM and the second USIM are both located in the terminal device; the receiving unit 520 is used to receive the second message, the second message is used to indicate the successful establishment of the second USIM The association between a user and a second user.

In a possible implementation method, the determining unit 530 is configured to obtain the first GUTI of the first user; according to the first GUTI, obtain the identity and/or address information of the mobility management network element corresponding to the first user; and the sending unit 510. Used to send the identification and/or address information of the mobility management network element corresponding to the first user.

In a possible implementation method, the determining unit 530 is configured to determine that the first USIM and the second USIM correspond to the same PLMN before the sending unit sends the first message.

In a possible implementation method, the second message contains configuration information of the second user; wherein, the configuration information contains a second timer of the second user, and the duration of the second timer is greater than that of the first timer of the first user. Duration, the sending unit 510 is configured to send a periodic registration request of the second user after the second timer expires.

In a possible implementation method, the second message contains configuration information of the second user; wherein the configuration information contains first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate that the timer of the second user is turned off. The configuration unit 540, Used to determine not to send the periodic registration request of the second user.

In a possible implementation method, the second message includes configuration information of the second user; wherein, the configuration information includes a third timer of the second user and second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate the third timer Invalid, the configuration unit 540 is configured to start the third timer, and determine not to send the periodic registration request of the second user after the third timer expires; or determine not to start the third timer.

It can be understood that each of the above-mentioned units may also be referred to as a module or a circuit, etc., and the above-mentioned various units may be provided independently, or may be fully or partially integrated.

In a possible implementation manner, the foregoing sending unit 510 and receiving unit 520 may also be implemented by a transceiving unit, or the sending unit 510 and the receiving unit 520 may also be collectively referred to as a transceiving unit. The determination unit 530 and the configuration unit 540 described above may also be implemented by a processing unit, or the determination unit 530 and the configuration unit 540 may also be collectively referred to as a processing unit.

The foregoing sending unit 510 and receiving unit 520 or the transceiving unit may also be referred to as a communication interface, and the foregoing processing unit may also be referred to as a processor.

Optionally, the aforementioned communication device 500 may further include a storage unit for storing data or instructions (also called codes or programs), and each of the aforementioned units may interact or couple with the storage unit to implement corresponding methods or Features. For example, the processing unit may read data or instructions in the storage unit, so that the communication device implements the method in the foregoing embodiment.

For example, referring to FIG. 6, a schematic diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of this application. The device is used to implement the steps performed by the corresponding access network equipment in the foregoing method embodiments. As shown in FIG. 6, the device 600 includes a sending unit 610 and a receiving unit 620.

The receiving unit 620 is configured to receive a first message from the terminal device and the identity and/or address information of the mobility management network element, the first message includes a first identity corresponding to the first user and a second identity corresponding to the second user , The first message is used to indicate the establishment of an association between the first user and the second user. The first user corresponds to the first USIM, and the second user corresponds to the second USIM. Both the first USIM and the second USIM are located in the terminal device. The management network element is a mobility management network element that provides services for the first user; the sending unit 610 is configured to send a first message to the mobility management network element according to the identification and/or address information of the mobility management network element.

In a possible implementation manner, establishing an association between the first user and the second user includes: storing the second identifier in the context of the first user, and storing the first identifier in the context of the second user.

In a possible implementation manner, the first identifier is the first SUPI, or the first SUCI, or the first GUTI, and the second identifier is the second SUPI, or the second SUCI, or the second GUTI.

In a possible implementation manner, the foregoing sending unit 610 and receiving unit 620 may also be implemented by a transceiving unit, or the sending unit 610 and the receiving unit 620 may also be collectively referred to as a transceiving unit. The foregoing sending unit 610 and receiving unit 620 or transceiver unit may also be referred to as a communication interface.

Optionally, the aforementioned communication device 600 may further include a storage unit for storing data or instructions (also referred to as codes or programs), and each of the aforementioned units may interact or couple with the storage unit to implement corresponding methods or Features. For example, the processing unit may read data or instructions in the storage unit, so that the communication device implements the method in the foregoing embodiment.

For example, referring to FIG. 7, a schematic diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of this application. The device is used to implement the steps performed by the corresponding mobility management network element in the foregoing method embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, the device 700 includes a sending unit 710 and a receiving unit 720. Optionally, an association unit 730, a control unit 740, and a determination unit 750 are further included.

In the first embodiment:

The receiving unit 720 is configured to receive a first message from the terminal device. The first message includes a first identifier corresponding to the first user and a second identifier corresponding to the second user. The first message is used to instruct to establish the first user and the second user. As for the association between users, the first user corresponds to the first USIM, the second user corresponds to the second USIM, and both the first USIM and the second USIM are located in the terminal device. The second mobility management network element includes the context of the first user corresponding to the first identifier, and the association unit 730 is configured to establish an association between the first user and the second user.

In a possible implementation method, the associating unit 730 is specifically configured to store the second identifier in the context of the first user, and store the first identifier in the context of the second user.

In a possible implementation method, the context of the first user further includes one or more of the following: the connection management status of the first user, the business priority information of the first user, the business information of the first user; the second user The context of also includes one or more of the following: the connection management status of the second user, the service priority information of the second user, and the service information of the second user.

In a possible implementation method, the sending unit 710 is configured to send a second message to the terminal device, the second message containing configuration information of the second user; wherein the configuration information contains the second timer of the second user, and the second The duration of the timer is greater than the duration of the first timer of the first user, or the configuration information includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate that the timer of the second user is turned off, or the configuration information includes the second user The third timer and the second indication information, the second indication information is used to indicate that the third timer is invalid.

In a possible implementation method, the first USIM and the second USIM correspond to the same PLMN.

In a possible implementation method, the control unit 740 is configured to perform control on the first user according to the context of the first user and the context of the second user.

In a possible implementation method, the context of the first user includes that the first user is in an idle state, and the context of the second user includes that the second user is in an idle state; the control unit 740 is specifically configured to: if the first user fails to page, Paging the first user according to the paging strategy; the paging strategy includes at least one of the following: the number of paging attempts is less than the number of paging attempts of a single USIM, and the expanded paging range is smaller than the expanded paging range of a single USIM; or , The paging strategy includes at least one of the following: the number of paging attempts is more than the number of paging attempts of a single USIM, and the time interval between the next paging attempt and the current paging attempt is increased.

In a possible implementation method, the context of the first user includes that the first user is in an idle state, and the context of the second user includes that the second user is in a connected state; the control unit 740 is specifically configured to respond to the first user according to the paging policy. For paging, the paging strategy includes at least one of the following: terminating paging attempts, the number of paging attempts is less than the number of paging attempts of a single USIM, and the expanded paging range is smaller than the expanded paging range of a single USIM.

In a possible implementation method, the context of the first user includes that the first user is in an idle state, and the context of the second user includes that the second user is in a connected state; the control unit 740 is specifically configured to: if the first user fails to page, Through the communication connection of the second user, the terminal device is notified that there is a downlink service for the first user.

In a possible implementation method, the context of the first user includes that the first user is in a connected state, and the context of the second user includes that the second user is in an idle state; the control unit 740 is specifically configured to: if the second user fails to page, Through the communication connection of the first user, the terminal device is notified that there is a downlink service for the second user.

In a possible implementation method, the context of the first user includes the priority of the first user in the idle state and the service to be initiated by the first user, and the context of the second user includes the second user in the connected state, and the second user The priority of the ongoing service; the control unit 740 is specifically configured to determine that if the priority of the service to be initiated by the first user is lower than the priority of the ongoing service of the second user, it is determined not to be the waiting service of the first user The initiated service initiates paging.

In a possible implementation method, the context of the first user includes that the first user is in a connected state, and the context of the second user includes that the second user is in an idle state; the control unit 740 is specifically configured to communicate with the first user, Send the signaling or control plane information of the second user to the terminal device.

In a possible implementation method, the context of the first user includes that the first user is in an idle state, and the context of the second user includes that the second user is in a connected state; the control unit 740 is specifically configured to communicate with the second user, Send the first user's signaling or control plane information to the terminal device.

In the second embodiment:

The receiving unit 720 is configured to receive a first message from the terminal device. The first message includes a first identifier corresponding to the first user and a second identifier corresponding to the second user. The first message is used to instruct to establish the first user and the second user. The association between users, the first user corresponds to the first USIM, and the second user corresponds to the second USIM. Both the first USIM and the second USIM are located in the terminal equipment; the second mobility management network element does not include the first corresponding to the first identifier. The context of the user, the determining unit 750, is used to obtain the identity and/or address information of the first mobility management network element corresponding to the first identity, and the first mobility management network element is a mobility management network that provides services for the first user Yuan; sending unit 710, configured to send a first message to the first mobility management network element.

In a possible implementation method, the sending unit 710 is configured to send to the data management network element the information used to register the second identifier corresponding to the second user, the identifier and/or address information of the second mobility management network element request.

In a possible implementation method, establishing an association between the first user and the second user includes: storing the second identifier in the context of the first user, and storing the first identifier in the context of the second user.

In a possible implementation method, the determining unit 750 is further configured to determine that the first USIM and the second USIM correspond to the same PLMN before acquiring the identity and/or address information of the first mobility management network element corresponding to the first identity .

In a possible implementation method, the first identifier is the first SUCI of the first user; the determining unit 750 is configured to obtain the identifier and/or address information of the first mobility management network element corresponding to the first identifier, which specifically includes : Determine the authentication network element and the data management network element corresponding to the first user according to the first SUCI; send the first SUCI to the authentication network element through the sending unit 710; receive the first user’s information from the authentication network element through the receiving unit 720 The first SUPI, the first SUPI is from the data management network element; the first SUPI is sent to the data management network element through the sending unit 710; the identification and/or address of the first mobility management network element is received from the authentication network element through the receiving unit 720 information.

In a possible implementation method, the first identifier is the first SUCI of the first user; the determining unit 750 is configured to obtain the identifier and/or address information of the first mobility management network element corresponding to the first identifier, which specifically includes : Determine the first network element corresponding to the first user according to the first SUCI; send the first SUCI to the first network element through the sending unit 710; receive the identity of the first mobility management network element from the first network element through the receiving unit 720 And/or address information; wherein, the first network element is an authentication network element, and the identification and/or address information of the first mobility management network element comes from the data management network element corresponding to the first user; or, the first network element is Data management network element.

In a possible implementation method, the first network element is a data management network element; the sending unit 710 is configured to send a registration request to the first network element, the registration request includes the first SUCI, and the registration request is used to request that the second user Register to the data management network element; the receiving unit 720 is configured to receive a registration response from the first network element, where the registration response includes the identification and/or address information of the first mobility management network element.

In a possible implementation method, the first identifier is the first SUPI of the first user; the determining unit 750 is configured to obtain the identifier and/or address information of the first mobility management network element corresponding to the first identifier, which specifically includes : Determine the data management network element corresponding to the first user according to the first SUPI; send the first SUPI to the data management network element through the sending unit 710; receive the identity of the first mobility management network element from the data management network element through the receiving unit 720 And/or address information.

In a possible implementation method, the sending unit 710 is configured to send a registration request to the data management network element, the registration request includes the first SUCI, and the registration request is used to request the registration of the second user to the data management network element; the receiving unit 720 , For receiving a registration response from the data management network element, the registration response including the identification and/or address information of the first mobility management network element.

In a possible implementation method, the first identifier is the first GUTI of the first user; the determining unit 750 is configured to obtain the identifier and/or address information of the first mobility management network element corresponding to the first identifier, which specifically includes : Determine the identity and/or address information of the first mobility management network element according to the first GUTI.

In a possible implementation method, before the second mobility management network element sends the first message to the first mobility management network element, it is determined that the first mobility management network element meets the slicing service requirements of the second user.

In the third embodiment:

The receiving unit 720 is configured to receive a first message. The first message includes a first identifier corresponding to the first user and a second identifier corresponding to the second user. The first user corresponds to the first USIM, and the second user corresponds to the second USIM. A USIM and a second USIM are both located in the terminal device, the first mobility management network element is a mobility management network element that provides services for the first user; the associating unit 730 is configured to establish the first user and the second user according to the first message. Association between users.

In a possible implementation method, the receiving unit 720 is further configured to receive the context of the second user from the second mobility management network element; or the determining unit 750 is configured to generate the context of the second user according to the first message.

In a possible implementation method, the sending unit 710 is configured to send a third message to the terminal device, the third message containing configuration information of the second user; wherein the configuration information contains the second timer of the second user, and the second The duration of the timer is greater than the duration of the first timer of the first user, or the configuration information includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate that the timer of the second user is turned off, or the configuration information includes the second user The third timer and the second indication information, the second indication information is used to indicate that the third timer is invalid.

In a possible implementation method, the receiving unit 720 is configured to receive the first message from the second mobility management network element or the access network device.

In a possible implementation method, the determining unit 750 is further configured to determine that the first USIM and the second USIM correspond to the same PLMN before establishing an association between the first user and the second user according to the first message.

In a possible implementation manner, the foregoing sending unit 710 and receiving unit 720 may also be implemented by a transceiver unit, or the sending unit 710 and the receiving unit 720 may also be collectively referred to as a transceiver unit. The above-mentioned association unit 730, control unit 740, and determination unit 750 may also be implemented by processing units, or the association unit 730, control unit 740, and determination unit 750 may also be collectively referred to as processing units.

The sending unit 710 and the receiving unit 720 or the transceiver unit may also be referred to as a communication interface, and the processing unit may also be referred to as a processor.

Optionally, the aforementioned communication device 700 may further include a storage unit for storing data or instructions (also referred to as codes or programs), and each of the aforementioned units may interact or couple with the storage unit to implement the corresponding method or Features. For example, the processing unit may read data or instructions in the storage unit, so that the communication device implements the method in the foregoing embodiment.

It should be understood that the division of units in the above device is only a division of logical functions, and may be fully or partially integrated into one physical entity in actual implementation, or may be physically separated. In addition, the units in the device can be all implemented in the form of software called by processing elements; they can also be all implemented in the form of hardware; part of the units can also be implemented in the form of software called by the processing elements, and some of the units can be implemented in the form of hardware. For example, each unit can be a separate processing element, or it can be integrated in a certain chip of the device for implementation. In addition, it can also be stored in the memory in the form of a program, which is called and executed by a certain processing element of the device. Features. In addition, all or part of these units can be integrated together or implemented independently. The processing element described here can also become a processor, which can be an integrated circuit with signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, each step of the above method or each of the above units may be implemented by an integrated logic circuit of hardware in a processor element or implemented in a form of being called by software through a processing element.

In an example, the unit in any of the above devices may be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above methods, for example: one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or, one or Multiple microprocessors (digital singnal processors, DSPs), or, one or more field programmable gate arrays (Field Programmable Gate Arrays, FPGAs), or a combination of at least two of these integrated circuits. For another example, when the unit in the device can be implemented in the form of a processing element scheduler, the processing element can be a general-purpose processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU) or other processors that can call programs. For another example, these units can be integrated together and implemented in the form of a system-on-a-chip (SOC).

The above receiving unit (e.g., receiving unit) is an interface circuit of the device for receiving signals from other devices. For example, when the device is implemented as a chip, the receiving unit is an interface circuit used by the chip to receive signals from other chips or devices. The above unit for sending (for example, the sending unit) is an interface circuit of the device for sending signals to other devices. For example, when the device is implemented as a chip, the sending unit is an interface circuit used by the chip to send signals to other chips or devices.

An embodiment of the present application also provides a communication device, which is used to implement the units (or means) of each step performed by the terminal equipment in any of the above methods, or to implement the access network equipment in any of the above methods. The unit (or means) for executing each step, or the unit (or means) for implementing each step performed by the mobility management network element in any of the above methods. The communication device may include a processor and a memory. The memory is used to store computer-executable instructions. When the device is running, the processor executes the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory, so that the device executes the above-mentioned various aspects. method. The device may be an access network device or a chip used for the access network device, or a terminal device or a chip used for a terminal device, or a mobility management network element or a chip used for a mobility management network element.

Refer to FIG. 8, which is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal device provided by an embodiment of the application. The terminal device is used to implement the operation of the terminal device in the above embodiment. As shown in FIG. 8, the terminal equipment includes: an antenna 810, a radio frequency device 820, and a signal processing part 830. The antenna 810 is connected to the radio frequency device 820. In the downlink direction, the radio frequency device 820 receives the information sent by the access network device through the antenna 810, and sends the information sent by the access network device to the signal processing part 830 for processing. In the upstream direction, the signal processing part 830 processes the information of the terminal equipment and sends it to the radio frequency device 820. The radio frequency device 820 processes the information of the terminal equipment and sends it to the access network equipment via the antenna 810.

The signal processing part 830 is used to realize the processing of each communication protocol layer of the data. The signal processing part 830 may be a subsystem of the terminal device, and the terminal device may also include other subsystems, such as a central processing subsystem, which is used to process the terminal device operating system and application layer; another example is the peripheral sub-system. The system is used to realize the connection with other equipment. The signal processing part 830 may be a separately provided chip. Optionally, the above devices may be located in the signal processing part 830.

The signal processing part 830 may include one or more processing elements 8031, for example, a main control CPU and other integrated circuits, and an interface circuit 8033. In addition, the signal processing part 830 may also include a storage element 8032. The storage element 8032 is used to store data and programs. The program used to execute the method performed by the terminal device in the above method may or may not be stored in the storage element 8032, for example, stored in a memory other than the signal processing part 830 During use, the signal processing part 830 loads the program into the cache for use. The interface circuit 8033 is used to communicate with the device. The above devices may be located in the signal processing part 830, which may be implemented by a chip. The chip includes at least one processing element and an interface circuit. The processing element is used to execute each step of any method executed by the above terminal device. The circuit is used to communicate with other devices. In one implementation, the unit that implements each step in the above method can be implemented in the form of a processing element scheduler. For example, the device includes a processing element and a storage element, and the processing element calls a program stored by the storage element to execute the above method embodiments. The method executed by the terminal device. The storage element may be a storage element whose processing element is on the same chip, that is, an on-chip storage element.

In another implementation, the program used to execute the method executed by the terminal device in the above method may be a storage element on a different chip from the processing element, that is, an off-chip storage element. At this time, the processing element calls or loads a program from the off-chip storage element on the on-chip storage element to call and execute the method executed by the terminal device in the above method embodiment.

In yet another implementation, the unit of the terminal device that implements each step in the above method may be configured as one or more processing elements, and these processing elements are provided on the signal processing part 830, where the processing elements may be integrated circuits, for example : One or more ASICs, or, one or more DSPs, or, one or more FPGAs, or a combination of these types of integrated circuits. These integrated circuits can be integrated together to form a chip.

The units that implement each step in the above method can be integrated together and implemented in the form of an SOC, and the SOC chip is used to implement the above method. The chip can integrate at least one processing element and a storage element, and the processing element can call the stored program of the storage element to implement the method executed by the above terminal device; or, the chip can integrate at least one integrated circuit to implement the above terminal The method executed by the device; or, it can be combined with the above implementations. The functions of some units are implemented in the form of calling programs by processing elements, and the functions of some units are implemented in the form of integrated circuits.

It can be seen that the above apparatus may include at least one processing element and an interface circuit, wherein at least one processing element is used to execute any method executed by the terminal device provided in the above method embodiment. The processing element can execute part or all of the steps executed by the terminal device in the first way: calling the program stored in the storage element; or in the second way: combining instructions through the integrated logic circuit of the hardware in the processor element Part or all of the steps executed by the terminal device are executed in a manner; of course, part or all of the steps executed by the terminal device may also be executed in combination with the first manner and the second manner.

The processing element here is the same as the above description, and it may be a general-purpose processor, such as a CPU, or one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above method, such as: one or more ASICs, or, one or more micro-processing DSP, or, one or more FPGAs, etc., or a combination of at least two of these integrated circuit forms. The storage element can be a memory or a collective term for multiple storage elements.

Refer to FIG. 9, which is a schematic structural diagram of an access network device provided by an embodiment of this application. The access network device is used to implement the operation of the access network device in the above embodiment. As shown in FIG. 9, the access network equipment includes: an antenna 910, a radio frequency device 920, and a baseband device 930. The antenna 910 is connected to the radio frequency device 920. In the uplink direction, the radio frequency device 920 receives the information sent by the terminal device through the antenna 910, and sends the information sent by the terminal device to the baseband device 930 for processing. In the downlink direction, the baseband device 930 processes the information of the terminal device and sends it to the radio frequency device 920, and the radio frequency device 920 processes the information of the terminal device and sends it to the terminal device via the antenna 910.

The baseband device 930 may include one or more processing elements 931, for example, a main control CPU and other integrated circuits, and an interface 933. In addition, the baseband device 930 may also include a storage element 932, the storage element 932 is used to store programs and data; the interface 933 is used to exchange information with the radio frequency device 920, the interface is, for example, a common public radio interface (CPRI) . The above device for access network equipment may be located in the baseband device 930. For example, the above device for access network equipment may be a chip on the baseband device 930. The chip includes at least one processing element and an interface circuit. In performing each step of any method performed by the above access network equipment, the interface circuit is used to communicate with other devices. In one implementation, the unit for the access network device to implement each step in the above method can be implemented in the form of a processing element scheduler. For example, the device for the access network device includes a processing element and a storage element, and the processing element calls the storage element to store To execute the method executed by the access network device in the above method embodiment. The storage element may be a storage element with the processing element on the same chip, that is, an on-chip storage element, or a storage element on a different chip from the processing element, that is, an off-chip storage element.

In another implementation, the unit for the access network device to implement each step in the above method may be configured as one or more processing elements, and these processing elements are provided on the baseband device. The processing elements here may be integrated circuits, such as : One or more ASICs, or, one or more DSPs, or, one or more FPGAs, or a combination of these types of integrated circuits. These integrated circuits can be integrated together to form a chip.

The units of the access network equipment that implement the steps in the above methods can be integrated together and implemented in the form of SOC. For example, the baseband device includes the SOC chip to implement the above methods. At least one processing element and storage element can be integrated in the chip, and the processing element can call the stored program of the storage element to implement the method executed by the above access network device; or, at least one integrated circuit can be integrated in the chip to implement The method executed by the above access network device; or, it can be combined with the above implementation. The functions of some units are implemented in the form of calling programs by processing elements, and the functions of some units are implemented in the form of integrated circuits.

It can be seen that the above apparatus for access network equipment may include at least one processing element and an interface circuit, wherein at least one processing element is used to execute any method executed by the access network equipment provided in the above method embodiments. The processing element can execute part or all of the steps executed by the access network device in the first way: calling the program stored in the storage element; or in the second way: through the integrated logic circuit of the hardware in the processor element Part or all of the steps executed by the access network device are executed in a manner of combining instructions; of course, part or all of the steps executed by the above access network device can also be executed in combination with the first method and the second manner.

Referring to FIG. 10, this is a schematic structural diagram of a mobility management network element provided by an embodiment of this application, which is used to implement the first mobility management network element, or the second mobility management network element, or mobility management in the above embodiments. Operation of network elements. As shown in FIG. 10, the mobility management network element includes: a processor 1010 and an interface 1030. Optionally, a memory 1020 is further included. The processor 1010, the memory 1020, and the interface 1030 may be connected by signals.

The method executed by the mobility management network element in the above embodiment may be implemented by the processor 1010 calling a program stored in the memory 1020. That is, the device for the mobility management network element includes a memory and a processor, and the memory is used to store a program, and the program is called by the processor to execute the method executed by the mobility management network element in the above method embodiment. The processor here may be an integrated circuit with signal processing capability, such as a CPU. The apparatus for the mobility management network element may be implemented by one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above method. For example: one or more ASICs, or, one or more microprocessors DSP, or, one or more FPGAs, etc., or a combination of at least two of these integrated circuit forms. Or, the above implementations can be combined.

In the above-mentioned embodiments, it may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, it can be implemented in the form of a computer program product in whole or in part. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on the computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from a website, computer, server, or data center. Transmission to another website site, computer, server or data center via wired (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or a data center integrated with one or more available media. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (for example, a floppy disk, a hard disk, and a magnetic tape), an optical medium (for example, a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (for example, a solid state disk (SSD)).

The various illustrative logic units and circuits described in the embodiments of this application can be implemented by general-purpose processors, digital signal processors, application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, Discrete gates or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination of the above are designed to implement or operate the described functions. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor. Alternatively, the general-purpose processor may also be any traditional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor can also be implemented by a combination of computing devices, such as a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors combined with a digital signal processor core, or any other similar configuration. achieve.

In one or more exemplary designs, the aforementioned functions described in this application can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination of the three. If implemented in software, these functions can be stored on a computer-readable medium, or transmitted on the computer-readable medium in the form of one or more instructions or codes. Computer-readable media include computer storage media and communication media that facilitate the transfer of computer programs from one place to another. The storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special computer. For example, such computer-readable media may include, but are not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other device that can be used to carry or store instructions or data structures and Other program code media that can be read by general-purpose or special computers, or general-purpose or special processors. In addition, any connection can be appropriately defined as a computer-readable medium, for example, if the software is from a website, server, or other remote source through a coaxial cable, fiber optic computer, twisted pair, or digital subscriber line (DSL) Or transmitted by wireless means such as infrared, wireless and microwave are also included in the definition of computer-readable media. The disks and discs include compressed disks, laser disks, optical disks, digital versatile disks (English: Digital Versatile Disc, abbreviated as DVD), floppy disks, and Blu-ray disks. Disks usually copy data with magnetism. Discs usually use lasers to copy data optically. The combination of the above can also be contained in a computer readable medium.

Those skilled in the art should be aware that in one or more of the above examples, the functions described in this application can be implemented by hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, these functions can be stored in a computer-readable medium or transmitted as one or more instructions or codes on the computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium includes a computer storage medium and a communication medium, where the communication medium includes any medium that facilitates the transfer of a computer program from one place to another. The storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer.

Although the application has been described in combination with specific features and embodiments, it is obvious that various modifications and combinations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the application. Correspondingly, the specification and drawings are merely exemplary descriptions of the application as defined by the appended claims, and are deemed to cover any and all modifications, changes, combinations or equivalents within the scope of the application. Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the application without departing from the scope of the application. In this way, if these modifications and variations of this application fall within the scope of the claims of this application and their equivalent technologies, this application also intends to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

A communication method, characterized in that it comprises:

The second mobility management network element receives a first message from the terminal device, the first message includes a first identifier corresponding to the first user and a second identifier corresponding to the second user, and the first message is used to instruct the establishment of the The association between the first user and the second user, the first user corresponds to a first universal user identification module USIM, the second user corresponds to a second USIM, the first USIM and the second USIM Are located in the terminal device;

The second mobility management network element does not include the context of the first user corresponding to the first identifier, and the second mobility management network element obtains the first mobility management network element corresponding to the first identifier The identification and/or address information of the first mobility management network element is a mobility management network element that provides services for the first user;

The second mobility management network element sends the first message to the first mobility management network element.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the first identifier is the first user permanent identifier SUPI, or the first user hidden identifier SUCI, or the first globally unique temporary identifier GUTI, and the second identifier is the first user's permanent identifier SUPI, or the first user hidden identifier SUCI, or the first globally unique temporary identifier GUTI. Two SUPI, or second SUCI, or second GUTI.
The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein before the second mobility management network element obtains the identity and/or address information of the first mobility management network element corresponding to the first identity, the method further comprises :

The second mobility management network element determines that the first USIM and the second USIM correspond to the same public land mobile network PLMN.
The method according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein the first identifier is the first SUCI of the first user;

The acquiring, by the second mobility management network element, the identification and/or address information of the first mobility management network element corresponding to the first identification includes:

Determining, by the second mobility management network element, the first network element corresponding to the first user according to the first SUCI;

Sending, by the second mobility management network element, the first SUCI to the first network element;

Receiving, by the second mobility management network element, the identification and/or address information of the first mobility management network element from the first network element;

Wherein, the first network element is an authentication network element, and the identification and/or address information of the first mobility management network element comes from a data management network element corresponding to the first user; or, the first network Meta is a data management network element.
The method according to claim 4, wherein the first network element is a data management network element;

The sending, by the second mobility management network element, the first SUCI to the first network element includes:

The second mobility management network element sends a registration request to the first network element, the registration request includes the first SUCI, and the registration request is used to request that the second user be registered to the data management Network element

The receiving, by the second mobility management network element, the identification and/or address information of the first mobility management network element from the first network element includes:

The second mobility management network element receives a registration response from the first network element, where the registration response includes the identification and/or address information of the first mobility management network element.
The method according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein the first identifier is the first SUPI of the first user;

The acquiring, by the second mobility management network element, the identification and/or address information of the first mobility management network element corresponding to the first identification includes:

Determining, by the second mobility management network element, a data management network element corresponding to the first user according to the first SUPI;

Sending, by the second mobility management network element, the first SUPI to the data management network element;

The second mobility management network element receives the identification and/or address information of the first mobility management network element from the data management network element.
The method according to claim 6, wherein the sending of the first SUPI to the data management network element by the second mobility management network element comprises:

The second mobility management network element sends a registration request to the data management network element, the registration request includes the first SUPI, and the registration request is used to request that the second user be registered to the data management Network element

The receiving, by the second mobility management network element, the identification and/or address information of the first mobility management network element from the data management network element includes:

The second mobility management network element receives a registration response from the data management network element, where the registration response includes the identification and/or address information of the first mobility management network element.
The method according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein the first identifier is the first GUTI of the first user;

The acquiring, by the second mobility management network element, the identification and/or address information of the first mobility management network element corresponding to the first identification includes:

The second mobility management network element determines the identity and/or address information of the first mobility management network element according to the first GUTI.
8. The method according to any one of claims 1-8, wherein before the second mobility management network element sends the first message to the first mobility management network element, the method further comprises:

The second mobility management network element determines that the first mobility management network element meets the slicing service requirement of the second user.
A communication method, characterized in that it comprises:

The first mobility management network element receives a first message, the first message including a first identifier corresponding to the first user and a second identifier corresponding to the second user, the first user corresponding to the first universal user identification module USIM, The second user corresponds to a second USIM, the first USIM and the second USIM are both located in the terminal device, and the first mobility management network element is a mobility management network element that provides services for the first user ；

The first mobility management network element establishes an association between the first user and the second user according to the first message.
The method according to claim 10, wherein the establishment of the association between the first user and the second user by the first mobility management network element comprises:

The first mobility management network element stores the second identifier in the context of the first user, and stores the first identifier in the context of the second user.
The method according to claim 11, wherein the context of the first user further comprises one or more of the following: the connection management status of the first user, the service priority information of the first user, Business information of the first user;

The context of the second user further includes one or more of the following: the connection management status of the second user, the service priority information of the second user, and the service information of the second user.
The method according to claim 11 or 12, further comprising:

The first mobility management network element receives the context of the second user from a second mobility management network element; or,

The first mobility management network element generates the context of the second user according to the first message.
The method according to any one of claims 10-13, wherein the first mobility management network element receiving the first message comprises:

The first mobility management network element receives the first message from a second mobility management network element or an access network device.
The method according to any one of claims 10-14, further comprising:

The first mobility management network element performs control of the first user according to the context of the first user and the context of the second user.
The method according to claim 15, wherein the context of the first user includes that the first user is in an idle state, and the context of the second user includes that the second user is in an idle state;

The first mobility management network element performing control on the first user according to the context of the first user and the context of the second user includes:

If the paging of the first user fails, the first mobility management network element pages the first user according to a paging policy;

The paging strategy includes at least one of the following: the number of paging attempts is less than the number of paging attempts of a single USIM, and the expanded paging range is less than the expanded paging range of a single USIM; or,

The paging strategy includes at least one of the following: the number of paging attempts is more than the number of paging attempts of a single USIM, and the time interval between the next paging attempt and the current paging attempt is increased.
The method according to claim 15, wherein the context of the first user includes the priority of the service to be initiated by the first user when the first user is in an idle state, and the priority of the second user The context includes the priority of the second user in a connected state and the ongoing service of the second user;

The first mobility management network element performing control on the first user according to the context of the first user and the context of the second user includes:

If the priority of the service to be initiated by the first user is lower than the priority of the ongoing service of the second user, the first mobility management network element determines that it is not the service to be initiated by the first user Initiate a page.
A communication method, characterized in that it comprises:

The terminal device sends a first message, the first message includes a first identifier corresponding to the first user and a second identifier corresponding to the second user, and the first message is used to instruct to establish the first user and the second user. The association between users, the first user corresponds to a first universal user identification module USIM, the second user corresponds to a second USIM, and both the first USIM and the second USIM are located in the terminal device;

The terminal device receives a second message, where the second message is used to indicate that the association between the first user and the second user is successfully established.
The method of claim 18, further comprising:

Acquiring, by the terminal device, the first globally unique temporary identifier GUTI of the first user;

Acquiring, by the terminal device, the identity and/or address information of the mobility management network element corresponding to the first user according to the first GUTI;

The terminal device sends the identification and/or address information of the mobility management network element corresponding to the first user.
The method according to claim 18 or 19, wherein before the terminal device sends the first message, the method further comprises:

The terminal device determines that the first USIM and the second USIM correspond to the same public land mobile network PLMN.
A communication method, characterized in that it comprises:

The access network device receives a first message from the terminal device and the identification and/or address information of the mobility management network element, the first message containing a first identification corresponding to the first user and a second identification corresponding to the second user , The first message is used to instruct to establish an association between the first user and the second user, the first user corresponds to a first universal user identification module USIM, and the second user corresponds to a second USIM, The first USIM and the second USIM are both located in the terminal device, and the mobility management network element is a mobility management network element that provides services for the first user;

The access network device sends the first message to the mobility management network element according to the identification and/or address information of the mobility management network element.
The method according to claim 21, wherein the first identifier is the first user permanent identifier SUPI, or the first user hidden identifier SUCI, or the first globally unique temporary identifier GUTI, and the second identifier is the first user permanent identifier SUPI, or the first user hidden identifier SUCI, or the first globally unique temporary identifier GUTI. Two SUPI, or second SUCI, or second GUTI.
A communication device, comprising: a processor and an interface circuit, the interface circuit is used to communicate with other devices, and the processor is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-9.
A communication device, characterized by comprising: a processor and an interface circuit, the interface circuit is used to communicate with other devices, and the processor is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 10-17.
A communication device, comprising: a processor and an interface circuit, the interface circuit is used to communicate with other devices, and the processor is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 18-20.
A communication device, comprising: a processor and an interface circuit, the interface circuit is used to communicate with other devices, and the processor is used to execute the method according to claim 21 or 22.
A computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores a program, and when the program is called by a processor, the method according to any one of claims 1-22 is executed.
A computer program, characterized in that when the program is called by a processor, the method according to any one of claims 1-22 is executed.
A communication device applied to a second mobility management network element, characterized in that it includes:

The receiving unit is configured to receive a first message from a terminal device, the first message including a first identifier corresponding to the first user and a second identifier corresponding to the second user, and the first message is used to instruct to establish the first message The association between a user and the second user, the first user corresponds to a first universal user identification module USIM, the second user corresponds to a second USIM, and both the first USIM and the second USIM are located The terminal equipment;

A determining unit, configured to: the second mobility management network element does not include the context of the first user corresponding to the first identifier, and obtain the identifier of the first mobility management network element corresponding to the first identifier and/ Or address information, the first mobility management network element is a mobility management network element that provides services for the first user;

The sending unit is configured to send the first message to the first mobility management network element.
A communication device applied to a mobility management network element, characterized in that it includes:

The receiving unit is configured to receive a first message, the first message including a first identifier corresponding to the first user and a second identifier corresponding to the second user, the first user corresponding to the first universal user identification module USIM, the The second user corresponds to a second USIM, the first USIM and the second USIM are both located in the terminal device, and the mobility management network element is a mobility management network element that provides services for the first user;

The association unit is configured to establish an association between the first user and the second user according to the first message.