CN113840241A

CN113840241A - Communication method and communication device

Info

Publication number: CN113840241A
Application number: CN202010591037.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 辛婷玉; 李秉肇; 陈磊; 于海凤
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-06-24
Filing date: 2020-06-24
Publication date: 2021-12-24
Also published as: WO2021259129A1

Abstract

The application provides a communication method and a communication device, which are applied to the technical field of wireless communication. The method comprises the following steps: and sending a random access message, wherein the random access message comprises first indication information, and the first indication information is used for requesting first configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service and receiving the first configuration. When needing to receive MBS service, the terminal equipment actively sends random access information to the network equipment, and requests the configuration of MBS service to the network equipment through the random access information, thereby completing the receiving of MBS service. The time delay for the terminal equipment to acquire the MBS service is short and the acquisition is flexible.

Description

Communication method and communication device

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a communication method and a communication apparatus.

Background

MBS broadcast multicast service (MBS) is a service for multiple terminal devices, such as live broadcast, timed broadcast program, etc. The multicast transmission technology refers to a technology that MBS service is simultaneously transmitted to a plurality of terminal devices through a base station. The terminal equipment receives the MBS service, usually receives the multicast configuration information at first, and receives the data of the MBS service according to the configuration information. The transmission of the configuration information of the MBS service generally has a longer fixed period, which causes data transmission delay and reduces communication quality.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a communication method and a communication device, which are used for reducing the time delay of MBS service transmission and improving the transmission flexibility of MBS service.

A first aspect provides a method of communication, comprising: and sending a random access message, wherein the random access message comprises first indication information, and the first indication information is used for requesting first configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service and receiving the first configuration.

The cell where the terminal equipment is located plays one or more MBS services. When the terminal device is interested in the one or more MBS services, the terminal device sends a random access message to the network device by initiating a random access mode. The random access message includes first indication information for requesting a network device for a first configuration. The first configuration is the configuration of one or more MBS services which are interested by the terminal equipment. The first configuration may include: configuration information about a multicast broadcast control channel carried in the system information, or control and configuration information about a broadcast multicast data channel carried on the multicast broadcast control channel. The first configuration may also be an on demand SI acquired according to the system information, or a configuration of an MBS service carried on the on demand SI.

In the embodiment of the application, when the terminal equipment needs to receive the MBS service, the terminal equipment actively sends the random access message to the network equipment, and requests the configuration of the MBS service to the network equipment through the random access message, thereby completing the receiving of the MBS service. Therefore, the time delay for the terminal equipment to acquire the configuration of the MBS service is short, and the acquisition is flexible.

The sending of the random access message by the terminal device may be achieved by a random access procedure. The random access procedure may be a four-step random access procedure, and the random access message including the first indication information sent by the terminal device is a random access message3 in the four-step random access procedure. Alternatively, the random access procedure may be a two-step random access procedure, and the random access message including the first indication information sent by the terminal device is a random access message a in the two-step random access procedure. The terminal equipment actively requests the first configuration of the MBS service to the network equipment through the random access message3 or the random access message A without passively waiting for receiving, thereby reducing the transmission delay of the MBS service.

In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the terminal device receives the broadcast multicast MBS service in the first cell, and at the same time, the terminal device moves from the first cell to the second cell due to the mobility requirement. And the terminal equipment receives the second configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service in the first cell and reselects the cell to enter the second cell. The second cell is playing or will play the MBS service that the terminal device is receiving in the first cell, and the terminal device sends the random access message in the second cell after entering the second cell.

In the communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device receives the configuration of the MBS in the first cell, and after the terminal device moves to the second cell, the terminal device actively initiates a random access process to request the configuration of the MBS service to the second cell. Therefore, the sending time of the configuration of the MBS service of the second cell does not need to be waited, the time delay of receiving the MBS service caused by the movement of the terminal equipment is reduced, and the continuity of the MBS service is enhanced.

The second configuration that the terminal device receives the broadcast multicast MBS service in the first cell may further include second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the broadcast multicast MBS service is configured with service continuity, and the terminal device sends the random access message according to the service continuity. The configuration of the service continuity refers to a requirement that the MBS service guarantees the service continuity, and the requirement of the service continuity specifically may refer to a requirement on service interruption time or whether interruption is allowed, a requirement on service continuity enhancement, and the like.

By setting the second indication information in the second configuration, the terminal device can receive the MBS service and its configuration information in a more flexible manner according to the indication of the second indication information after moving to the second cell. The terminal equipment only needs to request the configuration of the MBS service needing to ensure the service continuity from the network equipment in the second cell, and the terminal equipment does not need to request the configuration of other MBS services in the second cell.

The second indication information may be in a display indication manner or an implicit indication manner. For display indication, an IE or field may be newly added in the second configuration.

The second configuration of the MBS service received by the terminal device may include identification information of the broadcast multicast MBS service. The identification information of the broadcast multicast MBS service is used for identifying each MBS service. The terminal equipment receives one or more MBS services with identifiers in a first cell, and identifies each MBS service through the identifier information.

The second configuration may include service priority information, i.e., a priority corresponding to each broadcast multicast MBS service. The terminal device may determine whether to request the configuration information of the broadcast multicast MBS service to the network device according to the priority information, and the network device may also determine whether to send the configuration information of the broadcast multicast MBS service to the terminal device according to the priority information.

In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the terminal device resides in the second cell, first receives system information of the second cell, and determines whether to send the random access message according to the system information. The system information carries the modification period, the repetition period, the wireless frame bias and the like of the configuration of the MBS service. The terminal equipment can acquire the time for the second cell to send the configuration of the next MBS service according to the received system information, so that the terminal equipment determines whether to send a random access message to the second cell and requests the configuration of the MBS.

The process of the terminal device determining whether to send the random access message according to the system information may include: and the second cell sends a third configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service, determines the time for receiving the third configuration according to the system information, confirms that the time for receiving the third configuration is later than or equal to the time for receiving the first configuration, and sends a random access message. The configuration sent by the network device according to the inherent sending period of the MBS service in the second cell is called the third configuration of the MBS service. The content of the third configuration and the first configuration may be the same, or the content of the third configuration includes the content of the first configuration.

The terminal equipment can acquire the configuration of the MBS service in shorter time by comparing the time for receiving the first configuration with the time for receiving the third configuration, thereby improving the continuity of receiving the MBS service by the terminal equipment in the moving process between the cells and improving the communication quality.

The terminal equipment sending the random access message is in an RRC idle state or an RRC inactive state.

A second aspect provides a method of communication, comprising: and receiving a random access message, wherein the random access message comprises first indication information, and sending a first configuration in response to the first indication information, wherein the first configuration is the configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service.

The network equipment plays one or more MBS services to the cell where the terminal equipment is located, and the terminal equipment sends a random access message to the network equipment by initiating a random access mode. The random access message includes first indication information for requesting a network device for a first configuration. The first configuration is the configuration of one or more MBS services which are interested by the terminal equipment. The network equipment responds to the first indication information and sends first configuration to the terminal equipment, and the terminal equipment acquires the MBS service according to the first configuration.

According to the embodiment of the application, the network equipment sends the configuration of the MBS service to the terminal equipment based on the request sent by the terminal equipment, and does not need to send the configuration of the MBS service according to the preset sending period. Therefore, the network equipment has the characteristics of short time delay and flexible transmission when transmitting the MBS service.

The sending of the random access message by the terminal device may be achieved by a random access procedure. Also, the network device sending the first configuration may be implemented by a random access procedure. The random access process may be a four-step random access process, the random access message including the first indication information sent by the terminal device is a random access message3 in the four-step random access process, and the network device sends the first configuration through a random access message 4. Or, the random access procedure may be a two-step random access procedure, the random access message including the first indication information sent by the terminal device is a random access message a in the two-step random access procedure, and the network device sends the first configuration through a random access message B.

In a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the network device sends a third configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service to the terminal device, and the network device sends system information, where the system information includes a sending period and an offset of the third configuration. The third configuration refers to the configuration sent by the network device according to the inherent sending period of the MBS service. The network device sends the system information before sending the third configuration. The system information includes the transmission period and offset of the configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service being transmitted or about to be transmitted by the network device. And determining the time for the network equipment to send the third configuration according to the configured sending period and the offset of the MBS service. The third configuration is sent by the network equipment according to the protocol preset period, and the first configuration is sent by the network equipment according to the request of the terminal equipment. The configured sending period and the offset of the MBS service included in the system information sent by the network device may enable the terminal device to know the time for the network device to send the third configuration, thereby helping the terminal device to determine whether to send the first indication information to the network device.

A third aspect provides a method of communication, comprising: and the terminal equipment receives the second configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service, and acquires the data of the broadcast multicast MBS service according to the second configuration. The second configuration comprises second indication information, and the second indication information is used for indicating the service continuity of the broadcast multicast MBS service configuration. The indication of the second indication information for the service continuity is for each broadcast multicast MBS service, and the second indication information indicates that the broadcast multicast MBS service is configured with service continuity, which indicates that a service continuity guarantee mechanism needs to be adopted for the MBS service when the terminal device moves between cells and enters a new cell.

The second configuration may include: configuration information about a multicast broadcast control channel carried in the system information, and control and configuration information about a broadcast multicast data channel carried on the multicast broadcast control channel. The second configuration may also be an on demand SI acquired according to the system information, or a configuration of an MBS service carried on the on demand SI.

The second configuration further comprises a first criterion for triggering random access, and the terminal device determines whether the first criterion is met. And when the first criterion is met, the terminal equipment initiates random access to the network equipment and enters an RRC connection state.

In the embodiment of the application, whether the service continuity is configured for the broadcast multicast MBS service is indicated by using the second indication information. The terminal equipment receives the MBS service configured with the service continuity, and needs to adopt a service continuity guarantee mechanism. If the MBS service received by the terminal equipment is not configured with service continuity, a service continuity guarantee mechanism is not needed, thereby saving resources while guaranteeing the service continuity.

The second indication information may be in a display indication manner or an implicit indication manner. For display indication, an IE or field may be newly added in the second configuration. For the implicit indication, it may be indicated by mapping the MBS service to a Radio Bearer (RB), etc.

The first criterion may be: the terminal device measures the channel quality or the signal quality in the first cell, and when the measurement result reaches a threshold value, the terminal device initiates random access. Alternatively, the first criterion may be: and the signal quality or the channel quality reaches the threshold value for multiple times in the first time period, and the terminal equipment triggers random access. Alternatively, the first criterion may be: the terminal device triggers random access after a second time period after the measurement result of the signal quality or the channel quality reaches a threshold value.

In a possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the terminal device receives the second configuration in the first cell, completes random access in the first cell, is switched from the first cell to the second cell, and receives the first configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service in the second cell. The first configuration is the configuration of the MBS service of the second cell received by the terminal device, and the second configuration is the configuration of the MBS service of the first cell received by the terminal device. The first configuration and the second configuration are the configuration of the same MBS service. The first configuration and the second configuration may be the same or different.

The terminal equipment enters an RRC connection state in the first cell, and subsequent behaviors are scheduled by the network equipment. The network device makes the terminal device enter the second cell from the first cell through cell Handover (HO), and continues to receive the first configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service in the second cell, so that the continuity of receiving the broadcast multicast MBS service can be ensured.

After the terminal device acquires the first configuration in the second cell, it may determine whether the second criterion is satisfied. When the second criterion is met, the terminal device may return to the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state. The second criterion may be that the network device is configured for the terminal device. The second criterion may be included in a random access response message, RRC connection reconfiguration (RRC reconfiguration), or other message.

In a possible implementation manner of the third aspect, in a process of initiating the random access by the terminal device, first information may be sent to the network device, where the first information is used to indicate a reason for initiating the random access. After receiving the first information, the network device can learn that the reason why the terminal device initiates random access at the moment is to maintain the continuity of the broadcast multicast MBS service.

A fourth aspect provides a method of communication, comprising: and generating second configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service, and sending the second configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service, wherein the second configuration comprises second indication information which is used for indicating the continuity of the service configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service.

The indication of the second indication information for the service continuity is for each broadcast multicast MBS service, and the second indication information indicates that the broadcast multicast MBS service is configured with service continuity, which indicates that a service continuity guarantee mechanism needs to be adopted for the MBS service when the terminal device moves between cells and enters a new cell.

The second configuration further comprises a first criterion for triggering random access, the first criterion being used for triggering random access by the terminal device. The first criterion may be: the terminal device measures the channel quality or the signal quality in the first cell, and when the measurement result reaches a threshold value, the terminal device initiates random access. Alternatively, the first criterion may be: and the signal quality or the channel quality reaches the threshold value for multiple times in the first time period, and the terminal equipment triggers random access. Alternatively, the first criterion may be: the terminal device triggers random access after a second time period after the measurement result of the signal quality or the channel quality reaches a threshold value.

In a possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the first cell sends the second configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service. And after the terminal equipment completes the random access, the terminal equipment is switched from the first cell to the second cell. In the switching process, the first cell receives switching confirmation information, wherein the switching confirmation information comprises the information of the MBS service in the second cell. The information of the MBS service in the second cell may include: the MBS service supported by the second cell, the progress information of the MBS service and the configuration information of the MBS service. In the switching process, the first cell may determine, for the terminal device, the switching cell as the second cell according to the switching confirmation information, and may send the configuration information of the MBS service of the second cell to the terminal device, and instruct the terminal device to perform switching.

In a possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, in the process of random access, the network device receives first information, where the first information is used to indicate a reason for initiating the random access. The network device can learn that the reason why the terminal device initiates random access at the moment is to maintain the continuity of the broadcast multicast MBS service according to the received first information.

A fifth aspect provides a communication apparatus, which may be a terminal device. The method comprises the following steps: a sending module, configured to send a random access message, where the random access message includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to request a first configuration of a broadcast multicast MBS service; a receiving module for receiving the first configuration.

The cell where the terminal equipment is located plays one or more MBS services. When the terminal device is interested in the one or more MBS services, the terminal device sends a random access message to the network device by initiating a random access mode. The random access message includes first indication information, which is used to request a network device for a first configuration, where the first configuration is a configuration of one or more MBS services in which the terminal device is interested. The first configuration may include: configuration information about a multicast broadcast control channel carried in the system information, and control and configuration information about a broadcast multicast data channel carried on the multicast broadcast control channel. The first configuration may also be the configuration of the MBS service carried on the on demand SI according to the on demand SI acquired by the system information.

In the embodiment of the application, when the terminal equipment needs to receive the MBS service, the terminal equipment actively sends the random access message to the network equipment, and requests the configuration of the MBS service to the network equipment through the random access message, thereby completing the receiving of the MBS service. The method has the characteristics of short time delay and flexible MBS service acquisition.

The random access message sent by the terminal device may be implemented through a random access process, the random access process may be a four-step random access process, and the random access message including the first indication information sent by the terminal device is a random access message3 in the four-step random access process. Alternatively, the random access procedure may be a two-step random access procedure, and the random access message including the first indication information sent by the terminal device is a random access message a in the two-step random access procedure. The terminal equipment actively requests the first configuration of the MBS service to the network equipment through the random access message3 or the random access message A without passively waiting for receiving, thereby reducing the transmission delay of the MBS service.

In a possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, the terminal device receives the broadcast multicast MBS service of the first cell, and at the same time, the terminal device moves from the first cell to the second cell due to the mobility requirement. The receiving module of the terminal device is configured to receive a second configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service in the first cell, and the processing module is configured to select the second cell as a cell where the communication apparatus resides. The second cell plays or will play the MBS service which the terminal equipment is receiving in the first cell, and the terminal equipment sends the random access message in the second cell after entering the second cell.

In the communication apparatus provided in the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device receives the configuration of the MBS of the first cell, and after the terminal device moves to the second cell, the terminal device actively initiates a random access process to request the configuration of the MBS service to the second cell. Therefore, the sending time of the configuration of the multicast service MBS of the second cell does not need to be waited, the time delay of receiving the MBS service caused by the movement of the terminal equipment is reduced, and the continuity of the MBS service is enhanced.

The second configuration that the terminal device receives the broadcast multicast MBS service in the first cell may further include second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the broadcast multicast MBS service is configured with service continuity, and the terminal device sends the random access message according to the service continuity. The configuration of the service continuity means that the MBS service has a requirement of ensuring the service continuity, and the requirement of the service continuity may specifically mean a requirement on service interruption time or whether interruption is allowed, a requirement on service continuity enhancement, and the like, and the random access message is sent according to the service continuity.

By setting the second indication information in the second configuration, the terminal device can receive the MBS service and its configuration information in a more flexible manner according to the indication of the second indication information after moving to the second cell. The terminal equipment only needs to request the configuration of the MBS service needing to ensure the service continuity from the network equipment in the second cell, and the configuration of other MBS services in the second cell does not need to request.

The second configuration of the MBS service received by the terminal device may further include identification information of the broadcast multicast MBS service. The identification information of the broadcast multicast MBS service is used for identifying each MBS service, and the terminal equipment receives one or more MBS services with identifications in the first cell. And identifying each MBS service through the identification information.

In a possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, the terminal device resides in the second cell, first receives system information of the second cell, and determines whether to send the random access message according to the system information. The system information carries the modification period, the repetition period, the wireless frame bias and the like of the configuration of the MBS service. The terminal equipment can acquire the time for the second cell to send the configuration of the next MBS service according to the received system information, so that the terminal equipment determines whether to send a random access message to the second cell and requests the configuration of the MBS.

The process of determining whether to send the random access message according to the system information by the terminal device may be: and the second cell sends a third configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service, determines the time for receiving the third configuration according to the system information, confirms that the time for receiving the third configuration is later than or equal to the time for receiving the first configuration, and sends a random access message. The configuration sent by the network device according to the inherent sending period of the MBS service in the second cell is called the third configuration of the MBS service. The content of the third configuration and the first configuration may be the same, or the content of the third configuration includes the content of the first configuration.

The terminal device is in an RRC idle state or an RRC inactive state.

A sixth aspect provides a communication apparatus, which may be a network device, comprising: a receiving module, configured to receive a random access message, where the random access message includes first indication information; a sending module, configured to send a first configuration in response to the first indication information, where the first configuration is a configuration of a broadcast multicast MBS service.

The network equipment plays one or more MBS services to the cell where the terminal equipment is located, and the terminal equipment sends a random access message to the network equipment by initiating a random access mode. The random access message includes first indication information, which is used to request a network device for a first configuration, where the first configuration is a configuration of one or more MBS services in which the terminal device is interested. The network equipment responds to the first indication information and sends first configuration to the terminal equipment, and the terminal equipment acquires the MBS service according to the first configuration.

The sending of the random access message by the terminal device may be implemented by a random access procedure, and the sending of the first configuration by the network device may also be implemented by a random access procedure. The random access process may be a four-step random access process, the random access message including the first indication information sent by the terminal device is a random access message3 in the four-step random access process, and the network device sends the first configuration through a random access message 4. Or, the random access procedure may be a two-step random access procedure, where the random access message including the first indication information sent by the terminal device is a random access message a in the two-step random access procedure, and the first configuration is sent by a random access message B.

In a possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, the network device sends the third configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service to the terminal device, and the network device sends the system information, where the system information includes a sending period and an offset of the third configuration. The third configuration refers to the configuration sent by the network device according to the inherent sending period of the MBS service. Before the network device sends the third configuration, the network device sends system information, where the system information includes a sending period and offset of the configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service that the network device is sending or is about to send. And determining the time for the network equipment to send the third configuration according to the configured sending period and the offset of the MBS service. The third configuration is sent by the network equipment according to the protocol preset period, and the first configuration is sent by the network equipment according to the request of the terminal equipment. The configured sending period and the offset of the MBS service included in the system information sent by the network device may enable the terminal device to know the time for the network device to send the third configuration, thereby helping the terminal device to determine whether to send the first indication information to the network device.

A seventh aspect provides a communication apparatus, which may be a terminal device, comprising: and the receiving module is used for receiving the second configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service, and the receiving module acquires the data of the broadcast multicast MBS service according to the second configuration. The second configuration comprises second indication information, and the second indication information is used for indicating the service continuity of the broadcast multicast MBS service configuration. The indication of the second indication information for the service continuity is for each broadcast multicast MBS service, and the second indication information indicates that the broadcast multicast MBS service is configured with service continuity, which indicates that a service continuity guarantee mechanism needs to be adopted for the MBS service when the terminal device moves between cells and enters a new cell.

The second indication information may be in a display indication manner or an implicit indication manner. For display indication, an IE or field may be newly added in the second configuration. For the implicit indication, it may be indicated by mapping the MBS service to a specific Radio Bearer (RB), etc.

In a possible implementation manner of the seventh aspect, the terminal device receives the second configuration in the first cell, and after the terminal device completes the random access, the terminal device is switched from the first cell to the second cell and receives the first configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service in the second cell. The first configuration is the configuration of the MBS service of the second cell received by the terminal device, and the second configuration is the configuration of the MBS service of the first cell received by the terminal device. The first configuration and the second configuration are the configuration of the same MBS service. The first configuration and the second configuration may be the same or different.

After the terminal device enters the RRC connected state in the first cell, subsequent actions are scheduled by the network device. The network device makes the terminal device enter the second cell from the first cell through cell Handover (HO), and continues to receive the first configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service in the second cell, so that the continuity of receiving the broadcast multicast MBS service can be ensured.

The terminal device further includes a processing module, after the second cell acquires the first configuration, the processing module may determine whether a second criterion is satisfied, and when the second criterion is satisfied, the terminal device may return to an RRC idle state or an RRC inactive state. The second criterion may be that the network device is configured for the terminal device. The second criterion may be included in a random access response message, RRC connection reconfiguration (RRC reconfiguration), or other message.

The second configuration of the MBS service received by the terminal device may further include identification information of the broadcast multicast MBS service. The identification information of the broadcast multicast MBS service is used for identifying each MBS service, and the terminal equipment receives one or more MBS services with identifications in the first cell. And identifying each MBS service through the identification information. In a possible implementation manner of the seventh aspect, in a process of initiating the random access by the terminal device, the transceiver module may send first information to the network device, where the first information is used to indicate a reason for initiating the random access. The network device can learn that the reason why the terminal device initiates random access at the moment is to maintain the continuity of the broadcast multicast MBS service according to the received first information.

An eighth aspect provides a communication apparatus, which may be a network device, comprising: the processing module is used for generating second configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service, and the sending module is used for sending the second configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service, wherein the second configuration comprises second indication information which is used for indicating the continuity of the configuration service of the broadcast multicast MBS service.

A ninth aspect provides a communications apparatus that includes a transceiver for executing instructions to receive and transmit information and a processor for performing other steps. In particular, the communication device is configured to perform the method of any of the possible implementations of the first aspect or the third aspect.

A tenth aspect provides a communications apparatus comprising a transceiver for executing instructions to receive and transmit information and a processor for performing other steps. In particular, the communication device is configured to perform the method of any possible implementation of the second aspect or the fourth aspect.

An eleventh aspect provides a computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program for execution by a processor to implement the method in any of the possible implementations of the first or third aspect.

A twelfth aspect provides a computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program for execution by a processor to implement the method in any of the possible implementations of the second or fourth aspect

A thirteenth aspect provides a communication system comprising the communication apparatus of the fifth aspect and the communication apparatus of the sixth aspect, or comprising the communication apparatus of the seventh aspect and the communication apparatus of the eighth aspect.

A fourteenth aspect provides a terminal device comprising a memory for storing instructions and a processor for executing the instructions stored by the memory, and execution of the instructions stored in the memory causes the processor to perform the method of any possible implementation of the first or third aspect.

A fifteenth aspect provides a network device comprising a memory for storing instructions and a processor for executing the instructions stored by the memory, and execution of the instructions stored in the memory causes the processor to perform the method of any possible implementation of the second or fourth aspect.

A sixteenth aspect provides a computer program product comprising instructions for storing a computer program which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method of any of the possible implementations of the first or third aspect described above.

A seventeenth aspect provides a computer program product comprising instructions for storing a computer program which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method of any of the possible implementations of the second or fourth aspect described above.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system suitable for use in the communication method of the embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 2 is a flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a four-step random access procedure shown in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a two-step random access procedure shown in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a terminal device moving from a first cell to a second cell according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a transmission cycle of an SC-MCCH and an SC-MTCH in an SC-PTM transmission technique according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a flowchart of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 8 is a flowchart of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the embodiments of the present application will be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Hereinafter, some terms in the embodiments of the present application are explained to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

1. The terminal equipment comprises equipment for providing voice for users, equipment for providing data connectivity for users and equipment for providing voice and data connectivity for users. For example, may include a handheld device having wireless connection capability, or a processing device connected to a wireless modem. Or simply terminal. The terminal may communicate with a core network via a Radio Access Network (RAN), exchange voice or data with the RAN, or interact with the RAN. The terminal may include a User Equipment (UE), a wireless terminal, a mobile terminal, a device-to-device communication (D2D) terminal, a vehicle-to-all (V2X) terminal, a machine-to-machine/machine-type communication (M2M/MTC) terminal, an internet of things (IoT) terminal, a subscriber unit (subscriber unit), a subscriber station (subscriber state), a mobile station (mobile state), a remote station (remote state), an access point (access point, AP), a remote terminal (remote terminal), an access terminal (access terminal), a user terminal (user terminal), a user agent (user agent), or a user equipment (user device), etc. May include mobile telephones (or so-called "cellular" telephones), computers with mobile terminals, portable, pocket, hand-held, computer-included mobile devices, and the like. May include Personal Communication Service (PCS) phones, cordless phones, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phones, Wireless Local Loop (WLL) stations, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), and the like. But also limited devices, devices with lower power consumption, or devices with limited storage capacity, or devices with limited computing capacity, etc. Information sensing devices may include bar codes, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), sensors, Global Positioning Systems (GPS), laser scanners, and the like.

By way of example and not limitation, in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal may also be a wearable device. Wearable equipment can also be called wearable smart device or intelligent wearable equipment etc. is the general term of using wearable technique to carry out intelligent design, develop the equipment that can dress to daily wearing, like glasses, gloves, wrist-watch, dress and shoes etc.. A wearable device is a portable device that is worn directly on the body or integrated into the clothing or accessories of the user. The wearable device is not only a hardware device, but also realizes powerful functions through software support, data interaction and cloud interaction. The generalized wearable smart device includes full functionality, large size, and can implement full or partial functionality without relying on a smart phone, such as: smart watches or smart glasses and the like, and only focus on a certain type of application functions, and need to be used in cooperation with other devices such as smart phones, such as various smart bracelets, smart helmets, smart jewelry and the like for monitoring physical signs.

While the various terminals described above, if located on a vehicle, e.g. placed in or mounted in a vehicle, may be considered as vehicle mounted terminals, e.g. also referred to as on-board units (OBUs).

In the embodiment of the present application, the apparatus for implementing the function of the terminal may be the terminal, or may be a circuit capable of supporting the terminal to implement the function, for example, a circuit that can be applied to a system-on-chip, and the system-on-chip may be installed in the terminal. In the embodiment of the present application, the chip system may be composed of a chip, and may also include a chip and other discrete devices. In the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application, a device for implementing a function of a terminal is taken as an example, and the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application is described.

2. The network device may include a Radio Access Network (RAN) device, such as a base station (e.g., an access point). It may refer to a device in the access network that communicates with the terminal device through an air interface, or a network device in a vehicle-to-all (V2X) technology is a Road Side Unit (RSU). The base station may be configured to interconvert received air frames and IP packets as a router between the terminal and the rest of the access network, which may include an IP network. The RSU may be a fixed infrastructure entity supporting the V2X application, exchanging messages with other entities supporting the V2X application. The network device may also coordinate attribute management for the air interface. For example, the network device may include an evolved Node B (NodeB or eNB or e-NodeB) in a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system or a long term evolution-advanced (LTE-a) system, or may also include an Evolved Packet Core (EPC), a fifth generation communication technology (5G), a next generation Node B (gNB) in a new radio, NR, system (also referred to as NR system) or include a Centralized Unit (CU) and a Distributed Unit (DU) in a Cloud access network (Cloud radio access network, Cloud RAN) system, which is not limited in this embodiment.

The network device may also include a core network device including, for example, an access and mobility management function (AMF), etc.

3. Broadcast multicast service (MBS)

In the NR system, MBS is called a broadcast multicast service, and is a point-to-multipoint service for implementing a data service for simultaneously transmitting a certain type of content from a data service source to a plurality of users within a specific range. The method and the device can simultaneously provide services (such as multimedia services) for a large number of users with the same requirements by using less network resources, thereby reducing the occupation of the network resources.

Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS) is a Multimedia Broadcast Multicast function defined in 3GPP R6. The MBMS supports two modes of multimedia broadcast service and multicast service, can directly broadcast multimedia video information to all users, can also be sent to a group of signed users for watching, can help operators to develop various commercial applications such as multimedia advertisement, free and charged television channels, multimedia message group sending and the like, and can develop mobile phone television service with lower network deployment cost.

eMBMS is an enhanced broadcast multicast technology on a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, and is one of video bearer technologies in the mobile field. Operators can be made to significantly reduce the cost of providing high bandwidth content, such as video, audio, and the like, to multiple users at the same time on an LTE network as compared to previous generation MBMS video bearer technologies. Compared with the previous generation MBMS video bearer technology, the eMBMS technology can support a larger bandwidth, which means that more channels and video contents can be provided, and at the same time, the video picture is clearer and smoother, and the user experience is better.

Hereinafter, eMBMS in MBMS and LTE and MBS in NR are collectively referred to as MBS. MBS includes two transmission techniques: a multi-cell cooperative transmission technique and a single-cell transmission technique. The multi-Cell cooperative transmission technology includes a Multimedia Broadcast multicast Single Frequency Network (MBSFN) technology, and the Single-Cell transmission technology includes a Single-Cell Point-to-Multipoint (SC-PTM) transmission technology.

The receiving and transmitting of MBS services may involve any one of the following three forms:

the first form: MBS may have multicast logical channels: MBS Traffic Control Channel (MCCH) and MBS data Channel (MTCH). The terminal device receives System Information (SI) sent by the network device, where the SI includes information required by the terminal device to acquire multicast service control information, such as configuration information of an MCCH. After acquiring the configuration information, the terminal device monitors the MCCH according to the configuration information, and acquires control information for MBS services, such as MTCH configuration information. And the terminal equipment monitors the MTCH channel according to the configuration information of the MTCH so as to acquire the data of the MBS service.

The second form: the terminal equipment receives the SI sent by the network equipment, and the terminal equipment acquires on demand System Information (SI) according to the SI. The on demand SI carries configuration information of MBS service, and the terminal equipment obtains the data of MBS service according to the configuration information.

The third form: the terminal equipment acquires the configuration information of the MBS service broadcasted by the network equipment in the cell, and all the terminal equipment in the cell can receive the configuration information of the MBS service. And the terminal equipment acquires the data of the MBS service according to the received configuration information of the MBS service.

4、SC-PTM

SC-PTM is a broadcast multicast transmission technique that enhances the performance of the air interface, improves radio efficiency and reduces latency. SC-PTM supports single-cell broadcast-multicast services and can dynamically adjust the broadcast-multicast area from cell to cell according to the distribution of users. In the LTE system, SC-PTM transmits a broadcast multicast service using an LTE Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), and schedules a Group of users using a common Radio Network Temporary Identifier (G-RNTI). SC-PTM is particularly useful in the following cases: due to user interest, the broadcast-multicast service is expected to be delivered to some cells, and the relevant cells may change dynamically due to user movement. SC-PTM can efficiently utilize radio and flexibly deploy many applications such as critical communications, automotive traffic information, and video-on-demand services.

The SC-PTM technology can also adopt the above three forms to realize the receiving of the MBS service, and the process of acquiring the MBS service in the SC-PTM technology is described by taking the form one as an example. A Single Cell Multi-case Control Channel (SC-MCCH) exists in the SC-PTM technology, and the SC-MCCH carries an SC-PTM configuration message. The configuration message indicates ongoing MBS sessions and information about when each session can be scheduled, such as scheduling period (scheduling period), scheduling window (scheduling window) and start offset (start offset). The SC-PTM configuration message also provides information whether the neighboring cell sends an MBS session. The SC-MCCH is mapped to the PDSCH, so the control information of the SC-PTM service is scheduled on a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH).

In addition, the system information provides SC-PTM control information, which is mainly information required for acquiring SC-MCCH. The transmission of the SC-MCCH information is carried out periodically by using a configurable repetition period. Therefore, the SC-MCCH is repeatedly broadcasted in a cell performing MBS service at a certain period. For example, the time domain resource for monitoring the SC-MCCH is configured in the System Information Block 20 (SIB 20), and the specific configuration parameters include: the period and offset of the SC-MCCH, the boundary where the SC-MCCH occurs periodically, the first subframe of the SC-MCCH scheduling, the duration of the scheduling of the SC-MCCH which has started from the first subframe.

There is also a Single Cell Multicast Traffic Channel (SC-MTCH) in the SC-PTM technique, which is also mapped to PDSCH. The SC-MTCH is used to transmit service data of the SC-PTM service.

5. Radio Network Temporary Identifier (Radio Network Temporary Identifier, RNTI)

The RNTI is a network allocation terminal device used for marking different terminal devices. Various RNTIs are divided according to different functions. Each terminal device may correspond to multiple RNTIs at the same time, the scenarios targeted by different kinds of RNTIs are different, but the working principle of the RNTIs is the same, that is, the RNTIs are used to scramble Cyclic Redundancy Code (CRC) part of the radio channel information. When decoding, the terminal equipment side is required to have a corresponding RNTI value, and the received resources can be successfully decoded. The terminal device searches for a Common RNTI (P-RNTI) (paging RNTI) or SI-RNTI (system information RNTI) in a Common Search Space (Common Search Space) of the PDCCH. Other RNTIs generally configure corresponding Search spaces (Specific Search spaces), the terminal device searches in the corresponding Search spaces, and if the corresponding information can be successfully decoded, the terminal device can read the information carried by the PDSCH.

The G-RNTI is a Group RNTI, and corresponding Downlink Control Information (DCI) can be scrambled by the G-RNTI for MBS and is carried by the PDCCH.

6. Status of terminal device

6.1 RRC Idle State (RRC _ IDLE)

The idle state refers to a state in which the terminal device resides in a cell but the terminal device is not in a random access procedure. The terminal device typically enters an idle state after power-on, or after RRC release.

6.2 RRC CONNECTED State (RRC _ CONNECTED)

The connected state refers to a state where the terminal device is in a state where the RRC release is not performed after the terminal device completes the random access procedure. The terminal equipment can carry out data transmission with the network equipment in a connected state.

When the terminal equipment is in an idle state, after the terminal equipment completes a random access process, the state of the terminal equipment is transferred to a connection state.

6.3 RRC Inactive State (RRC _ INACTIVE)

The inactive state is a state between a connected state and an idle state, and the terminal device in the inactive state maintains a suspended user plane bearer (suspend) of an air interface and a user plane bearer and a control plane bearer (cs bearer) between a Radio Access Network (RAN) and a Core Network (CN). When a terminal device initiates a call or service request, it needs to activate the user plane bearer of the air interface, and reuse the user plane bearer and control plane bearer between the existing RAN-CNs.

7. Switching technique (hand, HO)

In a wireless communication system, each cell only covers a limited range, so when a terminal device moves from a current serving cell to an adjacent cell, in order to ensure service continuity, a network side needs to switch the service to the adjacent cell, so that a communication process is not interrupted. In short, handover refers to a process of handing over a link carrying communication data from one cell or network device to another cell or network device in order to ensure that communication is not interrupted during mobile communication.

The cross-base station switching is initiated by the source network equipment, and the source network equipment determines to switch the terminal equipment according to the measurement result reported by the terminal equipment and sends a switching request to the target network equipment. After the source network device acquires the response that the target network device allows switching, the source network device sends a switching command to the terminal device. And after the terminal equipment receives the switching command, the terminal equipment stops sending uplink or downlink data with the source network equipment, starts synchronizing with the target network equipment and starts a random access process. When the source network device sends a switching command to the terminal device, it may stop uplink or downlink data transmission with the terminal device, and send the data stored in the source network device to the target network device. After the terminal device successfully accesses the target network device, it may start to transmit uplink or downlink data with the target network device.

8. The technical scheme of the embodiment of the application can be applied to various communication systems, for example: LTE systems, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) communication systems, fifth Generation (5G) systems, such as NR, and future communication systems, such as 6G systems, etc.

This application is intended to present various aspects, embodiments or features around a system that may include a number of devices, components, modules, and the like. It is to be understood and appreciated that the various systems may include additional devices, components, modules, etc. and/or may not include all of the devices, components, modules etc. discussed in connection with the figures. Furthermore, a combination of these schemes may also be used.

The network architecture and the service scenario described in the embodiment of the present application are for more clearly illustrating the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, and do not form a limitation on the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application, and as a person of ordinary skill in the art knows that along with the evolution of the network architecture and the appearance of a new service scenario, the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application is also applicable to similar technical problems.

For the convenience of understanding the embodiments of the present application, a communication system applicable to the embodiments of the present application will be first described in detail by taking the communication system shown in fig. 1 as an example. Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a communication system suitable for the communication method of the embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 1, the communication system 100 includes a network device 102 and a terminal device 106, where the network device 102 may be configured with multiple antennas and the terminal device may also be configured with multiple antennas. Optionally, the communication system may further include the network device 104, and the network device 104 may also be configured with multiple antennas. Fig. 1 is a simplified schematic diagram of an example for ease of understanding only, and other network devices or other terminal devices, not shown in fig. 1, may also be included in the communication system.

Network device 102 or network device 104 may also include a number of components related to signal transmission and reception. Such as a processor, modulator, multiplexer, demodulator, demultiplexer, or the like.

In the communication system 100, the network device 102 and the network device 104 may each communicate with a plurality of terminal devices, such as the terminal device 106 shown in the figure. It should be understood that the terminal device communicating with network device 102 and the terminal device communicating with network device 104 may be the same or different. Terminal device 106 shown in fig. 1 may communicate with both network device 102 and network device 104. This is merely illustrative of one possible scenario in which a terminal device may only communicate with network device 102 or network device 104, and is not intended to be limiting.

The following describes embodiments of the present application in detail with reference to the drawings.

The SC-PTM transmission technology is specifically described as an example in the embodiment of the present application, but it can be understood that the technical solution in the embodiment of the present application is also applicable to the multi-cell cooperative transmission technology. The embodiment of the application is not only suitable for the broadcast multicast service in an LTE system and an LTE-A system, but also suitable for the broadcast multicast service in an NR wireless network system.

In SC-PTM, it is single-cell multicast data channel SC-MTCH to transmit the MBS service data of broadcast multicast service, and the SC-MTCH is configured and controlled by MBS single-cell multicast control channel SC-MCCH. The configuration information of the SC-MCCH is broadcasted by the system information of the cell where the terminal equipment resides, and the system information comprises an SC-MCCH modification period, a repetition period, a radio frame offset and the like. In the cells for MBS service, each cell is configured with an SC-MCCH, and each MBS service is configured with an SC-MTCH.

The repetition period of the SC-MCCH is limited by the resource allocation of the network device and MBS service requirements and cannot be made very short in general. When the terminal equipment needs to receive the MBS service, the terminal equipment firstly receives the system information to acquire the configuration information of the SC-MCCH, and then waits for the sending time of the SC-MCCH according to the configuration information of the SC-MCCH to acquire the configuration information of the SC-MTCH borne on the SC-MCCH. This procedure usually takes a certain amount of time, limited by the length of the SC-MCCH period.

The embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, where a terminal device actively sends an MBS service configuration request to a network device, and can quickly obtain configuration information required by an MBS service, so as to receive data of the MBS service. Fig. 2 is a flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application, and the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application will be described in detail with reference to fig. 2 to 4, where the communication method includes:

s201: the terminal equipment sends random access information to the network equipment, and the network equipment receives the random access information sent by the terminal equipment. The random access message comprises first indication information, the first indication information is used for requesting first configuration, and the first configuration is used for configuring the broadcast multicast MBS service.

The cell where the terminal equipment is located plays one or more MBS services. When the terminal device is interested in the one or more MBS services, the terminal device sends a random access message to the network device by initiating a random access mode. The random access message includes first indication information, which is used to request a network device for a first configuration, where the first configuration is a configuration of one or more MBS services in which the terminal device is interested.

S202: the network equipment responds to the first indication information to send first configuration broadcast multicast of the broadcast multicast MBS service to the terminal equipment, and the terminal equipment receives the first configuration.

In the embodiment of the application, when the terminal equipment needs to receive the MBS service, the terminal equipment actively sends the random access message to the network equipment, and requests the configuration of the MBS service to the network equipment through the random access message, thereby completing the receiving of the MBS service. The time delay for the terminal equipment to acquire the MBS is short and the acquisition is flexible.

Fig. 3 and 4 are schematic diagrams of a four-step random access procedure and a two-step random access procedure, respectively, according to an embodiment of the present application, and the steps will be specifically described below with reference to fig. 3 and 4.

In S201, a cell in which the terminal device is located plays one or more MBS services, and the one or more MBMS services are sent by the network device to a plurality of terminal devices in the cell. For a terminal device in an RRC idle state or an RRC inactive state, when the terminal device wishes to receive one or more MBS services, the terminal device sends a random access message to a network device, where the random access message includes first indication information for requesting the network device to send a first configuration.

The random access procedure may be a four-step random access procedure. As shown in fig. 3, the terminal device sends a Random Access Message 1(RA Msg1), i.e. a Random Access request or a Random Access Preamble, to the network device. The Random Access request is sent on a Random Access resource, i.e., an uplink Random Access Channel (RACH), and a Preamble (Preamble) carried in the Random Access request implies a size of a Random Access Message 3(RA Msg3) that the terminal device needs to send.

The network device sends a Random Access Response (Random Access Response), i.e., a Random Access Message 2(RA Msg2), to the terminal device. And after receiving the random access request, the network equipment sends a random access response on the downlink shared channel. The random Access response is generated by a Media Access Control (MAC) layer.

And the terminal equipment sends a random access message3 on an uplink shared channel according to the resource indicated in the random access response.

The network device sends a Random Access Message 4(RA Msg4) to the terminal device.

In the embodiment of the present application, the first indication information may be included in the random access message 3. After the terminal equipment sends a random access message 1 to the network equipment, the network equipment responds to a random access request of the terminal equipment and sends a random access message 2, and the terminal equipment sends first indication information by sending a random access message 3. The first indication information is used for requesting the configuration of the MBS service to the network equipment.

The network device may send the first configuration via a random access message 4 in response to the first indication information.

The random access procedure may be a two-step random access procedure. As shown in fig. 4, in the NR wireless network system, a two-step random access procedure is proposed for a scenario in which a terminal device and a network device do not need to perform synchronization. The Random Access Message a (RA MsgA) in the two-step Random Access process includes a Random Access code part and a data part, and both parts can be decoded independently. Random access message a is similar to RA Msg1+ RA Msg3 for four-step random access. The random access code part is used for sending a preamble code, namely a random access code preamble of RA Msg1 in the four-step random access; the data part is similar to RA Msg3 in four-step random access. Random Access Message B (RA MsgB) is similar to RA Msg2+ RA Msg4 in four-step Random Access.

In this embodiment, the first indication information may be included in the random access message a, and the terminal device sends the first indication information by sending the random access message a. The first indication information is used for requesting the configuration of the MBS service to the network equipment. The network device sends the first configuration through a random access message B in response to the first indication information.

In S202, the network device sends a first configuration to the terminal device in response to the first indication information. The network device may send the first configuration through the random access message 4 in the four-step random access process, or may send the first configuration through the random access message B in the two-step random access process. Depending on whether the terminal device transmits the first indication in a four-step random access procedure or a two-step random access procedure.

In the context of SC-PTM broadcast multicast transmission techniques, a first configuration in an embodiment of the present application may include: control and configuration information about SC-MCCH carried in the system information block, control and configuration information about broadcast multicast service SC-MTCH carried on SC-MCCH, and other configurations related to MBS service transmission. The system information block may be SIB 20.

In the context of SC-PTM broadcast multicast transmission technology, MBS services can also be acquired in a form two and a form three. For example, in the second form, the first configuration in the embodiment of the present application may be an on demand SI, or a configuration of an MBS service carried on the on demand SI. The first configuration in the embodiment of the present application in the third form may include configuration of an MBS service broadcasted through system information.

The embodiment of the application is suitable for broadcast multicast MBMS service in an LTE system and an LTE-A system and MBS service in a wireless network system after NR or NR, and supports the situation of multi-cell cooperative transmission or other multicast transmission technologies. Under these circumstances, the first configuration in the embodiment of the present application may include configurations of MBS services in the first form, the second form, and the third form of MBS service reception. The configuration of the MBS service in the first form includes: control and configuration information about MCCH carried in system information, or control and configuration information about MTCH of broadcast multicast service carried on MCCH, or other configurations related to MBS service transmission. The configuration of the MBS service in the second form includes: the configuration information includes on demand SI included in broadcast SI, or MBS service configuration carried on demand SI, or other configuration information related to MBS service transmission. The configuration of the MBS service in the third form includes the configuration of the MBS service broadcasted through the system information.

According to the method and the device, the terminal device requests the network device for configuration of the interested MBS service through the random access process, so that the MBS service is rapidly received, the time delay of MBS service transmission is reduced, and the transmission flexibility of the MBS service is improved.

The following briefly describes the applicability of the scheme of the embodiment of the present application in a multi-cell cooperative transmission scenario. A typical transmission technique in the multi-cell cooperative transmission technique is an MBSFN technique. MBSFN is a synchronized broadcast transmission technology, which refers to transmitting the same radio signal from multiple cells at the same time. The MBSFN technology has a concept of MBSFN area, and the MBSFN area includes a group of cells, and the group of cells are coordinated to complete one MBSFN transmission. A cell may belong to multiple MBSFN areas, each transmitting different content, with different sets of cells. In the embodiment of the application, when a terminal device is interested in one or more MBS services in an MBSFN area, a random access request is initiated to a network device, and the network device is the network device which sends the MBMS service to the MBSFN area.

The embodiment of the present application also provides another communication method, and the embodiment of the present application also specifically describes an SC-PTM transmission technique as an example, but it can be understood that the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application is also applicable to a multi-cell cooperative transmission technique and other multicast transmission techniques. The embodiment of the application is not only suitable for the broadcast multicast service in an LTE system and an LTE-A system, but also suitable for the broadcast multicast service in an NR wireless network system. Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a terminal device moving from a first cell to a second cell according to an embodiment of the present application, fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of SC-MCCH and SC-MTCH transmission periods in an SC-PTM transmission technique according to an embodiment of the present application, and fig. 7 is a flowchart of another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application.

This will be described in detail with reference to fig. 5 to 7. The terminal equipment receives the broadcast multicast MBS service in the first cell, and simultaneously, the terminal equipment moves from the first cell to the second cell due to the mobility requirement. The second cell plays or is about to play the MBS service that the terminal device is receiving in the first cell, and the terminal device needs to continue receiving the MBS service after entering the second cell. The first cell and the second cell both support the transmission of MBS service, including supporting SC-PTM transmission mode. The network device transmits the MBS service to the terminal device in the first cell on the first cell, and the network device transmits the MBS service to the terminal device in the second cell on the second cell. Although the MBS service played by the first cell and the second cell may be the same service, for example, both are playing the live broadcast of a certain important sports event, the configuration information for playing the MBS service by the first cell and the second cell may be different. After moving from the first cell to the second cell, the terminal device needs to re-acquire the configuration of the MBS service.

The following describes a process for re-acquiring the configuration of MBS when the terminal device moves from the first cell to the second cell in the SC-PTM scenario.

The terminal device enters the second cell from the first cell through a cell reselection process. Since the MBS service configurations of the first cell and the second cell may be different, the configuration time, frequency domain location, etc. at which the terminal device may monitor and receive the MBS service may also be different. After the terminal device reselects from the first cell to the second cell, in order to continue receiving one or more MBS services, it needs to first receive the configuration of the MBS service in the second cell. The terminal equipment receives the data of the MBS service, such as the data of the service carried by SC-MTCH or other logical channels, according to the configuration. Since the configuration of the MBS service is repeatedly transmitted at a certain period, the terminal device needs to wait for the transmission time of the configuration of the MBS service to receive the configuration of the MBS service after completing the cell reselection.

In fig. 6, it is described by taking configuration of an SC-MCCH and an SC-MTCH for MBS service as an example, transmission timings of the SC-MCCH in a first cell and a second cell are represented by non-filled rectangular frames, a time length between adjacent rectangular frames represents a transmission period of the SC-MCCH in the first cell and the second cell, and configurations of the SC-MCCH in the first cell and the SC-MTCH in the second cell may be different. The sending time of the SC-MTCH on the first cell and the second cell is indicated by rectangular boxes filled by oblique lines, and the time length between the adjacent rectangular boxes represents the repeating period of the SC-MTCH of the first cell and the second cell. The terminal device reselects from the first cell to the second cell at time t 1. When the terminal device enters the second cell, the previous SC-MCCH is already transmitted, and at this time, a certain time is left from the transmission time t2 of the next SC-MCCH. The terminal equipment can only wait for the configuration of the SC-MCCH bearer until the next SC-MCCH transmission moment, and the waiting time length depends on the transmission period of the SC-MCCH in the second cell. In the waiting time, the MBS service is in an interrupted state, which not only causes delay and interruption of data transmission, but also cannot guarantee the requirement on the communication quality.

The communication method provided by the embodiment of the application can improve the continuity of receiving the MBS service after the terminal equipment which is receiving the MBS service changes the cell. Referring to fig. 7, the communication method includes:

s701, the terminal equipment receives a second configuration sent by the first cell, and the second configuration is the configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service.

The first cell broadcasts one or more broadcast multicast MBS services to terminal devices in the first cell. The first cell can adopt SC-PTM technology to transmit MBS service. The terminal equipment in the first cell receives one or more MBS services of interest. In a possible mode, when receiving the MBS service, the terminal equipment firstly receives the system information, and acquires the configuration information of the SC-MCCH through the system information, wherein the configuration information of the SC-MCCH comprises the repetition period of the SC-MCCH. And acquiring second configuration carried on the SC-MCCH, wherein the second configuration is the configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service, and the configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service can be configuration and control information about SC-MTCH carried on an SC-MCCH logical channel, thereby acquiring the data of the MBS service carried on the SC-MTCH and finishing the receiving of the MBS service. The first cell sending the second configuration means that the network device sends the second configuration on the first cell, and the first cell broadcasting one or more broadcast multicast MBS services means that the network device broadcasts one or more broadcast multicast MBS services on the first cell.

The first configuration is the configuration of the MBS service of the second cell received by the terminal device, and the second configuration is the configuration of the MBS service of the first cell received by the terminal device. The first configuration and the second configuration are the configuration of the same MBS service. The first configuration and the second configuration may be the same or different.

The first configuration and the second configuration in the embodiment of the present application may include the same contents as those included in the first configuration in the embodiment of fig. 2 to 4, and are not listed here. S702: and the terminal equipment is resident in the second cell through cell reselection.

The terminal device needs to move from the first cell to the second cell based on the mobility requirement. In the embodiment of the application, the terminal device reselects to reside in the second cell through the cell. The second cell broadcasts one or more MBS services which are received by the terminal equipment in the first cell. The terminal device resides in the second cell and has a need to continue receiving the MBS service originally received in the first cell.

S703: and the terminal equipment sends a random access message to the network equipment in the second cell, wherein the random access message comprises first indication information, the first indication information is used for requesting first configuration, and the first configuration is used for configuring the broadcast multicast MBS service.

The terminal equipment sends a random access message in the second cell, and the network equipment receiving the random access message broadcasts one or more broadcast multicast MBS services in the second cell. The MBS service received by the terminal device in the first cell and the MBS service received in the second cell may be the same, for example, live broadcast of the same major sports event. The remaining details of the step S703 are the same as those of the step S201, and S703 in this embodiment may be understood with reference to step S201, which is not described herein again.

S704: the network device sends the first configuration to the terminal device in response to the first indication information. It can be understood that the network device in this step sends the first configuration to the terminal device in the second cell on the second cell, and the first configuration is sent by the network device to the terminal device that resides in the second cell after reselection through the cell. The remaining details of the step S704 are the same as those of the step S202, and S704 in this embodiment may be understood with reference to step S202, which is not described herein again.

Steps 701-704 are described in detail below with reference to exemplary alternative embodiments.

The terminal device receives a second configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service in the first cell, where the second configuration may be information carried on an SC-MCCH logical channel, and includes configuration information of an SC-MTCH and control information. It is understood that for SC-PTM scenarios, one cell typically has one SC-MCCH and one MBS service is configured with one SC-MTCH. And carrying the configuration of a plurality of MBS services on a logic channel SC-MCCH. The second configuration may include identification information of the broadcast multicast MBS service. The identification information as the broadcast multicast MBS service may include, but is not limited to: temporary Mobile Group Identity (TMGI), service Identifier (ID), RNTI for scheduling a Group of terminal devices, such as G-RNTI, other IEs or field, and any information for indicating the MBS service.

The identification information of the broadcast multicast MBS service is used for identifying each MBS service, and the terminal equipment receives one or more MBS services with identifications in the first cell. And identifying each MBS service through the identification information. And the terminal equipment reselects to reside in the second cell through the cell, and requests the configuration of one or more or all MBS services received in the first cell from the second cell.

The second configuration may further include second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate a requirement that the broadcast multicast MBS service configuration guarantees service continuity, for example, a requirement on service interruption time or whether interruption is allowed, a requirement on service continuity enhancement, and the like, and the random access message is sent according to the service continuity. The second configuration may also include service priority information, i.e., a priority corresponding to each broadcast multicast MBS service. The terminal device can decide whether to request the configuration information of the broadcast multicast MBS service to the network device according to the priority information. The network device can also decide whether to send the configuration information of the broadcast multicast MBS service to the terminal device according to the priority information. Although both the second indication information and the identification information of the broadcast multicast MBS service may be included in the second configuration, it is understood that the second configuration may be carried in different signaling to be transmitted respectively. Therefore, the second indication information and the identification information of the MBS service may be sent in different signaling.

The terminal device receives a second configuration at the first cell, and the second configuration may include second indication information. The second configuration may be information carried on an SC-MCCH logical channel, where the SC-MCCH carries the configuration of multiple MBS services. The second indication information may indicate whether the MBS service is configured with service continuity. If the MBS service received by the terminal device in the first cell is indicated to be configured with service continuity, when the terminal device moves to the second cell and the terminal device receives the MBS service configured with service continuity in the second cell, a service continuity guarantee mechanism needs to be adopted. That is, the terminal device entering the second cell needs to send a random access message to the second cell, and requests the second cell to send the configuration of the MBS service. If the MBS service received by the terminal device in the first cell is indicated to have no service continuity configured, then, when the terminal device moves to the second cell, the terminal device may not send the random access message for the MBS service received in the second cell, but wait for the second cell to send the MBS service configuration at the inherent sending opportunity to the terminal device.

For example, the terminal device receives five MBS services in the first cell: MBS1, MBS2, MBS3, MBS4, MBS5, SC-MCCH logical channel carries SC-MTCH1 configuration information, SC-MTCH2 configuration information, SC-MTCH3 configuration information, SC-MTCH4 configuration information, SC-MTCH5 configuration information, SC-MTCH 1-SC-MTCH 5 carry MBS 1-MBS 5 data respectively. The second indication information may indicate that the MBS1, MBS2, MBS3 are configured with service continuity. For example, the second indication information may indicate that the MBS1, MBS2, MBS3 service is configured with service continuity in the configuration information of SC-MTCH1, SC-MTCH2, and SC-MTCH3, respectively. At this time, when the terminal device moves from the first cell to the second cell, the terminal device sends a random access message to the second cell, where the random access message includes the first indication information for requesting the second cell to send the configuration of the MBS1, MBS2, MBS3 services. And the second cell responds to the first indication information and sends the first configuration to the terminal equipment. The first configuration sent by the second cell to the terminal equipment is the configuration of the MBS1, MBS2 and MBS3 services, but does not include the configuration of the MBS4 and MBS5 services. The optional terminal device can also request the configuration information of the MBS service according to the service priority. For example, the MBS1 and MBS2 have high priority and the MBS3 has medium priority. The terminal equipment can select the configuration information of different MBS services according to the factors of channel quality, uplink resource size and the like, and the priority order of the request services is from high to low. For example, the terminal device first requests the configuration information of the MBS1 and MBS2, and then requests the configuration information of the MBS3, or no longer requests the configuration information of the MBS 3. The network device may also select to send the configuration information of different MBS services according to the received configuration request information of the MBS service, in combination with the current resource usage condition, channel quality, and other conditions, and the priority order of the sent services is from high to low. For example, the network device preferentially sends the configuration information of the MBS1 and MBS2, and then sends the configuration information of the MBS 3. In the case of resource limitation, the configuration information of the MBS3 may not be sent.

The second indication information may be in a display indication manner or an implicit indication manner. For the display indication, an IE or field may be added in the second configuration, and the attribute of the IE or field may be an enumeration type, for example, may enumerate { future/false }, and may also enumerate { supported/notSupported }. true or supported may indicate that the indicated MBS service is configured with service continuity, and false or notSupported may indicate that the indicated MBS service is not configured with service continuity. For implicit indication, the MBS service may be indicated by mapping to a specific Radio Bearer (RB) or the like, such as a specific Data Radio Bearer (DRB) or a multicast radio bearer (MBS point to Multipoint Radio Bearer (MRB).

The second configuration in the embodiment of the present application includes the second indication information, and the binding between the MBS service and the service continuity mechanism can be implemented. For example, the second indication information may indicate that one or some MBS services broadcast in a cell employ a service continuity mechanism when the terminal device moves. Thereby reducing the time delay of the transmission of the special MBS service.

It can be understood that the second cell where the terminal device resides in through cell reselection is at least broadcasting one MBS service that the terminal device receives in the first cell, and when the terminal device resides in the second cell through cell reselection, the terminal device continues to receive the one or more MBS services. The second cell supports the MBS service transmission as well as the first cell, for example, the MBS service can be broadcast by adopting SC-PTM transmission technology. The same transmission principle as the first form of SC-PTM technique introduced in the above-mentioned contents, the second cell broadcasts system information, and the terminal equipment first receives the system information, acquires configuration information of the SC-MCCH according to the system information, acquires configuration information of the SC-MTCH carried on the SC-MCCH according to the configuration information of the SC-MCCH, and further acquires data of the MBS service carried on the SC-MTCH.

The transmission period, transmission time, etc. of the SC-MCCH in the second cell may be different from the transmission period, transmission time, etc. of the SC-MCCH in the first cell. If the terminal equipment resides in the second cell and does not send the random access message to the second cell, but waits to receive the time for sending the SC-MCCH by the second cell, the time length for the terminal equipment to wait to receive the SC-MCCH is uncertain due to the uncertainty of the time for the terminal equipment to reside in the second cell. If the SC-MCCH happens to arrive when the terminal device enters the second cell, the terminal device may not need to send a random access message to the second cell to request the MBS service configuration.

In view of this, in the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device, when camping in the second cell, first receives the system information of the second cell, and determines whether to send the random access message according to the system information. Specifically, the system information carries a modification period, a repetition period, a radio frame offset, and the like of the configuration of the MBS service. After receiving the system information, the terminal device can acquire the configuration time for the second cell to send the next MBS service, so that the terminal device determines whether to send a random access message to the second cell to request the configuration of the MBS.

In order not to generate confusion, in the following description of the embodiment of the present application, an MBS configuration sent by the network device according to the inherent sending period of the MBS service in the second cell is referred to as a third configuration of the MBS service. The transmission period inherent to the configuration of the MBS service in the second cell is: and the second cell sends the configured period of the MBS service according to the protocol. It is to be understood that the contents of the third configuration and the first configuration may be the same because both are configurations transmitted by the second cell regarding MBS services on the second cell. Or, the first configuration is that the terminal device actively requests the network device to send, the first configuration requested by the terminal device is the configuration of the MBS service that needs to guarantee service continuity, and the third configuration is the configuration of the related MBS service in the second cell that the network device actively sends. The third configured contents may include the first configured contents, but the contents of both configurations are the same with respect to the same one MBS service. The first configuration is sent by the network device after the terminal device sends a random access message to the network device to request configuration of the MBS. The sending of the third configuration does not require the terminal device to request from the network device. Therefore, the time for the second cell to send the first configuration is independent of the repetition period of the configuration of the MBS service of the second cell.

And the second cell sends third configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service, and the third configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service is configuration information of the MBS service supported in the cell, wherein the configuration information comprises the configuration of the MBS service which is resided in the second cell and is to be received by the terminal equipment. The terminal device can determine, according to the system information, a time when the terminal device receives the third configuration in the second cell, and the terminal device can determine whether to send the random access message according to the time. It should be noted that determining the time when the terminal device receives the third configuration does not refer to the time when the terminal device actually receives the third configuration, but the time when the terminal device waits to receive the third configuration if the terminal device does not send the random access message. In other words, there is a case where the terminal device has not transmitted the random access message, but determines the time to receive the third configuration based on the system information.

In particular, the terminal device may not be at exactly the third configured transmission opportunity when entering the second cell. The terminal device can determine a time to receive the next third configuration after entering the second cell according to the system information. The terminal device compares the time of receiving the third configuration with the time of receiving the first configuration. When the time for receiving the third configuration is later than the time for receiving the first configuration, it indicates that the terminal device will wait for a longer time to acquire the third configuration if the terminal device does not send the random access message to the network device to request the configuration of the MBS service. Therefore, the terminal device sends a random access message at this time, requesting the first configuration from the second cell. When it is determined that the time for the terminal device to receive the third configuration is equal to the time for receiving the first configuration, the terminal device may select to send the random access message to the network device, or may select to wait to receive the third configuration sent by the network device. In other words, the terminal determines which of the third configuration and the first configuration comes earlier and receives the earlier one.

The terminal device may make a prejudgment on the time at which the first configuration is received. The process of this anticipation is: the terminal device may calculate a time of the random access procedure and a response time of the network device, and receive a first configuration time for the terminal device after the time of the random access procedure and the response time of the network device start from the time of receiving the system information. The system information is the system information including the configuration of the MBS service.

The process that the terminal equipment determines the time for receiving the third configuration according to the system information comprises the following steps: the system information carries information such as a transmission period and offset for the second cell to transmit the third configuration, and a subframe, a time slot, a symbol and the like for starting transmission of the configuration information. The terminal device can determine, according to the transmission period and offset of the third configuration and information such as a subframe, a time slot, and a symbol in which transmission of the configuration information is started, a time when the second cell transmits the next third configuration after the terminal device enters the second cell, that is, a time when the terminal device receives the third configuration.

The embodiment of the application is also suitable for the situation that the terminal equipment moves from one MBSFN area to another MBSFN area.

The embodiment of the present application further provides another communication method, and fig. 8 is a flowchart of another communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application. The communication method provided by the embodiment of the application can be used for solving the problem of continuity of MBS service receiving in the process that the terminal equipment moves from one cell to another cell.

For terminal equipment in an idle state or an inactive state of the RRC, if the terminal equipment is receiving MBS service in an original cell when moving to a target cell, the terminal equipment re-acquires the MBS service in the target cell after entering the target cell through cell reselection, and if the multicast configuration information is periodically broadcasted information, the terminal equipment may interrupt the MBS service received in the original cell during the process, and may continue to receive the multicast service after the new cell receives the configuration, which generally has a large service interruption and delay. In order to reduce service interruption of receiving the MBS service during the inter-cell movement of the terminal device, a service continuity guarantee mechanism may be adopted. But the requirements of quality of service or continuity may not be consistent for different MBS services. Some MBS services have lower requirements on quality or continuity, and service interruption caused by movement of terminal equipment among cells has no great influence on the MBS services. However, for MBS services that need to overcome system delay and guarantee service continuity, a service continuity guarantee mechanism is required.

In view of this, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application includes:

s801: the network equipment generates second configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service, the network equipment sends the second configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service to the terminal equipment, the terminal equipment receives the second configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service, the second configuration comprises second indication information, and the second indication information is used for indicating the continuity of the broadcast multicast MBS service configuration.

Still, in the embodiments of the present application, the SC-PTM transmission technology is taken as an example, but the technical solution of the embodiments of the present application is also applicable to a multi-cell cooperative transmission technology, such as an MBSFN technology, as with the above embodiments. The embodiment of the application is not only suitable for the broadcast multicast service in an LTE system and an LTE-A system, but also suitable for the broadcast multicast service in NR and future wireless network systems.

The cell where the terminal equipment is located can support the transmission of MBS service by adopting SC-PTM technology. The single-cell multicast data channel SC-MTCH is used for bearing the MBS service data of the broadcast multicast service, and the SC-MTCH is configured and controlled by a single-cell multicast control channel SC-MCCH. The second configuration may be carried on an SC-MCCH, and the second configuration may be configuration and control information about an SC-MTCH carried for an SC-MCCH logical channel.

In this embodiment of the present application, the second configuration further includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the broadcast multicast MBS service configuration has service continuity. The indication of the second indication information for the service continuity is for each broadcast multicast MBS service, and the second indication information indicates that the broadcast multicast MBS service is configured with service continuity, which indicates that a service continuity guarantee mechanism needs to be adopted for the MBS service when the terminal device moves between cells and enters a new cell.

S802: and receiving the data of the broadcast multicast MBS service according to the second configuration.

And the terminal equipment receives the second configuration and acquires the data of the broadcast multicast MBS service according to the second configuration. At this time, the terminal device is receiving the broadcast multicast MBS service in the original cell.

The first configuration and the second configuration in the embodiment of the present application may include the same contents as those included in the first configuration in the embodiment of fig. 2 to 4, and are not listed here.

And after acquiring the second configuration, the terminal equipment further acquires the data of the broadcast multicast MBS service and completes the receiving of the MBS service.

S803: the second configuration further comprises a first criterion for triggering random access, and the terminal equipment initiates random access when the first criterion is met.

In this embodiment of the present application, the second configuration further includes a first criterion for triggering random access, and the terminal device determines whether the first criterion is satisfied. And when the first criterion is met, the terminal equipment initiates random access to the network equipment and enters an RRC connection state.

In the embodiment of the present application, a terminal device in an RRC idle state or an RRC inactive state receives a broadcast multicast MBS service in a cell, where a second configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service includes second indication information for indicating whether the broadcast multicast MBS service is configured with service continuity. When the second indication information indicates that the MBS service is configured with service continuity, a service continuity guarantee mechanism needs to be adopted when the terminal device moves between cells. The service continuity guarantee mechanism in the embodiment of the application is as follows: the terminal equipment judges whether the first criterion is met, and if the first criterion is met, the terminal equipment enters an RRC connection state. After the terminal device enters the RRC connected state, subsequent actions may be scheduled by the network device. On the other hand, since the terminal device needs to enter the RRC connected state, the terminal device may increase a certain amount of power consumption compared to the idle state or the inactive state, and the network device needs to schedule the terminal device and also needs to consume a certain amount of system resources. Therefore, in the embodiment of the present application, whether the broadcast multicast MBS service is configured with service continuity is indicated by using the second indication information. The terminal equipment receives the MBS service configured with the service continuity, and needs to adopt a service continuity guarantee mechanism. If the MBS service received by the terminal equipment is not configured with service continuity, a service continuity guarantee mechanism is not needed, thereby saving resources while guaranteeing the service continuity.

The above steps will be described in detail with reference to exemplary alternative embodiments.

And the terminal equipment receives the second configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service in the first cell, acquires the data of the broadcast multicast MBS service according to the second configuration after acquiring the second configuration, and completes the reception of the broadcast multicast MBS service in the first cell. The second configuration may include identification information of the broadcast multicast MBS service. The identification information as the broadcast multicast MBS service may include, but is not limited to: temporary Mobile Group Identity (TMGI), service Identifier (ID), RNTI for scheduling a Group of terminal devices, such as G-RNTI, other IEs or field, and any information for indicating the MBS service. The identification information of MBS broadcast multicast MBS service is used to identify each MBS service, and the terminal equipment receives one or more MBS services with identification in the first cell. And identifying each MBS service through the identification information.

When the terminal device needs to move to the second cell based on the requirement of mobility, whether the broadcast multicast MBS service being received by the terminal device needs service continuity guarantee or not is indicated by the second indication information in the second configuration.

The second indication information may be in a display indication manner or an implicit indication manner. For the display indication, an IE or field may be added in the second configuration, and the attribute of the IE or field may be an enumeration type, for example, may enumerate { future/false }, and may also enumerate { supported/notSupported }. true or supported may indicate that the indicated broadcast multicast MBS service is configured with service continuity, and false or notSupported may indicate that the indicated broadcast multicast MBS service is not configured with service continuity.

For implicit indication, the MBS service may be indicated by mapping to a specific Radio Bearer (RB) or the like, such as a specific Data Radio Bearer (DRB) or a multicast radio bearer (MBS point to Multipoint Radio Bearer (MRB). In addition, the second configuration further includes a first criterion, and when the terminal device meets the first criterion, the terminal device initiates random access to the first cell. Then, whether the first criterion is included in the second configuration may be used as an implicit indication manner of the second indication information. And when the second configuration comprises the first rule, the broadcast multicast MBS service configuration is considered to have service continuity. When the second configuration does not include the first criterion, the broadcast multicast MBS service is considered not to configure the service continuity. It should be noted that, in the case of the display indication, whether the service continuity is configured by the broadcast multicast MBS service is indicated by means of the aforementioned IE or field or other display indication manner, regardless of whether the first criterion is included in the second configuration.

When the second indication information indicates that the terminal equipment receives the broadcast multicast MBS service configuration service continuity, the terminal equipment judges whether the first criterion is met, and the terminal equipment initiates random access when the first criterion is met. The first criterion includes determining that a signal quality or a channel quality reaches a threshold. The channel quality or signal quality may be a measurement of the terminal device and may include: at least one of Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), Signal to interference noise ratio (SINR), or block error rate (BLER). At this time, the signal quality or the channel quality reaching the threshold means: the measured value of the parameter by the terminal equipment is equal to or lower than the threshold value. And judging that the signal quality or the channel quality is poor compared with the threshold value according to the measurement result of the terminal equipment on the parameters. The first criterion may be: the terminal device measures the channel quality or the signal quality in the first cell, and when the measurement result reaches a threshold value, the terminal device initiates random access. Alternatively, the first criterion may be: and the signal quality or the channel quality reaches the threshold value for multiple times in the first time period, and the terminal equipment triggers random access. In this case, the signal quality or channel quality reaching the threshold only at one measurement does not trigger random access, but rather multiple measurements within the first time period reach the threshold to initiate random access. This way, it is avoided that the single measurement result is inaccurate and causes false triggering of random access. Alternatively, the first criterion may be: the terminal device triggers random access after a second time period after the measurement result of the signal quality or the channel quality reaches a threshold value.

In the embodiment of the application, the terminal device initiates random access to the network device and enters an RRC (radio resource control) connection state through the random access. The network device is a network device that transmits a broadcast multicast MBS service on a first cell. The terminal device may initiate random access based on contention (contention based random access procedure) or non-contention (non-contention based random access procedure). In the case of non-contention based random access, the network device may transmit resources required for non-contention random access to the terminal device in the second configuration information. The network device may also send the resources required for the non-contention random access to the terminal device through other information.

In the process of initiating random access by the terminal device, first information may be sent to the network device, where the first information is used to indicate a reason for initiating random access. For example, the reason why the terminal device instructs the network device to initiate random access is to maintain the continuity of the broadcast multicast MBS service reception during the cell change. After receiving the first information, the network device can learn that the reason why the terminal device initiates random access at the moment is to maintain the continuity of the broadcast multicast MBS service. Similarly, the first information may be indicated by displaying an additional IE or field. The indication can also be made in the form of an implicit indication.

The second configuration may also include service priority information, i.e., a priority corresponding to each broadcast multicast MBS service. The terminal device may determine whether to request the configuration information of the broadcast multicast MBS service to the network device according to the priority information, and the network device may also determine whether to send the configuration information of the broadcast multicast MBS service to the terminal device according to the priority information.

After the terminal device enters the RRC connected state in the first cell, subsequent actions are scheduled by the network device. The network device makes the terminal device enter the second cell from the first cell through cell Handover (HO), and continues to receive the first configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service in the second cell, so that the continuity of receiving the broadcast multicast MBS service can be ensured. In the switching process, the first cell sends a switching request to the second cell, wherein the sent switching request carries the information of the broadcast multicast MBS service and is used for the information of the MBS service which is being received by the terminal equipment of the second cell. Or the switching request carries progress information of the MBS service, and the progress information indicates the progress of each MBS service in the first cell. After receiving the handover request, the second cell sends acknowledgement information of the handover request to the first cell, where the acknowledgement information may carry MBS service information of the second cell. The information includes which MBS services the second cell supports, the progress information of each MBS service, and configuration information required for the terminal device to receive the MBS services of the second cell. The first cell determines the switching cell as the second cell for the terminal device according to the confirmation information, and can send the configuration information of the MBS service of the second cell to the terminal device and instruct the terminal device to switch. Therefore, the service continuity of the terminal equipment entering the second cell from the first cell is ensured.

Similar to the embodiments of fig. 5 to fig. 7, the first configuration is the configuration of the MBS service received by the terminal device in the second cell, and the second configuration is the configuration of the MBS service received by the terminal device in the first cell. The first configuration and the second configuration are the configuration of the same MBS service. The first configuration and the second configuration may be the same or different.

The second cell can also support the transmission of MBS service by adopting SC-PTM technology. The first configuration may be carried on an SC-MCCH, and the first configuration may be configuration and control information about an SC-MTCH carried for an SC-MCCH logical channel. And after the terminal equipment acquires the first configuration, the terminal equipment further acquires the data of the MBS service borne on the SC-MTCH to complete the receiving of the MBS service.

After the terminal device obtains the first configuration in the second cell, it may determine whether the second criterion is satisfied, and when the second criterion is satisfied, the terminal device may return to an RRC idle state or an RRC inactive state. The network device configures the second criterion for the terminal device, which may be included in a random access response message, an RRC connection reconfiguration (RRC reconfiguration) or other messages. The terminal equipment enters a second cell through cell switching, and at the moment, the terminal equipment is connected with the second cell and is in an RRC (radio resource control) connection state. The terminal equipment acquires the first configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service and receives the broadcast multicast MBS service according to the first configuration. In the above process, the terminal device may determine whether the second criterion is satisfied in the second cell. The second criterion may comprise determining that a signal quality or channel quality meets a threshold, or the second criterion comprises a triggering measurement event. Taking the second criterion as an example for determining that the signal quality or the channel quality reaches the threshold, the terminal device measures the channel quality or the signal quality in the second cell, where the channel quality or the signal quality may include: at least one of Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), Signal to interference noise ratio (SINR), or block error rate (BLER). The measured value of the parameter by the terminal equipment is equal to or higher than the threshold value. And judging that the signal quality or the channel quality is better than the threshold value according to the measurement result of the terminal equipment on the parameters. At this time, the terminal device may return to the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state, and continue to receive the configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service in this state. The specific method can comprise the following steps: when the signal quality or the channel quality meets a second criterion, the terminal device reports the measurement result to the network device, the network device determines to leave the RRC connected state for the terminal device, and the optional network device can release the RRC connection of the terminal device, so that the terminal device enters an RRC idle state; the network device may also decide to return the terminal device to the original state according to the state of the terminal device before entering the connection state. In another possible implementation manner, after determining that the signal quality or the channel quality meets the second criterion, the terminal device sends a request to the network device to request to leave the RRC connected state, and the optional terminal device requests the network device to release the RRC connection, so that the terminal device enters the RRC idle state; or the network device can also request the network device to allow the network device to return to the original state according to the state before the terminal device enters the connection state; or the network device decides the state of the terminal device after leaving the RRC connection based on the implementation.

Therefore, the requirement of continuity of the broadcast multicast MBS service can be met, and the power consumption of the terminal equipment is reduced.

In the embodiment of the application, the terminal device receives the broadcast multicast MBS service in the first cell, judges whether to enter the RRC connection state in the first cell, and ensures the continuity of receiving the broadcast multicast MBS service after the cell is replaced by entering the RRC connection state. Different quality requirements are required based on different broadcast multicast MBS services, and the continuity requirements of the broadcast multicast MBS services need to be treated differently. Therefore, in the embodiment of the present application, the second configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service includes second indication information for indicating whether the broadcast multicast MBS service needs to ensure service continuity. When the broadcast multicast MBS received by the terminal equipment is configured with service continuity, a service continuity guarantee mechanism is adopted. When the broadcast multicast MBS service received by the terminal equipment does not configure the service continuity, a service continuity guarantee mechanism is not needed. The embodiment of the application can meet the requirement of continuity of the broadcast multicast MBS service and reduce the power consumption of the terminal equipment and the network equipment.

In the embodiment of the application, the first cell and the second cell belong to network equipment. The information sent or received by the first cell refers to information sent or received by the network equipment, and the information sent or received by the second cell refers to information sent or received by the network equipment.

The foregoing describes a method for communication in an embodiment of the present application, and hereinafter, a device for communication in various embodiments of the present application will be described. For example, the apparatus may employ the method referred to in the schemes shown in fig. 2-8. The device is based on the same technical conception, and because the principles of solving the problems of the method and the device are similar, the implementation of the device and the method can be mutually referred, and repeated parts are not described again.

The embodiment of the application also provides a communication device, and the communication device can be terminal equipment or a circuit. The communication device may be configured to perform the actions performed by the terminal device in the methods of fig. 1-7 described above.

The communication device includes: the method comprises the following steps: a transceiver module, configured to send a random access message, where the random access message includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to request a first configuration of a broadcast multicast MBS service; the transceiver module is further configured to receive the first configuration.

The communication apparatus provided in this embodiment may also be configured to execute a method in any possible implementation manner of the method embodiments in fig. 1 to fig. 7, and specific content may refer to part of content of the method in fig. 1 to fig. 7 about actions performed by the terminal device, which is not described herein again.

The embodiment of the application also provides a communication device, and the communication device can be terminal equipment or a circuit. The communication device may be configured to perform the actions performed by the terminal device in the method of fig. 8 described above.

The communication device includes: the method comprises the following steps: and the transceiver module is used for receiving the second configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service, and acquiring the data of the broadcast multicast MBS service according to the second configuration. The second configuration comprises second indication information, and the second indication information is used for indicating the service continuity of the broadcast multicast MBS service configuration.

The communication apparatus provided in this embodiment may also be configured to execute the method in any possible implementation manner in the embodiment of the method in fig. 8, and specific content may refer to part of content of an action performed by the terminal device in the embodiment of the method in fig. 8, which is not described herein again.

Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of a simplified communication apparatus for easy understanding and illustration, and in fig. 9, the communication apparatus is exemplified by a terminal device. As shown in fig. 9, the communication device includes a processor, a memory, a radio frequency circuit, an antenna, and an input-output device. The processor is mainly used for processing communication protocols and communication data, controlling the terminal equipment, executing software programs, processing data of the software programs and the like. The memory is used primarily for storing software programs and data. The radio frequency circuit is mainly used for converting baseband signals and radio frequency signals and processing the radio frequency signals. The antenna is mainly used for receiving and transmitting radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. Input and output devices, such as touch screens, display screens, keyboards, etc., are used primarily for receiving data input by a user and for outputting data to the user. It should be noted that some kinds of terminal devices may not have input/output devices.

When data needs to be sent, the processor performs baseband processing on the data to be sent and outputs baseband signals to the radio frequency circuit, and the radio frequency circuit performs radio frequency processing on the baseband signals and sends the radio frequency signals to the outside in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is sent to the terminal equipment, the radio frequency circuit receives radio frequency signals through the antenna, converts the radio frequency signals into baseband signals and outputs the baseband signals to the processor, and the processor converts the baseband signals into the data and processes the data. For ease of illustration, only one memory and processor are shown in FIG. 9. In an actual end device product, there may be one or more processors and one or more memories. The memory may also be referred to as a storage medium or a storage device, etc. The memory may be provided independently of the processor, or may be integrated with the processor, which is not limited in this embodiment.

In the embodiment of the present application, the antenna and the rf circuit having the transceiving function may be regarded as a transceiving module of the communication device, and the processor having the processing function may be regarded as a processing module of the communication device. As shown in fig. 9, the communication apparatus includes a transceiver module 101 and a processing module 102. A transceiver module may also be referred to as a transceiver, a transceiving device, etc. A processing module may also be referred to as a processor, a processing board, a processing device, etc. Optionally, a device for implementing a receiving function in the transceiver module 101 may be regarded as a receiving module, and a device for implementing a transmitting function in the transceiver module 101 may be regarded as a transmitting module, that is, the transceiver module 101 includes a receiving module and a transmitting module. A transceiver module may also sometimes be referred to as a transceiver, transceiving circuitry, or the like. A receiving module may also be sometimes referred to as a receiver, or a receiving circuit, etc. The transmitting module may also sometimes be referred to as a transmitter, or a transmitting circuit, etc.

It should be understood that the transceiver module 101 is configured to perform the transmitting operation and the receiving operation on the terminal device side in the above method embodiments, and the processing module 102 is configured to perform other operations besides the transceiving operation on the terminal device in the above method embodiments.

For example, in one implementation, the transceiver module 101 is configured to perform receiving operations on the terminal device side in S201 and S203 in fig. 2, and/or the transceiver module 101 is further configured to perform other transceiving steps on the terminal device side in the embodiment of the present application.

For another example, in another implementation manner, the transceiver module 101 is configured to perform receiving operations on the terminal device side in S701, S703 and S704 in fig. 7, and/or the transceiver module 102 is further configured to perform other transceiving steps on the terminal device side in the embodiment of the present application. The processing module 102 is configured to execute S702 in fig. 7, and/or the processing module 102 is further configured to execute other processing steps on the terminal device side in the embodiment of the present application.

For another example, in another implementation manner, the transceiver module 101 is configured to perform a receiving operation on the terminal device side in S801, S802, and S803 in fig. 8, and/or the transceiver module 102 is further configured to perform other transceiving steps on the terminal device side in this embodiment of the present application. The processing module 102 is configured to execute other processing steps on the terminal device side in this embodiment.

When the communication device is a chip-like device or circuit, the chip device may include a transceiver module and a processing module. The transceiver module can be an input-output circuit and/or a communication interface; the processing module is a processor or a microprocessor or an integrated circuit integrated on the chip.

When the communication device in this embodiment is a terminal device, reference may be made to the device shown in fig. 10. In fig. 10, the apparatus includes a processor 111, a transmission data processor 112, and a reception data processor 113. The processing module in the above embodiment may be the processor 111 in fig. 10, and performs the corresponding functions. The transceiver module in the above embodiments may be the transmission data processor 112 in fig. 10, and/or the reception data processor 113. Although fig. 10 shows a channel encoder and a channel decoder, it is understood that these blocks are not limitative and only illustrative to the present embodiment.

Fig. 11 shows another form of the present embodiment. The processing device 120 includes modules such as a modulation subsystem, a central processing subsystem, and peripheral subsystems. The communication device in this embodiment may serve as a modulation subsystem therein. In particular, the modulation subsystem may include a processor 123, an interface 124. The processor 123 performs the functions of the processing module, and the interface 124 performs the functions of the transceiver module. As another variation, the modulation subsystem includes a memory 126, a processor 123, and a program stored on the memory 126 and executable on the processor, and the processor 123 implements the method on the terminal device side in the above method embodiment when executing the program. It should be noted that the memory 126 may be non-volatile or volatile, and may be located within the modulation subsystem or within the processing device 120, as long as the memory 126 is connected to the processor 123.

The embodiment of the application also provides a communication device, which can be a network device. The communication device may be configured to perform the actions performed by the network device in the methods of fig. 1-7 described above.

The communication device includes: the method comprises the following steps: the receiving and sending module is used for receiving a random access message, and the random access message comprises first indication information; the transceiver module is further configured to send a first configuration in response to the first indication information, where the first configuration is a configuration for a broadcast multicast MBS service.

The communication apparatus provided in this embodiment may also be configured to execute a method in any possible implementation manner of the method embodiments in fig. 1 to fig. 7, and specific content may refer to part of content of an action executed by a terminal device in the method embodiments in fig. 1 to fig. 7, which is not described herein again.

The embodiment of the application also provides a communication device, which can be a network device. The communication device may be used to perform the actions performed by the network device in the method embodiment of fig. 8 described above.

The communication device includes: the method comprises the following steps: the processing module is used for generating second configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service, and the transceiver module is used for sending the second configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service, wherein the second configuration comprises second indication information which is used for indicating the continuity of the configuration service of the broadcast multicast MBS service.

When the communication apparatus in this embodiment is a network device, the network device may be as shown in fig. 12, and the apparatus 130 includes one or more radio frequency units, such as a Remote Radio Unit (RRU) 1310 and one or more baseband units 1320 (BBUs), which may also be referred to as Digital Units (DUs). The RRU 1310 may be referred to as a transceiver module. Alternatively, the transceiver module may also be referred to as a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, or a transceiver, etc., which may include at least one antenna 1311 and a radio frequency unit 1312. The RRU 1310 is mainly used for transceiving radio frequency signals and converting the radio frequency signals into baseband signals, for example, for sending indication information to a terminal device. The BBU1310 part is mainly used for performing baseband processing, controlling a base station, and the like. The RRU 1310 and the BBU 1320 may be physically located together or physically located separately, i.e. distributed base stations.

The BBU 1320 is a control center of a base station, and may also be referred to as a processing module, and may correspond to the processing module 820 in fig. 8, and is mainly used for completing baseband processing functions, such as channel coding, multiplexing, modulation, spreading, and the like. For example, the BBU (processing module) may be configured to control the base station to perform an operation procedure related to the network device in the foregoing method embodiment, for example, to generate the foregoing indication information.

In an example, the BBU 1320 may be formed by one or more boards, where a plurality of boards may support a radio access network of a single access system together, or may support radio access networks of different access systems (e.g., an LTE network, a 5G network, or other networks) respectively. The BBU 1320 also includes a memory 1321 and a processor 1322. The memory 1321 is used to store the necessary instructions and data. The processor 1322 is configured to control the base station to perform necessary actions, for example, to control the base station to perform the operation procedure related to the network device in the above-described method embodiment. The memory 1321 and processor 1322 may serve one or more boards. That is, the memory and processor may be provided separately on each board. Multiple boards may share the same memory and processor. In addition, each single board can be provided with necessary circuits.

The above description is only for the specific embodiments of the present application, but the scope of the present application is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of the changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the present application, and shall be covered by the scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method of communication, comprising:

sending a random access message, wherein the random access message comprises first indication information, and the first indication information is used for requesting first configuration of a broadcast multicast MBS service;

the first configuration is received.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a second configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service in a first cell;

reselecting to reside in a second cell through the cell;

the sending the random access message comprises sending the random access message in the second cell.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein:

the second configuration comprises the second indication information, and the second indication information is used for indicating the service continuity of the broadcast multicast MBS service configuration;

and sending the random access message according to the service continuity.

4. A method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized by:

the second configuration further includes identification information of the broadcast multicast MBS service.

5. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4,

receiving system information;

and determining whether to send the random access message according to the system information.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein determining whether to send a random access message according to the system information comprises:

the second cell sends a third configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service;

and determining the time for receiving the third configuration according to the system information, and determining whether to send the random access message according to the time.

7. The method of claim 6, comprising:

the determining whether to transmit the random access message according to the time includes: and confirming that the time for receiving the third configuration is later than the time for receiving the first configuration, and sending the random access message.

8. The method of any one of claims 1-7, wherein:

the random access message is a random access message3 or a random access message A.

9. The method of any one of claims 1 to 8,

and sending the random access message by the terminal equipment, wherein the terminal equipment is in an RRC idle state or an RRC non-activated state.

10. A method of communication, comprising:

receiving a random access message, wherein the random access message comprises first indication information;

and responding to the first indication information to send a first configuration, wherein the first configuration is the configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein:

the first configuration is sent by a random access message 4 or by a random access message B.

12. The method of claim 10 or 11, wherein:

sending a third configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service;

transmitting system information, the system information including a transmission period and an offset of the third configuration.

13. A communication apparatus, comprising

A sending module, configured to send a random access message, where the random access message includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to request a first configuration of a broadcast multicast MBS service;

the receiving module is used for receiving the first configuration.

14. The communications apparatus of claim 13, comprising:

the receiving module is used for receiving a second configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service in a first cell;

a processing module for selecting a second cell as a camped cell of the communication apparatus,

the sending module sends a random access message, including sending the random access message in the second cell.

15. The communications apparatus of claim 14,

and the sending module sends the random access message according to the service continuity.

16. The communication apparatus according to claim 14 or 15,

the second configuration includes identification information of the broadcast multicast MBS service.

17. The communication apparatus according to any one of claims 14 to 16,

the receiving module receives the system information and the system information,

and the processing module determines whether to send the random access message according to the system information.

18. The communications apparatus of claim 17, wherein the processing module determines whether to send a random access message based on the system information comprises:

and the processing module determines the time for receiving the third configuration according to the system information and determines whether to send the random access message according to the time.

19. The communications apparatus of claim 18, comprising:

the processing module determining whether to send the random access message according to the time includes: the processing module confirms that the time for receiving the third configuration is later than the time for receiving the first configuration, and the sending module sends the random access message.

20. The communication device according to any of claims 13-19, wherein:

21. The communication apparatus according to any one of claims 13 to 20,

the communication device is in an RRC idle state or an RRC inactive state.

22. A communications apparatus, comprising:

a receiving module, configured to receive a random access message, where the random access message includes first indication information;

the sending module is configured to send a first configuration in response to the first indication information, where the first configuration is a configuration of a broadcast multicast MBS service.

23. The communications apparatus of claim 22,

the sending module sends the first configuration through a random access message 4, or sends the first configuration through a random access message B.

24. The communication apparatus according to claim 22 or 23,

the sending module is further configured to send a third configuration of the broadcast multicast MBS service;

the sending module is further configured to send system information, where the system information includes the sending period and the offset of the third configuration.

25. A communications apparatus, comprising:

a transceiver for executing instructions for receiving and transmitting information, and a processor, which when executed by the processor, causes the communication device to perform the method of any of claims 1-12.

26. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that,

the computer-readable storage medium has stored thereon a computer program, characterized in that the program is executed by a processor for performing the method according to any of claims 1-12.

27. A communication system comprising a communication device according to any one of claims 13 to 21 and a communication device according to any one of claims 22 to 24.

28. A communications apparatus comprising a memory to store instructions and a processor to execute the memory-stored instructions and to perform the method of any of claims 1-12 on the instructions stored in the memory.