CN118523886A

CN118523886A - Communication method, communication device, communication system, medium, chip, and program product

Info

Publication number: CN118523886A
Application number: CN202310167012.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 马川; 韩锋; 胡锦娜; 郑黎丽
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2023-02-17
Filing date: 2023-02-17
Publication date: 2024-08-20
Also published as: WO2024169347A1

Abstract

A communication method and apparatus, the communication method comprising determining indication information, the indication information comprising at least one of: a resource usage adjustment factor for determining information of a radio resource status when a communication technology is not employed; or information of radio resource status of the communication technology is not employed. In this way, when a cell served by the network device adopts some communication technology (such as a network energy saving technology like energy saving power control), the network device reports relevant information of the communication technology to the adjacent network device, so that the adjacent network device can learn a radio resource state when the cell does not adopt the communication technology, thereby performing reasonable parameter adjustment, avoiding unnecessary handover and/or reselection, and therefore reducing signaling overhead and power consumption.

Description

Communication method, communication device, communication system, medium, chip, and program product

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications, and more particularly, to a communication method, a network device, a communication system, a computer readable storage medium, a chip, and a computer program product.

Background

In a communication system, in order for a neighboring base station to know the radio resource status of its own base station (or its own cell) in time, so as to adjust mobility management parameters (such as parameters of handover and cell reselection) accordingly, the base station may report the radio resource status of its own managed (or served) cell to the neighboring base station.

However, if a base station employs some communication technique (e.g., network power saving technique), it may result in a higher "true" load condition for the base station (or cell) as reported to the neighboring base station than for the base station (or cell). If the neighboring base station performs parameter adjustment according to the "unreal" load condition, unnecessary user switching will be caused, and unnecessary signaling overhead and power consumption will be brought to the network and the user.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of this, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, a network device, a communication system, a computer-readable storage medium, a chip, and a computer program product.

In a first aspect, a method of communication is provided. The method comprises the following steps: the first network equipment determines indication information; and the first network device sends the indication information to the second network device. The indication information includes at least one of: a resource usage adjustment factor for determining information of a radio resource status when a communication technology is not employed; or information of radio resource status when the communication technology is not employed. In this way, when a cell served by a base station adopts certain communication technologies (such as network energy-saving technologies like energy-saving power control, etc.), the base station reports relevant information of the communication technologies to the adjacent base station, so that the adjacent base station can learn the radio resource state when the cell does not adopt the communication technologies, thereby performing reasonable parameter adjustment (such as adjustment of mobility management parameters), avoiding unnecessary handover and reselection, and thus reducing signaling overhead and power consumption.

In some embodiments of the first aspect, the indication information further comprises first information for indicating the communication technology used by the first network device. In this way, when a cell served by a base station adopts some communication technologies, the base station can report relevant information of the communication technologies to the adjacent base station, so that the adjacent base station can learn the radio resource state when the cell does not adopt the communication technologies according to the communication technologies, and then perform reasonable parameter adjustment (such as adjustment of mobility management parameters).

In some embodiments of the first aspect, the first information comprises one of: information indicating the communication technology used by the first network device; or information indicating the communication technology supported by the first network device. In this way, when a cell served by a base station adopts certain communication technologies, the base station can report relevant information of the communication technologies to a neighboring base station, so that the neighboring base station can learn the radio resource state when the cell does not adopt the communication technologies according to the communication technologies, thereby performing reasonable parameter adjustment (such as adjustment of mobility management parameters).

In some embodiments of the first aspect, the first information is indicated by one of: bitmap type, enumeration type, or boolean type. In this way, the base station can report to the neighboring base station the relevant information of the communication technology it is employing with lower signaling overhead.

In some embodiments of the first aspect, the communication technology comprises network power saving technology. In this way, the base station power consumption can be reduced, so that the neighboring base station can learn that the radio resource status of the cell served by the base station reported by the base station is the radio resource status in the case that the base station adopts the network energy saving technology.

In some embodiments of the first aspect, the communication technique comprises a network energy saving technique comprising at least one of: power backoff, power amplifier backoff, energy-saving power control, power domain energy-saving techniques, or spatial domain energy-saving techniques. In this way, the base station can report the related information of the communication technology to the adjacent base station, so that the adjacent base station can learn the radio resource state of the cell served by the base station when the communication technology is not adopted by the base station according to the communication technology, thereby performing reasonable parameter adjustment (such as mobility management parameter adjustment) and avoiding unnecessary handover and reselection, and therefore, the signaling overhead and the power consumption can be reduced.

In some embodiments of the first aspect, determining information of radio resource status when the communication technology is not employed comprises: based on the radio resource status when the communication technology is employed, the first network device determines information of the radio resource status. In this way, when a cell served by a base station adopts certain communication technologies, the base station can report relevant information of the communication technologies to the adjacent base station, so that the adjacent base station can determine the radio resource state when the cell does not adopt the communication technologies according to the relevant information of the communication technologies and based on the radio resource state when the communication technologies are adopted, thereby carrying out reasonable parameter adjustment, avoiding unnecessary handover and reselection, and reducing signaling overhead and power consumption.

In some embodiments of the first aspect, the indication information is carried in at least one of: a resource status update message; or another message different from the resource status update message. In this way, when the indication information is carried with the resource status update message, the impact on the existing protocol framework is smaller and the signaling interaction is more timely and time-saving. When another message different from the resource status update message is used to carry the indication information, the signaling structure of the other message can be designed more flexibly, and the flexibility is higher.

In some embodiments of the first aspect, the radio resource status includes at least one of: the method comprises the steps of synchronizing signal block SSB downlink guaranteed bit rate GBR PRB utilization rate, synchronizing signal block SSB downlink total PRB utilization rate, synchronizing signal block SSB downlink scheduling physical downlink control channel-control channel element utilization rate, synchronizing signal block SSB uplink guaranteed bit rate PRB utilization rate, synchronizing signal block SSB uplink non-guaranteed bit rate non-GBR PRB utilization rate, synchronizing signal block SSB uplink total PRB utilization rate, synchronizing signal block SSB uplink scheduling physical downlink control channel-control channel element utilization rate, slice downlink guaranteed bit rate GBR PRB utilization rate, slice downlink non-guaranteed bit rate non-GBR PRB utilization rate, slice downlink total PRB utilization rate, slice uplink GBR PRB utilization rate, slice (slice) uplink non-GBR utilization rate, slice uplink total PRB utilization rate, multiple-input multiple-output MIMO downlink PRB utilization rate, MIMO downlink non-GBR utilization rate, MIMO downlink total PRB utilization rate, MIMO downlink utilization rate GBR utilization rate or GBR utilization rate. In this way, neighboring base stations can make reasonable parameter adjustments through at least one of a plurality of radio resource states when cells served by the base station do not employ certain communication techniques to avoid unnecessary handovers and reselections, thereby enabling reduced signaling overhead and power consumption.

In some embodiments of the first aspect, the communication method further comprises: the first network device transmits information of the radio resource status when the communication technology is adopted to the second network device. In this way, when a cell served by a base station adopts some communication technology (such as a network energy saving technology such as energy saving power control), the base station reports information of a radio resource state when the communication technology is adopted to a neighboring base station, so that the neighboring base station can determine the radio resource state when the cell does not adopt the communication technology according to the information of the radio resource state when the communication technology is adopted, thereby performing reasonable parameter adjustment (such as adjustment of mobility management parameters), avoiding unnecessary handover and reselection, and therefore reducing signaling overhead and power consumption.

In some embodiments of the first aspect, the communication method further comprises: the first network device sends cell identification information to the second network device, the cell identification information being associated with the indication information. In this way, the neighboring base station can determine the radio resource status associated with the cell identifier information when the cell served by the base station does not use the communication technology, so as to perform reasonable parameter adjustment, avoid unnecessary handover and reselection, and therefore reduce signaling overhead and power consumption.

In some embodiments of the first aspect, the first network device is a centralized unit CU of a base station. In this way, the embodiments of the present application are applicable not only to base stations employing a non-split architecture, having all the functions of a protocol stack, but also to base stations employing a split architecture. In the split architecture, the base station is composed of two parts, namely a Centralized Unit (CU) and a Distributed Unit (DU), into which the functions of the protocol stack are divided.

In some embodiments of the first aspect, the base station further comprises a distributed unit DU, the indication information is a first indication information, and determining the first indication information comprises: the first network device (i.e. the centralized unit CU) receives the second indication information from the distributed unit DU; and the first network device determining the first indication information based on the second indication information. In this way, the embodiments of the present application are applicable not only to base stations employing a non-split architecture, having all the functions of a protocol stack, but also to base stations employing a split architecture. Furthermore, it is possible to provide a device for the treatment of a disease. The decoupling degree between the centralized unit DU and the distributed unit DU under the split architecture is high, so the flexibility is high.

In some embodiments of the first aspect, the second indication information includes at least one of: the first information, the resource usage adjustment factor, and information of the radio resource status when the communication technology is not employed. In this way, when the first network device needs to report the radio resource status to the neighboring base station, it is possible to request reporting of the latest radio resource status to the distributed unit DU and report the latest radio resource status to the neighboring base station. In addition, the decoupling degree between the centralized unit DU and the distributed unit DU under the split architecture is high, so that the flexibility is high.

In some embodiments of the first aspect, the resource usage adjustment factor is obtained based on simulation or analysis. In this way, the base station can report the resource usage adjustment factor to the neighboring base station, so that the neighboring base station can determine the radio resource status when the cell is not employing the communication technology based on the (measured) radio resource status when the cell served by the base station employs the communication technology, thereby performing reasonable parameter adjustment, avoiding unnecessary handover and reselection, and thus reducing signaling overhead and power consumption.

In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, and advantageous effects may be seen in the description of the first aspect, which is not repeated here. The communication method comprises the following steps: the second network device receives indication information from the first network device, the indication information including at least one of: a resource usage adjustment factor for determining information of a radio resource status when the communication technology is not employed; or information of radio resource status when the communication technology is not employed.

In some embodiments of the second aspect, the indication information further comprises: first information indicating the communication technology used by the first network device.

In some embodiments of the second aspect, the communication method further comprises: based on the indication information, the second network device determines mobility management parameters.

In some embodiments of the second aspect, the first information comprises one of: information indicating the communication technology used by the first network device; or information indicating the communication technology supported by the first network device.

In some embodiments of the second aspect, the first information is indicated by one of: bitmap type, enumeration type, or boolean type.

In some embodiments of the second aspect, the communication technology includes network power saving technology.

In some embodiments of the second aspect, the network power saving technique includes at least one of: power backoff, power amplifier backoff, energy-saving power control, power domain energy-saving techniques, or spatial domain energy-saving techniques.

In some embodiments of the second aspect, determining information of radio resource status when the communication technology is not employed comprises: information of the radio resource status is determined based on the radio resource status when the communication technology is employed.

In some embodiments of the second aspect, the radio resource status includes at least one of: the method comprises the steps of synchronizing signal block SSB downlink guaranteed bit rate GBR PRB utilization rate, synchronizing signal block SSB downlink total PRB utilization rate, synchronizing signal block SSB downlink scheduling physical downlink control channel-control channel element utilization rate, synchronizing signal block SSB uplink guaranteed bit rate PRB utilization rate, synchronizing signal block SSB uplink non-guaranteed bit rate non-GBR PRB utilization rate, synchronizing signal block SSB uplink total PRB utilization rate, synchronizing signal block SSB uplink scheduling physical downlink control channel-control channel element utilization rate, slice downlink guaranteed bit rate GBR PRB utilization rate, slice downlink non-guaranteed bit rate non-GBR PRB utilization rate, slice downlink total PRB utilization rate, slice uplink GBR PRB utilization rate, slice (slice) uplink non-GBR utilization rate, slice uplink total PRB utilization rate, multiple-input multiple-output MIMO downlink PRB utilization rate, MIMO downlink non-GBR utilization rate, MIMO downlink total PRB utilization rate, MIMO downlink utilization rate GBR utilization rate or GBR utilization rate.

In some embodiments of the second aspect, the communication method further comprises: the second network device receives information from the first network device regarding the status of the radio resource when the communication technique is employed.

In some embodiments of the second aspect, the communication method further comprises: based on the resource usage adjustment factor, the second network device determines information of the radio resource status by one of the following mathematical operations: multiplication, logarithmic addition, subtraction, division, logarithmic subtraction.

In some embodiments of the second aspect, the communication method further comprises: the second network device receives cell identification information from the first network device, the cell identification information being associated with the indication information.

In some embodiments of the second aspect, determining the mobility management parameter comprises: based on the resource usage adjustment factor, the second network device determines information of the radio resource status.

In some embodiments of the second aspect, determining the mobility management parameter comprises: the second network device determines the mobility management parameter based on the information of the radio resource status.

In some embodiments of the second aspect, determining the mobility management parameter comprises: the second network device determining whether the information of the radio resource status is greater than a radio resource status threshold; based on determining that the information of the radio resource status is greater than the radio resource status threshold, the second network device adjusts the mobility management parameter to reduce at least one of handover or cell reselection to a cell served by the first network device.

In some embodiments of the second aspect, the indication information is included in at least one of: a resource status update message; and another message different from the resource status update message.

In some embodiments of the second aspect, the resource usage adjustment factor is obtained based on simulation or analysis.

In a third aspect, a first communication device is provided. The first communication device includes: a memory for storing a computer program; and a processor for executing a computer program stored in a memory to cause the first communication device to perform the method according to any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect.

In a fourth aspect, a second communication device is provided. The second communication device includes: a memory for storing a computer program; and a processor for executing the computer program stored in the memory to cause the second communication device to implement the method according to any one of the possible implementations of the second aspect.

In a fifth aspect, a communication system is provided. The communication system comprises a first communication device and a second communication device and is configured to implement the method according to any one of the possible implementation forms of the first aspect or the second aspect as described above with the first communication device and the second communication device.

In a sixth aspect, a computer readable storage medium is provided. The computer readable storage medium has stored thereon a computer program which, when executed by a processor, implements a method according to any one of the possible implementations of the first or second aspect described above.

In a seventh aspect, a chip is provided. The chip comprises processing circuitry configured to perform the method according to any one of the possible implementations of the first or second aspect described above.

In an eighth aspect, a computer program product is provided. The computer program product is tangibly stored on a computer-readable medium and comprises computer-executable instructions which, when executed, cause an apparatus to implement a method according to any one of the possible implementations of the first or second aspect described above.

According to the technical scheme of the application, when a cell adopts certain communication technologies (such as network energy-saving technologies like energy-saving power control, etc.), the base station reports the related information of the communication technologies to the adjacent base station, so that the adjacent base station can know the radio resource state when the cell does not adopt the communication technologies, thereby carrying out reasonable parameter adjustment, avoiding unnecessary switching and reselection, and therefore, reducing signaling overhead and power consumption.

The application content is provided in part to introduce related concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the application, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the various embodiments of the application.

Drawings

Features, advantages, and other aspects of various implementations of the exemplary aspects of the application will become apparent by reference to the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Several implementations of the exemplary aspects of the application are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a communication system in which an embodiment of the present application may be implemented;

FIG. 2 illustrates an interactive signaling diagram of a communication process according to an example implementation of some embodiments of the application;

FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic diagram of PRB usage with energy-saving power control in accordance with an example implementation of some embodiments of the application;

FIG. 4A illustrates a schematic diagram of a communication process according to an example implementation of some embodiments of the application;

FIG. 4B illustrates a schematic diagram of a communication process according to another example implementation of some embodiments of the application;

Fig. 5 illustrates a flow chart of a method implemented at a first network device according to some embodiments of the application;

fig. 6 illustrates a flow chart of a method implemented at a second network device according to some embodiments of the application;

fig. 7 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a first network device according to some embodiments of the application;

fig. 8 shows a schematic block diagram of a second network device according to further embodiments of the application; and

Fig. 9 shows a simplified block diagram of an example device suitable for implementing embodiments of the application.

The same or similar reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like elements.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present application will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. While the application is susceptible of embodiment in the drawings, it is to be understood that the application may be embodied in various forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein, but rather are provided to provide a more thorough and complete understanding of the application. It should be understood that the drawings and embodiments of the application are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present application.

In describing embodiments of the present application, the term "comprising" and its like should be taken to be open-ended, i.e., including, but not limited to. The term "based on" should be understood as "based at least in part on". The term "one embodiment" or "the embodiment" should be understood as "at least one embodiment". In the embodiment of the application, for a technical feature, the technical features of the technical feature are distinguished by a first, a second, a third and the like, and the technical features described by the first, the second and the third are not in sequence or in sequence. Other explicit and implicit definitions are also possible below.

Embodiments of the application may be implemented in accordance with any suitable communication protocol, including, but not limited to, third generation (3rd Generation,3G), fourth generation (4G), fifth generation (5G), and future communication protocols (e.g., sixth generation (6G)), cellular communication protocols such as, for example, institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) ELECTRICAL AND Electronics Engineers, 802.11, wireless local area network communication protocols such as, for example, third generation partnership project (3rd generation partnership project,3GPP), and/or any other protocol now known or later developed.

The technical solution of the embodiments of the present application is applied to a communication system following any suitable communication protocol, for example: general Packet Radio Service (GPRS), global system for mobile communications (Global System for Mobile Communications, GSM), enhanced data rates for GSM evolution (ENHANCED DATA RATE for GSM Evolution, EDGE), universal mobile telecommunications system (Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service, UMTS), long term evolution (Long Term Evolution, LTE) system, wideband code Division multiple access system (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access, WCDMA), code Division multiple access 2000 system (Code Division Multiple Access, CDMA 2000), time Division-Synchronization Code Division Multiple Access, TD-SCDMA), frequency Division duplex (Frequency Division Duplex, FDD) system, time Division duplex (Time Division Duplex, TDD), fifth generation (5G) system (e.g., new Radio, NR)) and the like. The technical solution provided by the present application may also be applied to end-to-end (E2E), device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-to-machine (machine to machine, M2M) communication, machine type communication (MACHINE TYPE communication, MTC), and internet of things (internet of things, ioT) communication systems or other communication systems.

For purposes of illustration, embodiments of the present application are described below in the context of a 5G communication system. However, it should be understood that the embodiments of the present application are not limited to this communication system, but may be applied to any communication system where similar problems exist, such as a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), a wired communication system, or other communication systems developed in the future, etc.

The term "terminal device" as used in the present application is any terminal device that can communicate with a network device or with each other either wired or wireless. A terminal device may sometimes be referred to as a User Equipment (UE), an application terminal, an access terminal, a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent, or a user equipment. currently, examples of some terminal devices are: mobile phone, tablet, notebook, palm, mobile internet device (mobile INTERNET DEVICE, MID), wearable device, virtual Reality (VR) device, augmented reality (augmented reality, AR) device, wireless terminal in industrial control (industrial control), wireless terminal in self-driving (self-driving), A wireless terminal in tele-surgery (remote medical surgery), a wireless terminal in a smart grid (SMART GRID), a wireless terminal in transportation security (transportation safety), a wireless terminal in a smart city (SMART CITY), a wireless terminal in a smart home (smart home), a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (session initiation protocol, SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (wireless local loop, WLL), personal Digital Assistant (PDA), handheld device with wireless communication capability, computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, wearable device, terminal device in 5G network or terminal device in future evolved public land mobile network (public land mobile network, PLMN), etc., to which embodiments of the present application are not limited. By way of example, but not limitation, in embodiments of the present application, the terminal device may also be a terminal device in an IoT system, where IoT is an important component of future information technology development, and its main technical feature is to connect the article to a network through a communication technology, so as to implement man-machine interconnection, and an intelligent network for the interconnection of the article. It will be appreciated that the terminal device in the embodiment of the present application may be a terminal for implementing a certain application, for example, a terminal with a camera function, another terminal capable of performing data transmission, and so on. In the embodiment of the present application, the device for implementing the function of the terminal device may be the terminal device, or may be a device capable of supporting the terminal device to implement the function, for example, a chip system or a chip, and the device may be installed in the terminal device. In the embodiment of the application, the chip system can be composed of chips, and can also comprise chips and other discrete devices.

The term "network device" as used in the present application is an entity or node that may be used for communication with a terminal device, e.g. an access network device. The access network device may be an apparatus deployed in a radio access network to provide wireless communication functionality for mobile terminals, and may be, for example, a radio access network (Radio Access Network, RAN) network device. The access network device may include various types of base stations. The base station is used for providing wireless access service for the terminal equipment. Specifically, each base station corresponds to a service coverage area, and terminal devices entering the service coverage area can communicate with the base station through wireless signals, so as to receive wireless access services provided by the base station. There may be an overlap between service coverage areas of base stations, and a terminal device in the overlapping area may receive wireless signals from multiple base stations, so that multiple base stations may serve the terminal device at the same time. Depending on the size of the service coverage area provided, the access network device may include Macro base stations providing Macro cells (Macro cells), micro base stations providing micro cells (Pico cells), pico base stations providing Pico cells, and Femto base stations providing Femto cells (Femto cells). The access network devices may also include various forms of relay stations, access points, remote Radio units (Remote Radio Unit, RRU), radio Heads (RH), remote Radio heads (Remote Radio Head, RRH), and so on. In systems employing different radio access technologies, the names of access network devices may vary, e.g., in long term evolution (Long Term Evolution, LTE) networks referred to as evolved nodebs (enbs or enodebs), in 3G networks as Nodebs (NB), in 5G networks as G nodebs (gNB) or NR nodebs (NR NB), etc. In some scenarios, the access network device may contain a Centralized Unit (CU) and/or a Distributed Unit (DU). The CUs and DUs may be placed in different places, for example: DU is far-pulled, placed in the area of high traffic, CU is placed in the central machine room. Or the CU and DU may be placed in the same room. The CU and DU may also be different components under one shelf. For convenience of description, in the subsequent embodiments of the present application, the above-mentioned devices for providing wireless communication functions for mobile terminals are collectively referred to as network devices, and embodiments of the present application are not limited in detail.

In order to improve the quality of service provided by the network device (or the cell corresponding/associated with the network device) to the terminal device, the radio resource status (Radio Resource Status) of the cell needs to be maintained at a suitable level. The radio resource status of a cell refers to the time-frequency resource usage of the cell, and is generally represented by the usage of physical resource blocks (Physical Resource Block, PRBs). One physical resource block PRB corresponds to 1 unit time and 1 unit frequency. For example, if all time-frequency resources are 50 PRBs, and 30 PRBs are currently used, the PRB usage is 60% (=30/50×100%).

When the PRB usage of a certain cell is high, it means that the cell is high in load, and the remaining time-frequency resources are less, so that the service requirements of the user cannot be met easily (for example, the user has a burst of a large amount of data to be transmitted, and the remaining time-frequency resources of the cell cannot meet the transmission requirements). In this case, measures need to be taken to reduce the load of the cell. For example, some users of the cell are handed over to the neighboring cell while avoiding as much as possible the neighboring cell from handing over users to the cell. For another example, in the system information broadcast by the neighboring cell, the reselection priority of the cell is reduced, and the possibility of the user reselecting and camping on the cell is reduced as much as possible.

In order for the neighboring base station to know the radio resource status of the own base station (or own cell) in time, so as to adjust mobility management parameters (such as parameters of handover and cell reselection) accordingly, the base station may report the radio resource status of the own managed cell to the neighboring base station. In 5G, radio resource status reporting may be implemented by a resource status update (RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE) message.

On the other hand, to achieve network power saving, the base station may employ some communication technology, such as a network power saving technology. The network energy saving techniques may include, for example, time domain energy saving techniques, frequency domain energy saving techniques, spatial domain energy saving techniques, power domain energy saving techniques, and the like. For example, energy-saving power control (also called power backoff) is a typical power domain energy saving technique, and the idea is that: according to shannon's theorem r= Wlog ₂(1+P/WN₀), it can be seen that given a rate R, then the power P is inversely related to the bandwidth W, i.e. the larger the bandwidth W, the smaller the power P. Therefore, the transmission power can be reduced by increasing the transmission bandwidth, thereby achieving network energy saving.

This energy saving method brings about a problem: the PRB utilization rate of the cell is improved. As shown in fig. 3, when the cell does not adopt energy-saving power control, the PRB usage is 28%; after energy-saving power control (frequency expansion and power reduction) is adopted, the PRB utilization rate is improved to 80%. As mentioned above, when the PRB usage of the cell is too high, the neighboring base station may adjust the handover or cell reselection parameters to guide the user to handover/access to the neighboring cell. However, the PRB usage after energy-saving power control is "deliberately" increased, and cannot reflect the "real" load situation of the cell. The neighboring base station makes parameter adjustments based on this "distorted" load condition, which will result in unnecessary user handoffs (unnecessary signaling overhead and power consumption for the network and the user). This is because, when there is a large data traffic, the cell can reduce the PRB utilization by reducing the frequency domain expansion even without using the frequency domain expansion (i.e., without using energy-saving power control), so as to ensure the user traffic demand, without parameter adjustment by the neighbor cell.

In order to avoid the above unnecessary adjustment of neighbor cell parameters, one possible method is to inform the neighboring base station of the "real" PRB usage of the cell when the cell adopts the energy-saving power control technique, i.e., the PRB usage when the cell does not adopt the energy-saving power control (e.g., in fig. 3, the PRB usage when the cell does not adopt the energy-saving power control is informed; at this time, since the cell is adopting the energy-saving power control technique, the accurate value of the PRB usage when the cell does not adopt the energy-saving power control cannot be obtained, but some methods may be adopted to obtain the estimated value of the PRB usage when the cell does not adopt the energy-saving power control according to some information, and then inform the neighboring base station of the estimated value), thereby helping the neighboring base station to make decisions such as handover/cell reselection parameter adjustment.

In view of this, the disclosed embodiments of the present application provide a communication method. In the communication method, when a cell adopts certain communication technologies (such as energy-saving technologies of energy-saving power control and the like), a base station reports related information of the communication technologies to a neighboring base station, so that the neighboring base station can know an estimated value of a radio resource state when the cell does not adopt the communication technologies, thereby carrying out reasonable parameter adjustment and avoiding the unnecessary switching and reselection. In this way, when a cell adopts some communication technologies (such as energy-saving technologies like energy-saving power control, etc.), the base station reports the related information of the communication technologies to the adjacent base station, so that the adjacent base station can learn the estimated value of the radio resource state when the cell does not adopt the communication technologies, thereby performing reasonable parameter adjustment, avoiding unnecessary handover and reselection, and reducing signaling overhead and power consumption.

Fig. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a communication system 100 in which an embodiment of the application may be implemented. As shown in fig. 1, the communication system 100 is part of a network that includes a first network device 110, a second network device 120, and a terminal device 130. The first network device 110 serves (sometimes referred to as "managing" or "providing") a first cell 115 and the second network device 120 serves a second cell 125. The second cell 125 may be a neighboring cell of the first cell 115. The terminal device 130 is currently resident in the first cell 115 and receives network services from the first cell 115. When the utilization of radio resources in the first cell 115 is high (e.g., 80%), the terminal device 130 may reselect to camp on the second cell 125 from the first cell 115, after which the terminal device 130 accepts network service from the second cell 125 and no longer accepts network service from the first cell 115.

In some embodiments, communication system 100 may also include a terminal device 140. For example, the terminal device 140 is currently in a common area of the first cell 115 and the second cell 125, moving in a direction towards the first network device 110 and away from the second network device 120. If the radio resource utilization of the first cell 115 is not too high (e.g., 28%), the terminal device 140 may choose to camp on the first cell 115 to receive network service from the first cell 115. If the radio resource utilization of the first cell 115 is high (e.g., as described above, when the first cell 115 uses some communication technology (e.g., energy saving technology such as energy saving power control), the radio resource status reported by the first network device 110 to the second network device 120 may be "distorted", i.e., may be too high, e.g., 80%), then the second network device 120 may choose to have the terminal device 140 stay in the second cell 125 served by it after receiving the initial access request of the terminal device 140, given that it knows that the radio resource utilization of the first network device 110 is too high (e.g., PRB utilization is 80%). The terminal device 140 may then eventually continue to camp on the neighboring cell of the first cell 115, i.e. the second cell 125, continuing to receive network service from the second cell 125. In practice, however, as shown in fig. 1, the terminal device 140 is closer to the first network device 110 and may receive a higher signal quality from the first cell 115. Assuming that the second network device 120 is able to know that the actual utilization of the radio resources of the first cell 115 is not high (e.g., 28%), that its reported PRB utilization is 80% only because the first cell 115 employs certain communication technologies (e.g., energy saving technologies such as energy saving power control, etc.), and that the first cell 115 may not employ these communication technologies, then the second network device 120, after receiving the handover request of the terminal device 140, may accept that the terminal device 140 resides in the first cell 115 served by the first network device 110, given that it knows that the actual utilization of the radio resources of the first network device 110 is not high (e.g., 28%), as described above). In this case, the absolute terminal device 140 is more likely to successfully handover to its closer first cell 115 and the signal quality received from the first cell 115 is higher.

Fig. 2 illustrates an interactive signaling diagram of a communication process 200 according to an example implementation of some embodiments of the application. The communication process 200 involves a first network device, such as the first network device 110 shown in fig. 1, and a second network device, such as the second network device 120 shown in fig. 1. Communication 200 is described below in conjunction with fig. 1.

As shown in fig. 2, in a communication process 200, a first network device 110 determines indication information 201 at 210. In some embodiments, the indication information 201 may include a resource usage adjustment factor that is used to determine information of a radio resource status of the first network device 110 (of a served cell (e.g., the first cell 115 shown in fig. 1)) when the communication technology is not employed. Alternatively or additionally, the indication information 201 may include information of a radio resource status when the communication technology is not employed. In some embodiments, the indication information 201 may include one or more resource usage adjustment factors. If the previous value of the one or more resource usage adjustment factors is saved on the second network device 120 side, the second network device 120 will overwrite the previous value with the value of the one or more resource usage adjustment factors in the received indication information after receiving the indication information 201. In the case where the indication information 201 includes a plurality of resource usage adjustment factors, the second network device 120 may employ a certain one of the plurality of resource usage adjustment factors based on previous negotiations with the first network device 110. It is also possible that which resource usage adjustment factor is used is hard coded in the second network device 120. In other embodiments, the indication information 201 may not include a resource usage adjustment factor. In this case, the second network device 120 may continue to use the current latest resource usage adjustment factor sent by the first network device 110 before.

The first network device 110 then transmits (215) the indication information 201 to the second network device 120 (serving the second cell 125). On the second network device 120 side, the second network device 120 receives (217) the indication information 201 from the first network device 110.

In some embodiments, the indication information 201 further includes first information for indicating the communication technology used by the first network device 110. In this way, when a cell served by the first network device 110 (e.g., the first cell 115 shown in fig. 1) employs certain communication technologies, the first network device 110 may report information about the communication technologies to the second network device 120 that is a neighboring base station thereof, so that the second network device 120 can learn, according to the communication technologies, a radio resource status when the first cell 115 does not employ the communication technologies, and perform reasonable parameter adjustment (e.g., adjustment of mobility management parameters).

In some embodiments, the first information includes one of: information indicating the communication technology used by the first network device 110; or information indicating the communication technology supported by the first network device 110. In this way, when a cell served by the first network device 110 (e.g., the first cell 115 shown in fig. 1) employs certain communication technologies, the first network device 110 may report information about the communication technologies to the second network device 120 that is a neighboring base station thereof, so that the second network device 120 can learn, according to the communication technologies, a radio resource status when the first cell 115 does not employ the communication technologies, thereby performing reasonable parameter adjustment (e.g., adjustment of mobility management parameters).

In some embodiments, the first information is indicated by one of: bitmap type, enumeration type, or boolean type. For example, the first network device 110 may indicate information of the communication technology used by the first network device 110 through a bitmap, that is, indicate which specific communication technology (e.g., network power saving technology such as power saving control) is used by the first network device 110 through the bitmap. Alternatively, the information of the communication technology used by the first network device 110 may also be indicated by an enumeration type. In this case, the enumerated type may be, for example, a set of all communication technologies (e.g., network power saving technologies such as power saving power control) available (available) or supported (supported) by the first network device 110. The first network device 110 may send the enumerated type to the second network device 120. The first network device 110 may then send information to the second network device 120 for the particular communication technology used by the first network device 110 in the enumerated type, e.g., an index (index) corresponding to the particular communication technology in the enumerated type. Thus, upon receiving the first information included in the indication information 201, the second network device 120 may learn, from the index, which communication technology the particular communication technology used by the first network device 110 is based on the enumeration type previously received. Alternatively, the first network device 110 may also indicate information of a specific communication technology used by the first network device 110 through a boolean type, i.e., indicate which specific communication technology (e.g., network power saving technology such as power saving control) is used by the first network device 110 through "0" or "1", or "True" or "False". In this case, for example, "1", or "True" may be used to indicate that the first network device 110 uses a certain communication technology (e.g., a network power saving technology such as power saving control), or "0", or "False" may be used to indicate that the first network device 110 does not use a certain communication technology (e.g., a network power saving technology such as power saving control). In this way, the first network device 110 can report the relevant information of the communication technology it employs to the second network device 120, which is its neighboring base station, with lower signaling overhead.

In some embodiments, the communication technology includes network power saving technology. In this way, the power consumption of the first network device 110 can be reduced so that the second network device 120, which is a neighboring base station thereof, can learn that the radio resource status of the cell (e.g., the first cell 115 shown in fig. 1) served by the first network device 110 reported by the first network device 110 is the radio resource status in the case where the cell employs the network power saving technology.

In some embodiments, the network power saving technique includes at least one of: power backoff, power amplifier backoff, energy-saving power control, power domain energy-saving techniques, or spatial domain energy-saving techniques. In this way, the first network device 110 can report the information about the communication technology to the second network device 120 that is a neighboring base station thereof, so that the second network device 120 can learn from the communication technology the radio resource status of the cell served by the first network device 110 (e.g., the first cell 115 shown in fig. 1) when the communication technology is not adopted, thereby performing reasonable parameter adjustment (e.g., mobility management parameter adjustment), avoiding unnecessary handover and reselection, and thus can reduce signaling overhead and power consumption.

In some embodiments, to determine the information of the radio resource status when the communication technology is not employed, the first network device 110 may determine the information of the radio resource status based on the radio resource status when the communication technology is employed. In this way, when a cell served by the first network device 110 (e.g., the first cell 115 shown in fig. 1) employs certain communication technologies, the first network device 110 may report relevant information of the communication technologies to the second network device 120 as its neighboring base station, so that the second network device 120 can determine the radio resource status of the first cell 115 without employing the above communication technologies according to the relevant information of the communication technologies and based on the radio resource status of the first cell 115 with the communication technologies, thereby performing reasonable parameter adjustment, avoiding unnecessary handover and reselection, and thus can reduce signaling overhead and power consumption.

In some embodiments, the indication information is carried in at least one of: a resource status update message; or another message different from the resource status update message. In this way, when the indication information is carried with the resource status update message, the impact on the existing protocol framework is smaller and the signaling interaction is more timely and time-saving. When another message different from the resource status update message is used to carry the indication information, the signaling structure of the other message can be designed more flexibly, and the flexibility is higher.

In some embodiments, the radio resource status includes at least one of: the method comprises the steps of synchronizing signal block SSB downlink guaranteed bit rate GBR PRB utilization rate, synchronizing signal block SSB downlink total PRB utilization rate, synchronizing signal block SSB downlink scheduling physical downlink control channel-control channel element utilization rate, synchronizing signal block SSB uplink guaranteed bit rate PRB utilization rate, synchronizing signal block SSB uplink non-guaranteed bit rate non-GBR PRB utilization rate, synchronizing signal block SSB uplink total PRB utilization rate, synchronizing signal block SSB uplink scheduling physical downlink control channel-control channel element utilization rate, slice downlink guaranteed bit rate GBR PRB utilization rate, slice downlink non-guaranteed bit rate non-GBR PRB utilization rate, slice downlink total PRB utilization rate, slice uplink GBR PRB utilization rate, slice (slice) uplink non-GBR utilization rate, slice uplink total PRB utilization rate, multiple-input multiple-output MIMO downlink PRB utilization rate, MIMO downlink non-GBR utilization rate, MIMO downlink total PRB utilization rate, MIMO downlink utilization rate GBR utilization rate or GBR utilization rate. In this manner, as a neighboring base station of the first network device 110, the second network device 120 can make reasonable parameter adjustments through at least one of a plurality of radio resource states when the cell served by the first network device 110 (e.g., the first cell 115 shown in fig. 1) does not employ certain communication technologies, to avoid unnecessary handover and reselection, thereby enabling reduction in signaling overhead and power consumption.

In some embodiments, the first network device 110 also transmits information of the radio resource status when the communication technology is employed to the second network device 120. In this way, when a cell served by the first network device 110 (for example, the first cell 115 shown in fig. 1) employs certain communication technologies (for example, network power saving technologies such as power saving control, etc.), the first network device 110 reports information of a radio resource state when the communication technology is employed to the second network device 120 as its neighboring base station, so that the second network device 120 can determine the radio resource state when the communication technology is not employed by the first cell 115 according to the information of the radio resource state when the communication technology is employed, thereby performing reasonable parameter adjustment (for example, adjustment of mobility management parameters), avoiding unnecessary handover and reselection, and thus being capable of reducing signaling overhead and power consumption.

In some embodiments, the first network device 110 also transmits cell identification information to the second network device 120, the cell identification information being associated with the indication information 201. In this way, as the neighboring base station of the first network device 110, the second network device 120 can determine, based on the cell identification information, a radio resource status associated therewith when the cell served by the first network device 110 (e.g., the first cell 115 shown in fig. 1) does not employ the above-described communication technology, thereby performing reasonable parameter adjustment, avoiding unnecessary handover and reselection, and thus can reduce signaling overhead and power consumption.

In some embodiments, the first network device 110 is a centralized unit CU of a base station. In this way, the embodiments of the present application are applicable not only to base stations employing a non-split architecture, having all the functions of a protocol stack, but also to base stations employing a split architecture. In the split architecture, the base station is composed of two parts, namely a Centralized Unit (CU) and a Distributed Unit (DU), into which the functions of the protocol stack are divided.

In some embodiments, the base station further comprises a distributed unit DU, the indication information 201 being a first indication information. Upon determining the first indication information, second indication information from the distributed unit DU is received by the centralized unit CU. Then, the centralized unit CU determines the first indication information based on the second indication information. In this way, the embodiments of the present application are applicable not only to base stations employing a non-split architecture, having all the functions of a protocol stack, but also to base stations employing a split architecture. Furthermore, it is possible to provide a device for the treatment of a disease. The decoupling degree between the centralized unit DU and the distributed unit DU under the split architecture is high, so the flexibility is high.

In some embodiments, the second indication information includes at least one of: the first information, the resource usage adjustment factor, or information of the radio resource status when the communication technology is not employed. In this way, when the centralized unit CU needs to report the radio resource status to the neighboring base station, it is possible to request reporting of the latest radio resource status to the distributed unit DU and report the latest radio resource status to the neighboring base station. In addition, the decoupling degree between the centralized unit DU and the distributed unit DU under the split architecture is high, so that the flexibility is high.

In some embodiments, the resource usage adjustment factor is obtained based on simulation or analysis. In this way, the first network device 110 may report the resource usage adjustment factor to the second network device 120, which is its neighboring base station, such that the second network device 120 can determine the radio resource status of the cell served by the first network device 110 (e.g., the first cell 115 shown in fig. 1) when the communication technology is not employed by the first cell 115 based on the (measured) radio resource status of the cell employing the communication technology, thereby performing reasonable parameter adjustment, avoiding unnecessary handover and reselection, and thus reducing signaling overhead and power consumption.

In some embodiments, the second network device 120 may also determine mobility management parameters based on the indication information. In this way, the second network device 120 can determine the radio resource status of the cell served by the first network device 110 (e.g., the first cell 115 shown in fig. 1) without adopting the communication technology according to the indication information (e.g., the indication information 201 shown in fig. 2) from the first network device 110, so as to facilitate the second network device 120 to perform reasonable parameter adjustment (e.g., adjustment of mobility management parameters), avoid unnecessary handover and reselection, and thus can reduce signaling overhead and power consumption.

In some embodiments, in determining the information of the radio resource status when the communication technology is not employed, the second network device 120 may determine the information of the radio resource status based on the radio resource status when the communication technology is employed. In this way, when a cell served by the first network device 110 (e.g., the first cell 115 shown in fig. 1) adopts certain communication technologies, the first network device 110 reports relevant information of the communication technologies to the second network device 120 as its neighboring base station, so that the second network device 120 can determine the radio resource status of the first cell 115 when the first cell 115 does not adopt the communication technologies according to the relevant information of the communication technologies and based on the radio resource status of the first cell 115 when the first cell 115 adopts the communication technologies, thereby performing reasonable parameter adjustment, avoiding unnecessary handover and reselection, and thus can reduce signaling overhead and power consumption.

In some embodiments, the second network device 120 also receives information from the first network device 110 regarding the status of the radio resources when the communication technology was employed. In this way, when a cell served by the first network device 110 (for example, the first cell 115 shown in fig. 1) employs certain communication technologies (for example, network power saving technologies such as power saving control, etc.), the first network device 110 reports information of a radio resource state when the communication technology is employed to the second network device 120 as its neighboring base station, so that the second network device 120 can determine the radio resource state when the communication technology is employed, according to the information of the radio resource state when the communication technology is employed, the first cell 115 does not employ the above communication technology, and perform reasonable parameter adjustment (for example, adjustment of mobility management parameters), avoiding unnecessary handover and reselection, and thus can reduce signaling overhead and power consumption.

In some embodiments, the second network device further determines the information of the radio resource status based on the resource usage adjustment factor by one of the following mathematical operations: multiplication, logarithmic addition, subtraction, division, or logarithmic subtraction. In this manner, the second network device 120 can determine the radio resource status of the cell served by the first network device 110 (e.g., the first cell 115 shown in fig. 1) without employing the communication technology based on the resource usage adjustment factor, thereby facilitating a reasonable parameter adjustment by the second network device 120, avoiding unnecessary handover and reselection, and thus reducing signaling overhead and power consumption.

In some embodiments, the second network device 120 also receives cell identification information from the first network device 110, the cell identification information being associated with the indication information (e.g., indication information 201 shown in fig. 2). In this way, the second network device 120 can determine, based on the cell identification information, a radio resource status associated with the cell identification information when the cell served by the first network device 110 (e.g., the first cell 115 shown in fig. 1) does not employ a communication technology, so as to perform reasonable parameter adjustment, avoid unnecessary handover and reselection, and thus can reduce signaling overhead and power consumption.

In some embodiments, to determine the mobility management parameter, the second network device 120 may determine information of the radio resource status based on the resource usage adjustment factor. In this manner, the second network device 120 can determine the radio resource status of the cell served by the first network device 110 (e.g., the first cell 115 shown in fig. 1) without employing the communication technology based on the resource usage adjustment factor, thereby facilitating a reasonable parameter adjustment by the second network device 120, avoiding unnecessary handover and reselection, and thus reducing signaling overhead and power consumption.

In some embodiments, to determine the mobility management parameter, the second network device 120 may determine the mobility management parameter based on the information of the radio resource status. In this way, the second network device 120 can determine the radio resource status of the cell served by the first network device 110 (e.g., the first cell 115 shown in fig. 1) without adopting the communication technology according to the indication information (e.g., the indication information 201 shown in fig. 2) from the first network device 110, so as to facilitate the second network device 120 to perform reasonable parameter adjustment (e.g., adjustment of mobility management parameters), avoid unnecessary handover and reselection, and thus can reduce signaling overhead and power consumption.

In some embodiments, in determining the mobility management parameter, the second network device 120 may determine whether the information of the radio resource status is greater than a radio resource status threshold. The second network device 120 may then adjust the mobility management parameter to reduce handover and/or cell reselection to a cell served by the first network device 110 (e.g., the first cell 115 shown in fig. 1) based on determining that the information of the radio resource status is greater than the radio resource status threshold. In this way, the second network device 120 can determine the radio resource status of the cell served by the first network device 110 (e.g., the first cell 115 shown in fig. 1) without adopting the communication technology according to the indication information (e.g., the indication information 201 shown in fig. 2) from the first network device 110, so as to facilitate the second network device 120 to perform reasonable parameter adjustment (e.g., adjustment of mobility management parameters), avoid unnecessary handover and reselection, and thus can reduce signaling overhead and power consumption.

Fig. 3 illustrates a schematic diagram of PRB usage 300 with power saving power control according to an example implementation of some embodiments of the application. As before, the PRB usage is 28% when the first cell 115 does not employ energy-saving power control (see left side of fig. 3). When energy-saving power control (frequency expansion and power reduction) is adopted, the PRB utilization rate is increased to 80% (see the right side of fig. 3). When the PRB usage of the cell is too high, the neighboring base station (e.g., the second network device 120 shown in fig. 1) may adjust the handover or cell reselection parameters to guide the user to handover/access to the neighboring cell. However, the PRB usage after energy-saving power control is "deliberately" increased, and cannot reflect the "real" load situation of the cell. The neighboring base station performs parameter adjustment according to the "unreal" load condition, which will cause unnecessary user switching, and bring unnecessary signaling overhead and power consumption to the network and the user. This is because, as described above, when there is a large data traffic, the first cell 115 may reduce the PRB utilization by reducing the frequency domain expansion even without using the frequency domain expansion (i.e., without using the energy-saving power control), so as to secure the user traffic demand, without the mobility parameter adjustment by the second cell 125.

Fig. 4A illustrates a schematic diagram of a communication process 400 according to an example implementation of some embodiments of the application. The communication process 400 may be considered an implementation of the communication process 200 depicted in fig. 2, and the communication process 400 involves a first network device and a second network device. The first network device may be, for example, the first network device 110 shown in fig. 1, and the second network device may be, for example, the second network device 120 shown in fig. 1. In the embodiment shown in fig. 4A, the first network device 110 adopts a non-split architecture, and has all the functions of the protocol stack. The communication process 400 is schematically described below with reference to fig. 1 and 2.

For example, to save power, the first network device 110 employs a particular network power saving technique in the first cell 115 at 410. The specific network energy saving technology can be power back-off, power amplifier back-off, energy saving power control, power domain energy saving technology, airspace energy saving technology and the like.

The first network device 110 then sends (415) a first message 401 to the second network device 120, the first message 401 being for indicating a resource usage status of the first cell 115 of the first network device 110. The first message 401 corresponds to or includes the indication information 201 shown in fig. 2. The first message 401 includes the following:

● Information 1: the Cell identity, cell ID, of the first Cell 115. The identification may be: next generation radio access network cell identity (Next Generation Radio Access Network CELL IDENTITY, NG-RAN CELL IDENTITY), global next generation radio access network cell identity (Global NG-RAN CELL IDENTITY), or other information that can identify the cell identity.

● Information 2: the radio resource status (Radio Resource Status) of the first cell 115 is the network actual measurement. The information comprises at least one of the following:

A downlink guaranteed bit rate physical resource block usage (Downlink Guaranteed Bit RATE PHYSICAL Resource Block usage, DL GBR PRB usage) of a synchronization signal block region (Synchronization Signal Block area, SSB area);

A Downlink non-Guaranteed Bit rate physical resource block usage (DL non-GBR PRB usage) of a synchronization signal block region (SSB area);

a downlink total physical resource block usage (Downlink Total Physical Resource Block usage, DL Total PRB usage) of a synchronization signal block area (SSB area);

Downlink scheduling physical downlink control channel-control channel element usage for a synchronization signal block area (SSB area) (Downlink scheduling Physical Downlink Control Channel Control Channel Element usage,DL scheduling PDCCH CCE usage);

Uplink guaranteed bit rate physical resource block usage (Uplink Guaranteed Bit RATE PHYSICAL Resource Block usage, UL GBR PRB usage) of a synchronization signal block region (SSB area);

An Uplink non-Guaranteed Bit rate physical resource block usage (UL non-GBR PRB usage) of a synchronization signal block region (SSB area);

uplink total physical resource block usage (Uplink Total Physical Resource Block usage, UL Total PRB usage) of a synchronization signal block area (SSB area);

Uplink scheduling physical downlink control channel-control channel element usage for a synchronization signal block area (SSB area) (Uplink scheduling Physical Downlink Control Channel Control Channel Element usage,UL scheduling PDCCH CCE usage);

A downlink guaranteed bit rate physical resource block usage (DL GBR PRB usage) of slices (slices);

a downlink non-guaranteed bit rate physical resource block usage (DL non-GBR PRB usage) of a slice (slice);

a downlink total physical resource block usage (DL Total PRB usage) of a slice (slice);

uplink guaranteed bit rate physical resource block usage (UL GBR PRB usage) of slice (slice);

uplink non-guaranteed bit rate physical resource block usage (UL non-GBR PRB usage) of slice (slice);

The uplink total physical resource block usage (UL Total PRB usage) of slice (slice);

Downlink guaranteed bit rate physical resource block usage (DL GBR PRB usage) for multiple-input multiple-output (Multiple Input Multiple Output, MIMO);

a downlink non-guaranteed bit rate physical resource block usage (DL non-GBR PRB usage) of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO);

a downlink total physical resource block usage (DL Total PRB usage) of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO);

uplink guaranteed bit rate physical resource block usage (UL GBR PRB usage) for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO);

Uplink non-guaranteed bit rate physical resource block usage (UL non-GBR PRB usage) for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO);

uplink total physical resource block usage (UL Total PRB usage) for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO).

The various usage rates (usages) may be integers from 0 to 100, and represent corresponding percentage values.

The first message also contains at least one of the following:

● Information 3: indication information 1, for indicating the network energy saving technology adopted by the first cell 115. The network energy saving technology can be as follows: power back-off, power amplifier back-off, energy-saving power control, power domain energy-saving techniques, airspace energy-saving techniques, and the like. The indication information 1 may be of the enumeration (enumerated) type, for example ENUMERATED (power domain power saving technique, spatial domain power saving technique, …).

● Information 4: indication 2 for indicating that the first cell 115 employs a particular network power saving technique. The specific network energy saving technology can be power back-off, power amplifier back-off, power domain energy saving technology, airspace energy saving technology and the like. When the indication information is "1" or "True", the energy saving technology is adopted. The indication information 2 may also be of the bitmap (bitmap) type.

● Information 5: the resource usage adjustment factor is used to calculate the radio resource status when the first cell 115 does not employ a particular network power saving technique. The radio resource state is an estimated value or a predicted value, and because the network adopts a certain specific network energy-saving technology currently, the network cannot obtain the radio resource state when the technology is not adopted through actual measurement; the estimated value or predicted value of the radio resource state when the technology is not adopted can only be obtained based on online simulation (when the simulation does not adopt a certain specific network energy saving technology) or by a theoretical analysis method and the like. The value of the resource usage adjustment factor may be a numerical value, and operations such as adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, logarithmic adding, logarithmic subtracting, etc. are performed on the network actual measurement value of the radio resource status value based on the numerical value, so that the radio resource status estimated value or predicted value when a specific network energy saving technology is not adopted can be calculated.

For example, multiplication may be employed to derive radio resource status estimates or predictions. Assuming that DL GBR PRB usage of SSB region=80 and the resource usage adjustment factor value is 0.7, DL GBR PRB usage of SSB region (predicted value/estimated value) =80×0.7=56 when a specific network power saving technology is not used. For another example, a logarithmic addition may be employed to obtain a radio resource state estimate or prediction. Assuming that DL GBR PRB usage=80 for the SSB region, the resource usage adjustment factor value is-2.2 dB (log-add-2.2 dB, corresponding to multiplication 0.6), then DL GBR PRB usage=80 for the SSB region is 0.6=48 without using a specific network power saving technique.

Note that the value of the resource usage adjustment factor may also be an index (index), where each index value corresponds to a specific value. Alternatively, the actual network measurement value of the radio resource status may include a plurality of items. The resource usage adjustment factor may be for all the entries (i.e., all the entries perform operations such as adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, logarithmically adding, logarithmically subtracting, etc. according to the resource usage adjustment factor), or may be for only one of the entries (in this case, the first message includes N factors, each of which corresponds to one of the network actual measurement values of the radio resource status, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1).

● Information 6: the radio resource status of the first cell 115 when a specific network power saving technique is not used is not an actual measured value of the network but an estimated or predicted value. The information comprises at least one of the following:

Among the above, information 3 (i.e., instruction information 1), information 4 (i.e., instruction information 2), information 5 (i.e., resource usage adjustment factor), and information 6 (i.e., radio resource status (estimated value) when a certain specific network power saving technique is not employed) are optional. In some embodiments, the first network device 110 may report information 3, information 4, information 5, and information 6 to the second network device 120 only when a change in a communication technology (e.g., network power saving technology) employed by the first cell 115 that affects its resource usage status and/or a change in information 2 occurs. For example, the first network device 110 may report information 3, information 4, information 5, and information 6 to the second network device 120 when the first cell 115 changes from not employing network power saving techniques to employing one network power saving technique, or from employing one network power saving technique to employing another network power saving technique. As another example, the first network device 110 may report information 3, information 4, information 5, and information 6 to the second network device 120 when the information 2 of the first cell 115 changes. In this way, signaling overhead between the first network device 110 and the second network device 120 can be reduced, improving communication efficiency.

The first message 401 may be a resource status update (RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE) message. Alternatively, information 3, information 4, information 5, and information 6 may be transmitted not in the resource status update message but in another message different from the resource status update message. For example, a message may be newly defined to transmit at least one of information 3, information 4, information 5, and information 6.

Returning to fig. 4A, on the other side of the communication, the second network device 120 receives (417) a first message 401 from the first network device 110. In 420, the second network device 120 makes a mobility management decision based on the above-described first message 401 or the other message than the resource status update message. The specific decision scheme is not limited and is exemplified below.

In some exemplary embodiments, the second network device 120 receives information 1, information 2, and does not receive information 3 (i.e., indicates information 1), information 4 (i.e., indicates information 2), then the second network device 120 may compare with a preconfigured threshold value (denoted as Th 1) based on the radio resource status (e.g., DL Total PRB usage for SSB region, denoted as X) indicated in information 2. For example, if X > Th1, the second network device 120 adjusts the handover parameters with the SSB region described above, thereby reducing the handover of the user to the SSB region. Specifically, if the terminal device 130 attempts to handover from the first cell 115 to the second cell 125 at this time, there is a possibility that the handover attempt of the terminal device 130 fails because the second network device 120 adjusts the handover parameters with the SSB region described above to reduce the handover user to the SSB region. As another example, if X < = Th1, the second network device 120 does not adjust the above parameters. Specifically, if the terminal device 130 attempts to handover from the first cell 115 to the second cell 125 at this time, there is a high probability that the handover will be successful to the second cell 125.

If the second network device 120 receives information 3 (i.e., indication information 1) or information 4 (i.e., indication information 2), the second network device 120 may subtract an offset value from the radio resource status indicated in information 2 (e.g., DL Total PRB usage of the SSB region, denoted as X) and compare the subtracted value with a pre-configured threshold value (denoted as Th 2). The offset value may be set to 1dB or any other suitable value, for example. For example, if X-1db > th2, the second network device 120 adjusts the handover parameters with the SSB region described above, thereby reducing the handover of the user to the SSB region. Specifically, if the terminal device 130 attempts to handover from the first cell 115 to the second cell 125 at this time, there is a possibility that the handover attempt of the terminal device 130 fails because the second network device 120 adjusts the handover parameters with the SSB region described above to reduce the handover user to the SSB region. As another example, if X-1dB < = Th2, the second network device 120 does not adjust the above parameters. Specifically, if the terminal device 130 attempts to handover from the first cell 115 to the second cell 125 at this time, there is a high probability that the handover will be successful to the second cell 125.

In some exemplary embodiments, if the second network device 120 receives information 5 (i.e., the resource usage adjustment factor), the second network device 120 may calculate a new radio resource status (estimated value, and thus in fact the first cell 115, using a particular network power saving technique) based on this information 5 and information 2. The specific calculation method is similar to that described in the description of the information 5, and is not repeated here. The second network device 120 may then compare the new radio resource status (estimate) with a pre-configured threshold value to decide whether and how to adjust the mobility management parameters. The specific method is similar to that described in the above embodiment, and is not repeated here.

In some exemplary embodiments, if the second network device 120 receives the information 6 (i.e., the radio resource status (estimate) when a particular network power saving technique is not employed), the second network device 120 may directly compare the information 6 with a pre-configured threshold to determine whether and how to adjust the mobility management parameters. The specific method is similar to that described in the above embodiment, and is not repeated here.

In this way, when the first cell 115 employs certain energy saving techniques (e.g., energy saving power control), the first network device 110 may report information about the energy saving techniques to the neighboring base station (the second network device 120 providing the second cell 125), so that the neighboring base station can learn the radio resource status when the first cell 115 does not employ the energy saving techniques, thereby making reasonable mobility management parameter adjustments, avoiding unnecessary handover and reselection between the neighboring base station (the second cell 125) and the first cell 115 of the first network device 110.

Fig. 4B illustrates a schematic diagram of a communication process 450 according to an example implementation of some embodiments of the application. The communication process 450 may be considered another implementation of the communication process 200 depicted in fig. 2, and the communication process 450 involves a first network device, a second network device, and a distributed unit. The first network device may be, for example, the first network device 110 shown in fig. 1, and the second network device may be, for example, the second network device 120 shown in fig. 1. In the embodiment shown in fig. 4B, the first network device 110 is a Centralized Unit (CU) in a base station employing a split architecture. The base station is constituted by the centralized Unit (i.e. the first network device 110) and the Distributed Unit DU 430, in which base station the functionality of the protocol stack is divided into two parts, the centralized Unit CU and the Distributed Unit DU. In the base station, the number of distributed units DU may be one or more. The communication process 450 is schematically illustrated below in conjunction with fig. 1, 2, and 4A.

In the scenario where the base station comprising the first network device 110 as the centralized unit CU adopts a split architecture, various information in the embodiment shown in fig. 4A needs to be informed by the distributed unit 430 of the base station to the centralized unit of the base station (i.e., the first network device 110) and then sent by the first network device 110 to the second network device 120.

For example, to save power, a particular network power saving technique is employed by a cell (e.g., the first cell 115 of fig. 1) served by the distributed unit 430 at 460. The process is similar to the process 410 in the embodiment of fig. 4A, except that the process 460 is performed by the distributed unit 430 in the split architecture, and the process 410 in the embodiment of fig. 4A is performed by the first network device 110 in the non-split architecture, so the description of the process 460 will be referred to in fig. 4A, and will not be repeated here.

The distributed unit 430 then sends (465) a second message 403 to the first network apparatus 110, the second message 403 being used to indicate the resource usage status of a certain cell (e.g. the first cell 115) served by the distributed unit 430. The second message 403 includes the following:

● Information 1: the Cell identity, cell ID, of the first Cell 115. See in particular the corresponding description of the embodiment shown in fig. 4A.

● Information 2: the radio resource status of the first cell 115 (Radio Resource Status). See in particular the corresponding description of the embodiment shown in fig. 4A.

● Information 3: indicating information 1. See in particular the corresponding description of the embodiment shown in fig. 4A.

● Information 4: indicating information 2. See in particular the corresponding description of the embodiment shown in fig. 4A.

● Information 5: resource usage adjustment factors. See in particular the corresponding description of the embodiment shown in fig. 4A.

● Information 6: the radio resource status (estimated or predicted) when the first cell 115 does not employ a particular network power saving technique. See in particular the corresponding description of the embodiment shown in fig. 4A.

The first network device 110 then sends 470 the first message 405 to the second network device 120. The first message 405 corresponds to or includes the first message 401 in the embodiment shown in fig. 4A; this process is similar to the embodiment shown in fig. 4A, except that here the first message 405 is sent by the first network device 110 in a centralized architecture as a centralized unit (470), whereas in the embodiment shown in fig. 4A the first message 401 is sent by the first network device 110 in a non-split architecture (415). Therefore, the details are described in the corresponding description of the embodiment shown in fig. 4A, and will not be repeated here. On the other side of the communication, the second network device 120 receives (472) the first message 405 from the first network device 110.

In some embodiments, here, the first network device 110 may forward (470) the first message 405 directly from the second message 403 it received by the distributed unit 430 when it sends to a neighboring base station (i.e., the second network device 120). For example, the centralized unit (i.e., the first network device 110) may extract payload information from the second message 403, the payload information including at least one of the first information, the resource usage adjustment factor, or information of a radio resource status of a cell served by the network device 110 (e.g., the first cell 115 shown in fig. 1) when the cell does not employ the communication technology or technologies. As previously described, the first information is used to indicate the communication technology used by the first network device 110, and the resource usage adjustment factor is used to determine information of the radio resource status of the cell when the communication technology is not employed. The first network device 110 may then generate a first message 405 using the payload information and send (470) the first message 405 to the second network device 120. In this way, processing may be simplified, signaling overhead per transmission (470) of the first message 405 to the second network device may be reduced, and the first message 405 may be transmitted (470) to the second network device after the first network device 110 receives (467) the second message 403, so that information of the resource usage status of the first cell 115 may be reported to the second network device 120 in time, so that the second network device 120 may decide whether to adjust mobility management parameters, and how to adjust based on the latest information of the resource usage status of the first cell 115. In other embodiments, the centralized unit (i.e., the first network device 110) may also aggregate the second messages 403 it receives from multiple distributed units DU (the multiple distributed units including the distributed unit 430 shown in the figure) before sending them to the second network device 120. For example, the first network device 110 may include one centralized unit CU (i.e., the first network device 110 shown in the drawing) and a plurality of distributed units DU (i.e., the distributed units 430 shown in the drawing; only one is illustrated in the drawing, but the number of the distributed units 430 is not limited thereto, i.e., there may be a plurality of distributed units). In this case, the centralized unit 110-CU may receive (467) the second message 403 from the plurality of distributed units DU. The centralized unit (i.e., the first network device 110) may then extract payload information from the plurality of second messages 403, respectively, and then use the payload information to generate a first message 405 and send (470) the first message 405 to the second network device 120. In this way, the second messages 403 received (467) from the plurality of distributed units 430 can be aggregated at the first network device 110 and then sent (470) to the second network device 120, thus enabling a further reduction in signaling overhead compared to the manner in which the second messages 403 are forwarded directly by the centralized unit (i.e., the first network device 110).

In 475, the second network device 120 makes a mobility management decision based on the first message 405. For example, whether or not to adjust mobility management parameters, and how to adjust. The specific decision scheme is not limited, and examples are described in connection with fig. 4A, and are not repeated here.

In this manner, the distributed unit 430 may report the energy saving technology related information employed by the first cell 115 to the centralized unit (i.e., the first network device 110), so that the first network device 110 can learn the information and report the information to the neighboring base station (e.g., the second network device 120 providing the second cell 125 as shown in fig. 1), so that the neighboring base station can learn the radio resource status (estimated value) when the first cell 115 does not employ the energy saving technology, so as to perform reasonable parameter adjustment, avoid unnecessary handover and reselection between the neighboring base station and the first cell 115, and thus reduce signaling overhead and power consumption.

Fig. 5 illustrates a flowchart of a method 500 implemented at a first network device (non-split architecture) or CU thereof (split architecture) according to some embodiments of the application. In one possible implementation, the method 500 may be implemented by the first network device 110 of the non-split architecture of the communication system 100, or may also be implemented by the first network device 110 acting as a centralized unit under a split architecture. In other possible implementations, the method 500 may also be implemented by other electronic devices independent of the communication system 100. As an example, the method 500 will be described below as being implemented by the first network device 110 of a non-split architecture in the communication system 100 or the first network device 110 acting as a centralized unit under a split architecture.

At 510, the first network device 110 determines indication information (indication information 201 as shown in fig. 2). At 520, the first network device 110 transmits the indication information 201 to a second network device (e.g., the second network device 120 shown in fig. 1). In this way, when a cell served by the first network device 110 (for example, the first cell 115 shown in fig. 1) employs certain communication technologies (for example, network power saving technologies such as power saving control, etc.), the first network device 110 may report relevant information of the communication technologies to the second network device 120 as its neighboring base station, so that the second network device 120 can learn, according to the communication technologies, a radio resource status of the first cell 115 when the communication technologies are not employed, and further perform reasonable parameter adjustment (for example, adjustment of mobility management parameters), avoiding unnecessary handover and reselection, and thus can reduce signaling overhead and power consumption.

In some embodiments, the indication information 201 further includes first information for indicating the communication technology used by the first network device 110. In this way, when a cell served by the first network device 110 (for example, the first cell 115 shown in fig. 1) employs certain communication technologies (for example, network power saving technologies such as power saving control, etc.), the first network device 110 may report information about the communication technologies to the second network device 120 as its neighboring base station, so that the second network device 120 can learn, according to the communication technologies, a radio resource status when the first cell 115 does not employ the communication technologies, and perform reasonable parameter adjustment (for example, adjustment of mobility management parameters).

In some embodiments, the first information is indicated by one of: bitmap type, enumeration type, or boolean type. In this way, the first network device 110 can report the relevant information of the communication technology it employs to the second network device 120, which is its neighboring base station, with lower signaling overhead.

Fig. 6 illustrates a flow chart of a method 600 implemented at a second network device according to some embodiments of the application. In one possible implementation, the method 600 may be implemented by the second network device 120 of the communication system 100. In other possible implementations, the method 600 may also be implemented by other electronic devices independent of the communication system 100. As an example, the method 600 will be described below as being implemented by the second network device 120 in the communication system 100.

At 610, the second network device 120 receives indication information (e.g., indication information 201 shown in fig. 2) from a first network device (e.g., first network device 110 shown in fig. 1). The indication information may include a resource usage adjustment factor that is used to determine information of radio resource status of a cell served by the first network device 110 (e.g., the first cell 115 shown in fig. 1) when the communication technology is not employed. Alternatively or additionally, the indication information may comprise information of radio resource status of the cell when the communication technology is not employed. In this way, when the cell served by the first network device 110 employs some communication technology (such as network energy saving technology like energy saving power control), the second network device 120 can learn relevant information of the communication technology from the first network device 110, so that the second network device 120 can learn the radio resource status of the first cell 115 without employing the communication technology according to the communication technology, and further perform reasonable parameter adjustment (such as adjustment of mobility management parameters), avoiding unnecessary handover and reselection, and thus can reduce signaling overhead and power consumption. Here, the mobility management parameter may include a Handover (HO) parameter and/or a cell reselection (cell reselection) parameter.

In some embodiments, the indication information further includes first information for indicating the communication technology used by the first network device 110. In this way, when a cell served by the first network device 110 (for example, the first cell 115 shown in fig. 1) adopts some communication technology (for example, a network energy saving technology such as energy saving power control, etc.), the second network device 120 as its neighboring base station can learn relevant information of the communication technology from the indication information reported by the first network device 110, so that the second network device 120 can determine, according to the communication technology, a radio resource status when the first cell 115 does not adopt the communication technology, and further perform reasonable parameter adjustment (for example, adjustment of mobility management parameters).

In some embodiments, the first information includes one of: information indicating the communication technology used by the first network device 110; or information indicating the communication technology supported by the first network device 110. In this way, when a cell served by the first network device 110 (e.g., the first cell 115 shown in fig. 1) employs certain communication technologies, the first network device 110 may report information about the communication technologies to the second network device 120, which is a neighboring base station thereof, so that the second network device 120 can determine a radio resource status of the first cell 115 without employing the communication technologies according to the communication technologies, thereby performing reasonable parameter adjustment (e.g., adjustment of mobility management parameters).

In some embodiments, the first information is indicated by one of: bitmap type, enumeration type, or boolean type. In this manner, the second network device 120 is able to receive, from the first network device 110, information regarding the communication technology employed by the cell served by the first network device 110 (e.g., the first cell 115 shown in fig. 1) with low signaling overhead.

In some embodiments, the communication technology includes network power saving technology. In this way, the second network device 120 can learn that the radio resource status reported by the first network device 110 for the cell (e.g., the first cell 115 shown in fig. 1) served by the first network device 110 is the radio resource status in the case where the cell employs the network power saving technique.

In some embodiments, the network power saving technique includes at least one of: power backoff, power amplifier backoff, energy-saving power control, power domain energy-saving techniques, or spatial domain energy-saving techniques. In this way, the second network device 120 can receive, from the first network device 110, information about a communication technology used by a cell served by the first network device 110 (for example, the first cell 115 shown in fig. 1), so that the second network device 120 can determine, according to the communication technology, a radio resource status of the cell when the cell does not use the communication technology, and further perform reasonable parameter adjustment (for example, mobility management parameter adjustment), so that unnecessary handover and reselection are avoided, and signaling overhead and power consumption can be reduced.

In some embodiments, the indication information (e.g., indication information 201 shown in fig. 2) is included in at least one of: a resource status update message; and another message different from the resource status update message. In this way, when the indication information is carried with the resource status update message, the impact on the existing protocol framework is smaller and the signaling interaction is more timely and time-saving. When another message different from the resource status update message is used to carry the indication information, the signaling structure of the other message can be designed more flexibly, and the flexibility is higher.

In some embodiments, the resource usage adjustment factor is obtained based on simulation or analysis. In this manner, the first network device 110 may report the resource usage adjustment factor to the second network device 120, which is its neighboring base station, such that the second network device 120 can determine the radio resource status of the cell served by the first network device 110 (e.g., the first cell 115 shown in fig. 1) when the communication technology is not employed by the cell based on the (measured) radio resource status of the cell, thereby facilitating a reasonable parameter adjustment by the second network device 120, avoiding unnecessary handover and reselection, and thus reducing signaling overhead and power consumption.

Fig. 7 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a first communication device 700, according to some embodiments of the application. The first communication apparatus 700 may be implemented as a device or as a chip in a device, as the scope of the application is not limited in this respect. The first communication device 700 may comprise a plurality of modules for performing the corresponding processes in the method 500 as discussed in fig. 5. The first communication apparatus 700 may be implemented as the first network device 110 as shown in fig. 1 or as a part of the first network device 110 (e.g., a CU in a split architecture). Fig. 7 is described below with reference to fig. 1, 2, and 5.

As shown in fig. 7, the first communication apparatus 700 includes a determination module (DETERMINING MODULE) 710 and a transmission module (TRANSMITTING MODULE) 720. In some embodiments, the first communication device 1000 may also include a processing module 730. The determining module 710 is used for determining data, the transmitting module 720 is used for transmitting data, and the processing module 730 is used for processing data. For example, the determining module 710 is configured to determine indication information (e.g., the indication information 201 shown in fig. 2). The sending module 720 is configured to send the indication information to a second network device (e.g., the second network device 120 shown in fig. 1). The indication information includes at least one of: a resource usage adjustment factor for determining information of a radio resource status when a communication technology is not employed; or information of radio resource status when the communication technology is not employed. In this way, when a cell served by the first network device 110 (for example, the first cell 115 shown in fig. 1) employs some communication technology (for example, a network power saving technology such as a power saving power control), the first network device 110 reports relevant information of the communication technology to the second network device 120 as its neighboring base station, so that the second network device 120 can determine a radio resource status of the first cell 115 without employing the communication technology according to the communication technology, and further perform reasonable parameter adjustment (for example, adjustment of mobility management parameters), avoiding unnecessary handover and reselection, and thus can reduce signaling overhead and power consumption.

In some embodiments, the indication information 201 further includes first information for indicating the communication technology used by the first network device 110. In this way, when a cell served by the first network device 110 (e.g., the first cell 115 shown in fig. 1) employs certain communication technologies (e.g., network power saving technologies such as power saving control, etc.), the first network device 110 may report information about the communication technologies to the second network device 120 that is a neighboring base station thereof, so that the second network device 120 can determine, according to the communication technologies, a radio resource status when the first cell 115 does not employ the communication technologies, and perform reasonable parameter adjustment (e.g., adjustment of mobility management parameters).

In some embodiments, the determining module 710 may further determine information of a radio resource status when the first cell 115 does not employ the communication technology based on the radio resource status when the first cell 115 employs the communication technology. In this way, when a cell served by the first network device 110 (e.g., the first cell 115 shown in fig. 1) employs certain communication technologies, the first network device 110 may report relevant information of the communication technologies to the second network device 120 as its neighboring base station, so that the second network device 120 can determine the radio resource status of the first cell 115 without employing the above communication technologies according to the relevant information of the communication technologies and based on the radio resource status of the first cell 115 with the communication technologies, thereby performing reasonable parameter adjustment, avoiding unnecessary handover and reselection, and thus can reduce signaling overhead and power consumption.

In some embodiments, the sending module 720 further sends information of the radio resource status when the communication technology is adopted by the cell served by the first network device 110 (e.g., the first cell 115 shown in fig. 1) to the second network device 120. In this way, when the first cell 115 adopts some communication technology (e.g., network power saving technology such as power saving control), the first network device 110 reports information of radio resource status when the first cell 115 adopts the communication technology to the second network device 120 as its neighboring base station, so that the second network device 120 can determine the radio resource status when the first cell 115 does not adopt the communication technology according to the information of radio resource status when the first cell 115 adopts the communication technology, thereby performing reasonable parameter adjustment (e.g., adjustment of mobility management parameters), avoiding unnecessary handover and reselection, and thus can reduce signaling overhead and power consumption.

In some embodiments, the sending module 720 also sends cell identification information to the second network device 120, the cell identification information being associated with the indication information 201. In this way, the second network device 120 can determine, based on the cell identification information, a radio resource status associated with the cell identification information when the cell served by the first network device 110 (e.g., the first cell 115 shown in fig. 1) does not employ the communication technology, so as to perform reasonable parameter adjustment, avoid unnecessary handover and reselection, and thus can reduce signaling overhead and power consumption.

Fig. 8 shows a schematic block diagram of a second communication device 800 according to further embodiments of the application. The second communication apparatus 800 may be implemented as a device or as a chip in a device, as the scope of the application is not limited in this respect. The second communication device 800 may include a plurality of modules for performing the corresponding processes in the method 600 as discussed in fig. 6. The second communication apparatus 800 may be implemented as the second network device 120 or as a part of the second network device 120 as shown in fig. 1. Fig. 8 is described below with reference to fig. 1,2, and 6.

As shown in fig. 8, the second communication device 800 includes a receiving module (RECEIVING MODULE) 810. In some embodiments, the second communication device 800 may further include a determination module (DETERMINING MODULE) 820 and/or a processing module (processing module) 830. The receiving module 810 is configured to receive data, the determining module 820 is configured to determine data, and the processing module 830 is configured to process data. For example, the receiving module 810 is configured to receive indication information (indication information 201 shown in fig. 2) from the first network device 110. In some embodiments, the determination module 820 may be used to determine mobility management parameters.

In some embodiments, the determining module 820 may determine the information of the radio resource status based on the radio resource status when the communication technology is employed. In this way, when a cell served by the first network device 110 (e.g., the first cell 115 shown in fig. 1) adopts certain communication technologies, the first network device 110 reports relevant information of the communication technologies to the second network device 120 as its neighboring base station, so that the second network device 120 can determine the radio resource status of the first cell 115 when the first cell 115 does not adopt the communication technologies according to the relevant information of the communication technologies and based on the radio resource status of the first cell 115 when the first cell 115 adopts the communication technologies, thereby performing reasonable parameter adjustment, avoiding unnecessary handover and reselection, and thus can reduce signaling overhead and power consumption.

In some embodiments, the receiving module 810 also receives information from the first network device 110 of a radio resource status when the communication technology is employed by a cell served by the first network device 110 (e.g., the first cell 115 shown in fig. 1). In this way, when the first cell 115 adopts some communication technology (e.g., network power saving technology such as power saving control), the first network device 110 reports information of the radio resource state when the communication technology is adopted to the second network device 120 as its neighboring base station, thereby enabling the second network device 120 to determine the radio resource state when the first cell 115 does not adopt the above communication technology according to the information of the radio resource state when the first cell 115 adopts the communication technology, perform reasonable parameter adjustment (e.g., adjustment of mobility management parameters), avoid unnecessary handover and reselection, and thus can reduce signaling overhead and power consumption.

In some embodiments, the determining module 820 further determines the information of the radio resource status based on the resource usage adjustment factor by one of the following mathematical operations: multiplication, logarithmic addition, subtraction, division, or logarithmic subtraction. In this manner, the second network device 120 can determine the radio resource status of the cell served by the first network device 110 (e.g., the first cell 115 shown in fig. 1) without employing the communication technology based on the resource usage adjustment factor, thereby facilitating a reasonable parameter adjustment by the second network device 120, avoiding unnecessary handover and reselection, and thus reducing signaling overhead and power consumption.

In some embodiments, the receiving module 810 also receives cell identification information from the first network device 110, the cell identification information being associated with the indication information (e.g., indication information 201 shown in fig. 2). In this way, the second network device 120 can determine, based on the cell identification information, a radio resource status associated with the cell identification information when the cell served by the first network device 110 (e.g., the first cell 115 shown in fig. 1) does not employ a communication technology, so as to perform reasonable parameter adjustment, avoid unnecessary handover and reselection, and thus can reduce signaling overhead and power consumption.

In some embodiments, the determining module 820 may determine the information of the radio resource status based on the resource usage adjustment factor. In this manner, the second network device 120 can determine the radio resource status of the cell served by the first network device 110 (e.g., the first cell 115 shown in fig. 1) without employing the communication technology based on the resource usage adjustment factor, thereby facilitating a reasonable parameter adjustment by the second network device 120, avoiding unnecessary handover and reselection, and thus reducing signaling overhead and power consumption.

In some embodiments, the determining module 820 may determine the mobility management parameter based on the information of the radio resource status. In this way, the second network device 120 can determine the radio resource status of the cell served by the first network device 110 (e.g., the first cell 115 shown in fig. 1) without adopting the communication technology according to the indication information (e.g., the indication information 201 shown in fig. 2) from the first network device 110, so as to facilitate the second network device 120 to perform reasonable parameter adjustment (e.g., adjustment of mobility management parameters), avoid unnecessary handover and reselection, and thus can reduce signaling overhead and power consumption.

In some embodiments, the determining module 820 may determine whether the information of the radio resource status is greater than a radio resource status threshold. The second network device 120 may then adjust the mobility management parameter to reduce handover and/or cell reselection to a cell served by the first network device 110 (e.g., the first cell 115 shown in fig. 1) based on determining that the information of the radio resource status is greater than the radio resource status threshold. In this way, the second network device 120 can determine the radio resource status of the cell served by the first network device 110 (e.g., the first cell 115 shown in fig. 1) without adopting the communication technology according to the indication information (e.g., the indication information 201 shown in fig. 2) from the first network device 110, so as to facilitate the second network device 120 to perform reasonable parameter adjustment (e.g., adjustment of mobility management parameters), avoid unnecessary handover and reselection, and thus can reduce signaling overhead and power consumption.

In some embodiments, the resource usage adjustment factor may be obtained based on simulation or analysis. In this manner, the first network device 110 may report the resource usage adjustment factor to the second network device 120, which is its neighboring base station, such that the second network device 120 can determine the radio resource status of the cell served by the first network device 110 (e.g., the first cell 115 shown in fig. 1) when the communication technology is not employed by the cell based on the (measured) radio resource status of the cell, thereby facilitating a reasonable parameter adjustment by the second network device 120, avoiding unnecessary handover and reselection, and thus reducing signaling overhead and power consumption.

Fig. 9 is a simplified block diagram of an example device 900 suitable for implementing embodiments of the application. Device 900 may be used to implement first network device 110, second network device 120, or communication system 100 as shown in fig. 1. As shown, the device 900 includes one or more processors 910, one or more memories 920 coupled to the processors 910, and a communication module 940 coupled to the processors 910. In some embodiments, memory 920 and processor 910 may be integrated.

The communication module 940 may be used for bi-directional communication. The communication module 940 may include a transmitter 941 for transmitting data and a receiver 942 for receiving data.

The processor 910 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network and may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: one or more of a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microcontroller, a digital signal Processor (DIGITAL SIGNAL Processor, DSP), or a controller-based multi-core controller architecture. The device 900 may have multiple processors, such as application specific integrated circuit chips, that are slaved in time to a clock that is synchronized to the master processor.

Memory 920 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memory include, but are not limited to, at least one of: read-Only Memory (ROM) 1324, erasable programmable Read-Only Memory (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory, EPROM), flash Memory, hard disk, compact Disc (CD), digital video Disc (DIGITAL VERSATILE DISC, DVD), or other magnetic and/or optical storage. Examples of volatile memory include, but are not limited to, at least one of: random access memory (Random Access Memory, RAM) 922, or other volatile memory that does not last for the duration of the power outage.

The computer program 930 includes computer-executable instructions that are executed by the associated processor 910. Program 930 may be stored in ROM 920. Processor 910 may perform any suitable actions and processes by loading program 930 into RAM 920.

Embodiments of the present application may be implemented by means of program 930 such that device 900 may perform any of the processes as discussed with reference to fig. 2, 5 or 6. Embodiments of the application may also be implemented in hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

In some embodiments, the program 930 may be tangibly embodied in a computer-readable medium, which may be included in the device 900 (such as in the memory 920) or other storage device accessible by the device 900. Programs 930 may be loaded from the computer readable media into RAM 922 for execution. The computer readable medium may include any type of tangible, non-volatile memory, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc.

In general, the various embodiments of the application may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software, which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. While various aspects of the embodiments of the application are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other pictorial representation, it is well understood that these blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques or methods described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

The present application also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product comprises computer executable instructions, such as instructions included in program modules, which are executed in a device on a real or virtual processor of a target to perform the processes/methods as described above with reference to fig. 4A-9. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. In various embodiments, the functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired. Machine-executable instructions for program modules may be executed within local or distributed devices. In distributed devices, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage media.

Computer program code for carrying out methods of the present application may be written in one or more programming languages. These computer program code may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus such that the program code, when executed by the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, causes the functions/operations specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram to be implemented. The program code may execute entirely on the computer, partly on the computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server.

In the context of the present application, computer program code or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable an apparatus, device or processor to perform the various processes and operations described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer readable media, and the like. Examples of signals may include electrical, optical, radio, acoustical or other form of propagated signals, such as carrier waves, infrared signals, etc.

A computer readable medium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. The computer readable medium may include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination thereof. More detailed examples of a computer-readable storage medium include an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination thereof.

Furthermore, although the operations of the methods of the present application are depicted in the drawings in a particular order, this is not required to or suggested that these operations must be performed in this particular order or that all of the illustrated operations must be performed in order to achieve desirable results. Rather, the steps depicted in the flowcharts may change the order of execution. Additionally or alternatively, certain steps may be omitted, multiple steps combined into one step to perform, and/or one step decomposed into multiple steps to perform. It should also be noted that features and functions of two or more devices according to the present application may be embodied in one device. Conversely, the features and functions of one device described above may be further divided into multiple devices to be embodied.

The foregoing description of implementations of the application has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, and is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the implementations disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope of the illustrated implementations. The terminology used herein was chosen in order to best explain the principles of each implementation, the practical application, or the improvement of technology in the marketplace, or to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand each implementation disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A method for communication, comprising:

the first network equipment determines indication information; and

The first network device sends the indication information to a second network device, wherein the indication information comprises at least one of the following:

a resource usage adjustment factor for determining information of a radio resource status when a communication technology is not employed; or alternatively

Information of radio resource status when the communication technology is not employed.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication information further comprises:

First information indicating the communication technology used by the first network device.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the first information comprises one of:

information indicating the communication technology used by the first network device; or alternatively

Information indicating the communication technology supported by the first network device.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the first information is indicated by one of: bitmap type, enumeration type, or boolean type.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication technology comprises a network power saving technology.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the network energy saving technique comprises at least one of: power backoff, power amplifier backoff, energy-saving power control, power domain energy-saving techniques, or spatial domain energy-saving techniques.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said determining information of radio resource status when said communication technology is not employed comprises: the first network device determines information of a radio resource state based on the radio resource state when the communication technology is employed.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication information is carried in at least one of:

A resource status update message; or alternatively

Another message different from the resource status update message.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the radio resource status comprises at least one of: the method comprises the steps of synchronizing signal block SSB downlink guaranteed bit rate GBR PRB utilization rate, synchronizing signal block SSB downlink total PRB utilization rate, synchronizing signal block SSB downlink scheduling physical downlink control channel-control channel element utilization rate, synchronizing signal block SSB uplink guaranteed bit rate PRB utilization rate, synchronizing signal block SSB uplink non-guaranteed bit rate non-GBR PRB utilization rate, synchronizing signal block SSB uplink total PRB utilization rate, synchronizing signal block SSB uplink scheduling physical downlink control channel-control channel element utilization rate, slice downlink guaranteed bit rate GBR PRB utilization rate, slice downlink non-guaranteed bit rate non-GBR PRB utilization rate, slice downlink total PRB utilization rate, slice uplink GBR PRB utilization rate, slice (slice) uplink non-GBR utilization rate, slice uplink total PRB utilization rate, multiple-input multiple-output MIMO downlink PRB utilization rate, MIMO downlink non-GBR utilization rate, MIMO downlink total PRB utilization rate, MIMO downlink utilization rate GBR utilization rate or GBR utilization rate.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

the first network device sends information of radio resource status when the communication technology is adopted to the second network device.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

The first network device sends cell identification information to the second network device, the cell identification information being associated with the indication information.

12. The method according to any of the claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the first network device is a centralized unit CU of a base station.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the base station further comprises a distributed unit DU, wherein the indication information is first indication information, and wherein the determining the first indication information comprises:

The first network device receives second indication information from the distributed unit DU; and

The first network device determines the first indication information based on the second indication information.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the second indication information comprises at least one of:

the first information, the resource usage adjustment factor, or information of the radio resource status when the communication technology is not employed.

15. A method for communication, comprising:

The second network device receives indication information from the first network device, the indication information including at least one of:

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the indication information further comprises:

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the method further comprises:

based on the indication information, the second network device determines mobility management parameters.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the first information comprises one of:

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the first information is indicated by one of: bitmap type, enumeration type, or boolean type.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the communication technology comprises a network power saving technology.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the network energy saving technique comprises at least one of: power backoff, power amplifier backoff, energy-saving power control, power domain energy-saving techniques, or spatial domain energy-saving techniques.

22. The method of claim 15, wherein said determining information of radio resource status when said communication technology is not employed comprises: information of the radio resource status is determined based on the radio resource status when the communication technology is employed.

23. The method of claim 15, wherein the radio resource status comprises at least one of: the method comprises the steps of synchronizing signal block SSB downlink guaranteed bit rate GBR PRB utilization rate, synchronizing signal block SSB downlink total PRB utilization rate, synchronizing signal block SSB downlink scheduling physical downlink control channel-control channel element utilization rate, synchronizing signal block SSB uplink guaranteed bit rate PRB utilization rate, synchronizing signal block SSB uplink non-guaranteed bit rate non-GBR PRB utilization rate, synchronizing signal block SSB uplink total PRB utilization rate, synchronizing signal block SSB uplink scheduling physical downlink control channel-control channel element utilization rate, slice downlink guaranteed bit rate GBR PRB utilization rate, slice downlink non-guaranteed bit rate non-GBR PRB utilization rate, slice downlink total PRB utilization rate, slice uplink GBR PRB utilization rate, slice (slice) uplink non-GBR utilization rate, slice uplink total PRB utilization rate, multiple-input multiple-output MIMO downlink PRB utilization rate, MIMO downlink non-GBR utilization rate, MIMO downlink total PRB utilization rate, MIMO downlink utilization rate GBR utilization rate or GBR utilization rate.

24. The method of claim 15, wherein the method further comprises:

the second network device receives information from the first network device regarding the status of radio resources when the communication technology is employed.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the method further comprises:

based on the resource usage adjustment factor, the second network device determines information of the radio resource status by one of the following mathematical operations: multiplication, logarithmic addition, subtraction, division, or logarithmic subtraction.

26. The method of claim 15, wherein the method further comprises:

The second network device receives cell identification information from the first network device, the cell identification information being associated with the indication information.

27. The method of claim 17, wherein determining mobility management parameters comprises:

based on the resource usage adjustment factor, the second network device determines information of the radio resource status.

28. The method of claim 17, wherein the determining mobility management parameters comprises:

-based on the information of radio resource status, characterized in that the second network device determines the mobility management parameter.

29. The method of claim 27, wherein the determining mobility management parameters comprises:

The second network device determining whether the information of the radio resource status is greater than a radio resource status threshold;

Based on determining that the information of the radio resource status is greater than the radio resource status threshold, the second network device adjusts the mobility management parameter to reduce at least one of handover or cell reselection to a cell served by the first network device.

30. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 29, wherein the indication information is included in at least one of:

a resource status update message; and

Another message different from the resource status update message.

31. A first communication device, comprising:

a memory for storing a computer program;

a processor for executing a computer program stored in the memory to cause the first communication device to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 14.

32. A second communication device, comprising:

a memory for storing a computer program;

a processor for executing the computer program stored in the memory to cause the second communication device to perform the method of any one of claims 15 to 29.

33. A communication system comprising the first communication apparatus of claim 31 and the second communication apparatus of claim 32, the communication system being configured to implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 29 with the first network device and the second network device.

34. A computer readable storage medium, characterized in that it has stored thereon a computer program which, when executed by a processor, implements the method according to any of claims 1 to 29.

35. A chip comprising processing circuitry configured to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 29.

36. A computer program product, characterized by being tangibly stored on a computer-readable medium and comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause an apparatus to implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 29.