CN113784399B

CN113784399B - Method and equipment for switching multicast broadcast service (MBMS)

Info

Publication number: CN113784399B
Application number: CN202010523230.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 谢芳; 李男
Original assignee: China Mobile Communications Group Co Ltd; China Mobile Communications Ltd Research Institute
Current assignee: China Mobile Communications Group Co Ltd; China Mobile Communications Ltd Research Institute
Priority date: 2020-06-10
Filing date: 2020-06-10
Publication date: 2022-11-29
Anticipated expiration: 2040-06-10
Also published as: WO2021249383A1; CN113784399A

Abstract

A method and device for switching multicast broadcast service (MBMS) service, the method comprises: a source base station acquires the support information of at least one candidate target base station to a first MBS service, wherein the first MBS service is the MBS service which is currently carried out or is interested by a terminal to be switched; and the source base station selects the target base station switched by the terminal to be switched. The embodiment of the invention can preferentially select the target base station supporting the MBS service which is interested in or is in progress by the terminal in the switching process, thereby improving the continuity and reliability of the service.

Description

Method and equipment for switching multicast broadcast service (MBMS)

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of mobile communications technologies, and in particular, to a method and an apparatus for switching Multicast and Broadcast Services (MBS) Services.

Background

MBS is a technology for transmitting data from a data source to multiple target terminals, which realizes the sharing of network (including core network and access network) resources and improves the utilization of network resources, especially air interface resources. The fifth generation mobile communication technology (5G) may support both potential MBS architectures of fig. 1 and fig. 2.

The architecture 1 shown in fig. 1 reuses the existing 5G system network element as much as possible, and the architecture 2 shown in fig. 2 introduces special network elements such as a Session Management Function (MB-SMF) and a User Plane Function (MB-User Plane Function, MB-UPF) for the MBS service. The SMF or MB-SMF is responsible for session Management of MBs, including establishment and modification of session, access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) or M-AMF is responsible for admission control of UE, and UPF or MB-UPF is responsible for filtering and transmitting MBs data packets. The base station judges whether to adopt a point-to-point (PTP) or point-to-multipoint (PTM) mode to send the MBS data packet at an air interface according to the information such as the number of the UE receiving the MBS service in the cell.

In a mobile communication scenario, a terminal moving on MBS service may trigger handover due to mobility or network quality, and a target base station after handover may not support the current MBS service of the terminal, resulting in interruption of the MBS service after handover, thereby reducing user experience in using the network and service.

Disclosure of Invention

At least one embodiment of the present invention provides a method, a terminal, and a network device for switching a multicast broadcast service, which can preferentially select a target base station supporting an MBS service of the terminal during a switching process, thereby improving service continuity and reliability.

According to an aspect of the present invention, at least one embodiment provides a method for switching a multicast broadcast service MBS service, including:

a source base station acquires the support information of at least one candidate target base station to a first MBS service, wherein the first MBS service is the MBS service which is carried out or interested by a terminal to be switched;

the source base station selects a target base station switched by the terminal to be switched;

wherein the support information for the first MBS service includes at least one of the following information:

whether the candidate target base station or the candidate target cell can send or provide the first MBS service;

whether a candidate target base station or a candidate target cell establishes a tunnel, a session or a QoS flow of the first MBS service with a core network;

under the condition that a candidate target base station or a candidate target cell does not establish a tunnel, a session or a QoS flow of the first MBS service with a core network, whether the candidate target base station or the candidate target cell can establish the tunnel, the session or the QoS flow of the first MBS service for the terminal to be switched or not is judged;

candidate target base stations or candidate target cells currently send the transmission mode of the first MBS service and the sending parameters related to the transmission mode, wherein the transmission mode is point-to-multipoint PTM and/or point-to-point PTP;

and the candidate target base station or the candidate target cell transmits the transmission mode adopted when the first MBS service is sent to the terminal to be switched.

Furthermore, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention, before obtaining the support information of the first MBS service for at least one candidate target base station, the method further includes:

and the source base station receives the service attribute information of the first MBS sent by the terminal to be switched.

Further, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention, the service attribute information includes at least one of the following information: temporary mobile group identity TMGI, multicast group identity, multicast address, multicast session context identity, multicast QoS flow identity.

In addition, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention, before the step of selecting the target base station to which the terminal to be switched is switched, the method further includes:

and the source base station also sends a request message for requesting to establish a tunnel or a session or QoS flow of the first MBS service to the candidate target base station.

Furthermore, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention, the step of the source base station selecting the target base station to which the terminal to be switched is switched includes:

and the source base station selects the target base station switched by the terminal to be switched according to the support information of the at least one candidate target base station to the first MBS service.

Furthermore, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention, the support information for the first MBS service includes at least one of the following information:

Furthermore, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention, the step of selecting the target base station to be handed over by the terminal to be handed over includes:

the source base station selects a target base station to be switched by the terminal to be switched according to the support information of the at least one candidate target base station to the first MBS service, the measurement report of the terminal to be switched and the preference information of receiving the first MBS service, wherein the preference information comprises an expected transmission mode of the first MBS service, and the expected transmission mode is set aiming at the terminal to be switched, or aiming at each MBS service, or aiming at each bandwidth part BWP, or aiming at each synchronous signal block SSB.

Furthermore, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention, the step of selecting the target base station to be switched by the terminal to be switched according to the support information of the at least one candidate target base station for the first MBS service, the measurement report of the terminal to be switched, and the preference information for receiving the first MBS service includes:

according to the measurement report of the terminal to be switched, screening out a first type base station or cell with signal quality meeting preset conditions from the at least one candidate target base station or cell;

screening out a second type base station or cell capable of sending or providing the first MBS service from the first type base station or cell;

and selecting the base station or the cell which is matched with the preference information in the transmission mode adopted when the terminal to be switched sends the first MBS service from the second base station or the cell as the target base station or the cell.

In addition, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention, before selecting the target base station to which the terminal to be handed over is handed over, the method further includes:

and the source base station receives the preference information which is sent by the terminal to be switched and used for receiving the first MBS service.

Furthermore, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention, after the step of selecting the target base station to which the terminal to be handed over is handed over, the method further includes:

and sending a notification message for establishing the tunnel or the session or the QoS flow of the first MBS service to the target base station under the condition that the target base station or the target cell does not establish the tunnel or the session or the QoS flow of the first MBS service with a core network.

Furthermore, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention, the step of the source base station obtaining the support information of at least one candidate target base station for the first MBS service includes:

the source base station sends service attribute information of a first MBS service to a candidate target base station, and receives support information of the first MBS service fed back by the candidate target base station; alternatively, the first and second liquid crystal display panels may be,

and the source base station determines the support information of the candidate target base station on the first MBS service from the support information of the candidate target base station on the MBS service, which is obtained in advance, wherein the support information of the candidate target base station on the MBS service is obtained by interaction in the process of establishing or updating an interface between base stations.

According to another aspect of the present invention, at least one embodiment provides a method for switching an MBS service, including:

the candidate target base station sends support information of a first MBS service to a source base station, wherein the first MBS service is the MBS service which is carried out or interested by the terminal to be switched;

wherein the support information for the first MBS service comprises at least one of the following information:

whether a candidate target base station or a candidate target cell can send or provide the first MBS service;

under the condition that a candidate target base station or a candidate target cell does not establish a tunnel, a session or QoS flow of the first MBS service with a core network, judging whether the candidate target base station or the candidate target cell can establish the tunnel, the session or the QoS flow of the first MBS service for the terminal to be switched;

Further, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention, the step of sending the support information for the first MBS service to the source base station includes:

after receiving the service attribute information of the first MBS service sent by the source base station, the candidate target base station sends the support information of the first MBS service to the source base station; alternatively, the first and second liquid crystal display panels may be,

and the candidate target base station sends the support information of the candidate target base station to the source base station in the process of establishing or updating the interface between the candidate target base station and the source base station.

Further, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present invention, the method further comprises:

receiving a request message which is sent by the source base station and used for requesting to establish a tunnel or a session or a QoS flow of the first MBS service by the candidate target base station;

and the candidate target base station establishes a tunnel or a session or QoS flow of the first MBS service with a core network according to the request message.

whether a candidate target base station or a candidate target cell establishes a tunnel or a session or a QoS flow of the first MBS service with a core network;

under the condition that a candidate target base station or a candidate target cell does not establish a tunnel or a session or QoS flow of the first MBS service with a core network, whether the candidate target base station or the candidate target cell can establish the tunnel or the session or the QoS flow of the first MBS service for the terminal to be switched or not is judged;

candidate target base stations or candidate target cells currently send the transmission mode of the first MBS service and the sending parameters related to the transmission mode, wherein the transmission mode comprises point-to-multipoint PTM and/or point-to-point PTP;

and the candidate target base station or the candidate target cell sends the first MBS service to the terminal to be switched by adopting a transmission mode.

the terminal sends preference information for receiving the first MBS service to the source base station;

the first MBS service is the ongoing or interested MBS service of the terminal to be switched, the preference information comprises the expected transmission mode of the first MBS service, and the expected transmission mode comprises point-to-multipoint PTM and/or point-to-point PTP.

Furthermore, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present invention, the method further comprises:

and the terminal sends the service attribute information of the first MBS service to the source base station.

According to another aspect of the present invention, at least one embodiment provides a source base station, including:

the system comprises a supporting information acquisition module, a service switching module and a service switching module, wherein the supporting information acquisition module is used for acquiring the supporting information of at least one candidate target base station on a first MBS service, and the first MBS service is the MBS service which is currently carried out or is interested by a terminal to be switched;

the target base station selection module is used for selecting the target base station switched by the terminal to be switched;

Further, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention, the source base station further includes:

the service information acquisition module is used for receiving the service attribute information of the first MBS service sent by the terminal to be switched before the support information of the first MBS service by at least one candidate target base station is acquired.

and the service request module is used for sending a request message for requesting to establish a tunnel or a session or a QoS flow of the first MBS service to the candidate target base station before selecting the target base station switched by the terminal to be switched.

In addition, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention, the target base station selection module is further configured to select the target base station to be switched by the terminal according to the information that the at least one candidate target base station supports the first MBS service.

Further, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention, the support information for the first MBS service includes at least one of the following information:

Furthermore, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention, the target base station selecting module is further configured to select the target base station to be switched by the terminal to be switched according to the support information of the at least one candidate target base station on the first MBS service, the measurement report of the terminal to be switched, and the preference information of receiving the first MBS service, where the preference information includes an expected transmission mode of the first MBS service, and the expected transmission mode is set for the terminal to be switched, or for each MBS service, or for each bandwidth segment BWP, or for each synchronization signal block SSB.

In addition, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention, the target base station selection module is further configured to screen out a first type of base station or cell whose signal quality meets a preset condition from the at least one candidate target base station or cell according to the measurement report of the terminal to be switched; screening out a second type base station or cell capable of sending or providing the first MBS service from the first type base station or cell; and screening out a base station or a cell which is matched with the preference information in the transmission mode adopted when the terminal to be switched sends the first MBS service from the second base station or the cell, and taking the base station or the cell as the target base station or the cell.

and the preference information acquisition module is used for receiving the preference information which is sent by the terminal to be switched and used for receiving the first MBS service.

and the notification module is used for sending a notification message for establishing the tunnel or the session or the QoS flow of the first MBS service to the target base station under the condition that the tunnel or the session or the QoS flow of the first MBS service is not established between the target base station or the target cell and a core network after the target base station switched by the terminal to be switched is selected.

Furthermore, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention, the supporting information obtaining module is further configured to:

sending service attribute information of a first MBS service to a candidate target base station, and receiving support information of the first MBS service fed back by the candidate target base station; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

and determining the support information of the candidate target base station for the first MBS service from the support information of the candidate target base station for the MBS service, which is acquired in advance, wherein the support information of the candidate target base station for the MBS service is obtained by interaction in the process of establishing or updating an interface between base stations.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, at least one embodiment provides a source base station comprising a transceiver and a processor, wherein,

the transceiver is used for acquiring the support information of at least one candidate target base station to a first MBS service, wherein the first MBS service is the MBS service which is currently carried out or is interested by the terminal to be switched;

the processor is used for selecting the target base station switched by the terminal to be switched;

According to another aspect of the present invention, at least one embodiment provides a source base station, including: a processor, a memory and a program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, the program, when executed by the processor, implementing the steps of the method for switching multicast broadcast service traffic as described above.

According to another aspect of the present invention, at least one embodiment provides a candidate target base station, including:

a support information sending module, configured to send support information for a first MBS service to a source base station, where the first MBS service is an ongoing or interested MBS service of a terminal to be switched;

Furthermore, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention, the supporting information sending module is further configured to:

after receiving service attribute information of a first MBS service sent by a source base station, sending support information of the first MBS service to the source base station; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

and in the process of establishing or updating the interface between the candidate target base station and the source base station, sending the support information of the candidate target base station to the MBS service to the source base station.

Further in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present invention, the candidate target base station further comprises:

a service establishing module, configured to receive a request message sent by the source base station, where the request message is used to request establishment of a tunnel or a session or a QoS flow of the first MBS service; and establishing a tunnel or a session or a QoS flow of the first MBS service with a core network according to the request message.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, at least one embodiment provides a candidate target base station comprising a transceiver and a processor, wherein,

the transceiver is used for sending support information of a first MBS service to a source base station, wherein the first MBS service is the MBS service which is carried out or interested by the terminal to be switched;

According to another aspect of the present invention, at least one embodiment provides a candidate target base station, including: a processor, a memory and a program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, the program when executed by the processor implementing the steps of the method for switching multicast broadcast service traffic as described above.

According to another aspect of the present invention, at least one embodiment provides a terminal including:

the preference information sending module is used for sending preference information for receiving the first MBS service to the source base station;

Further, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention, the terminal further includes:

and the service information sending module is used for sending the service attribute information of the first MBS service to the source base station, wherein the first MBS service is the MBS service which is currently carried out or is interested by the terminal to be switched.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, at least one embodiment provides a terminal comprising a transceiver and a processor, wherein,

the transceiver is used for receiving preference information of the first MBS service and sending the preference information to the source base station;

According to another aspect of the present invention, at least one embodiment provides a terminal including: a processor, a memory and a program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, the program, when executed by the processor, implementing the steps of the method for switching multicast broadcast service traffic as described above.

According to another aspect of the invention, at least one embodiment provides a computer readable storage medium having a program stored thereon, which when executed by a processor, performs the steps of the method as described above.

Compared with the prior art, the switching method, the terminal and the base station for the multicast broadcast service provided by the embodiment of the invention can preferentially select the base station which supports the ongoing or interested MBS service of the terminal as the target base station in the switching process, thereby avoiding the problem that the target base station cannot support the MBS service of the terminal after the terminal is switched to the target base station to a certain extent, being beneficial to keeping the MBS conversation uninterrupted in the switching process and ensuring the continuity and reliability of the service. In addition, the embodiment of the invention can also send a request message for establishing the tunnel or the session or the QoS flow of the first MBS service to the candidate target base station by the source base station in the switching process so as to establish the related tunnel or the session or the QoS flow as soon as possible and ensure the continuity and the reliability of the subsequent service transmission.

Drawings

Various other advantages and benefits will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments. The drawings are only for purposes of illustrating the preferred embodiments and are not to be construed as limiting the invention. Also, like reference numerals are used to refer to like parts throughout the drawings. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an MBS architecture of the prior art;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of another MBS architecture of the prior art;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method for switching a multicast broadcast service according to an embodiment of the present invention, when the method is applied to a source base station;

fig. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method for switching a multicast broadcast service according to an embodiment of the present invention when the method is applied to a candidate target base station;

fig. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method for switching a multicast broadcast service according to an embodiment of the present invention, when the method is applied to a terminal side;

fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a source base station according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a source base station according to another embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a candidate target base station according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a candidate target base station according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. While exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the invention may be embodied in various forms and should not be limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.

The terms first, second and the like in the description and in the claims of the present application are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order. It is to be understood that the data so used is interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments of the application described herein are, for example, capable of operation in sequences other than those illustrated or otherwise described herein. Furthermore, the terms "comprises," "comprising," and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, system, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of steps or elements is not necessarily limited to those steps or elements expressly listed, but may include other steps or elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. In the description and in the claims "and/or" means at least one of the connected objects.

The techniques described herein are not limited to a New Radio (NR) system and a Long Time Evolution (LTE)/LTE Evolution (LTE-a) system, and may also be used for various wireless communication systems such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), single-carrier Frequency-Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA), and other systems. The terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably. CDMA systems may implement Radio technologies such as CDMA2000, universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), and so on. UTRA includes Wideband CDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access, WCDMA) and other CDMA variants. TDMA systems may implement radio technologies such as Global System for Mobile communications (GSM). The OFDMA system may implement radio technologies such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), evolved-UTRA (E-UTRA), IEEE 802.21 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, flash-OFDM, etc. UTRA and E-UTRA are parts of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). LTE and higher LTE (e.g., LTE-A) are new UMTS releases that use E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE-A, and GSM are described in documents from an organization named "third Generation Partnership project" (3 rd Generation Partnership project,3 GPP). CDMA2000 and UMB are described in documents from an organization named "third generation partnership project 2" (3 GPP 2). The techniques described herein may be used for both the above-mentioned systems and radio technologies, as well as for other systems and radio technologies. However, the following description describes the NR system for purposes of example, and NR terminology is used in much of the description below, although the techniques may also be applied to applications other than NR system applications.

The following description provides examples and does not limit the scope, applicability, or configuration set forth in the claims. Changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements discussed without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Various examples may omit, substitute, or add various procedures or components as appropriate. For example, the described methods may be performed in an order different than described, and various steps may be added, omitted, or combined. In addition, features described with reference to certain examples may be combined in other examples.

Referring to fig. 3, fig. 3 is a block diagram of a wireless communication system to which an embodiment of the present invention is applicable. The wireless communication system includes a terminal 11 and a network device 12. The terminal 11 may also be referred to as a User terminal or a User Equipment (UE), where the terminal 11 may be a Mobile phone, a Tablet Personal Computer (Tablet Personal Computer), a Laptop Computer (Laptop Computer), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a Mobile Internet Device (MID), a Wearable Device (Wearable Device), or a vehicle-mounted Device, and the specific type of the terminal 11 is not limited in the embodiment of the present invention. The network device 12 may be a Base Station and/or a core network element, wherein the Base Station may be a 5G or later-version Base Station (e.g., a gNB, a 5G NR NB, etc.), or a Base Station in other communication systems (e.g., an eNB, a WLAN access point, or other access points, etc.), where the Base Station may be referred to as a node B, an evolved node B, an access point, a Base Transceiver Station (BTS), a radio Base Station, a radio Transceiver, a Basic Service Set (BSS), an Extended Service Set (ESS), a node B, an evolved node B (eNB), a home node B, a home evolved node B, a WLAN access point, a WiFi node, or some other suitable terminology in the field, as long as the same technical effect is achieved, the Base Station is not limited to a specific technical vocabulary, and it should be noted that the Base Station in the NR system is only taken as an example in the embodiment of the present invention, but the specific type of the Base Station is not limited.

The base stations may communicate with the terminals 11 under the control of a base station controller, which may be part of the core network or some of the base stations in various examples. Some base stations may communicate control information or user data with the core network through a backhaul. In some examples, some of the base stations may communicate with each other, directly or indirectly, over backhaul links, which may be wired or wireless communication links. A wireless communication system may support operation on multiple carriers (waveform signals of different frequencies). A multi-carrier transmitter can transmit modulated signals on the multiple carriers simultaneously. For example, each communication link may be a multi-carrier signal modulated according to various radio technologies. Each modulated signal may be transmitted on a different carrier and may carry control information (e.g., reference signals, control channels, etc.), overhead information, data, and so on.

The base station may communicate wirelessly with the terminals 11 via one or more access point antennas. Each base station may provide communication coverage for a respective coverage area. The coverage area of an access point may be divided into sectors that form only a portion of the coverage area. A wireless communication system may include different types of base stations (e.g., macro, micro, or pico base stations). The base stations may also utilize different radio technologies, such as cellular or WLAN radio access technologies. The base stations may be associated with the same or different access networks or operator deployments. The coverage areas of different base stations (including coverage areas of base stations of the same or different types, coverage areas utilizing the same or different radio technologies, or coverage areas belonging to the same or different access networks) may overlap.

The communication links in a wireless communication system may comprise an Uplink for carrying Uplink (UL) transmissions (e.g., from terminal 11 to network device 12) or a Downlink for carrying Downlink (DL) transmissions (e.g., from network device 12 to terminal 11). The UL transmission may also be referred to as reverse link transmission, while the DL transmission may also be referred to as forward link transmission. Downlink transmissions may be made using licensed frequency bands, unlicensed frequency bands, or both. Similarly, uplink transmissions may be made using licensed frequency bands, unlicensed frequency bands, or both.

Under the scene that a terminal (UE) generates movement and switching, if the source base station and the target base station interact with the MBS service which is interested in or is in progress by the UE, the preference of the UE for receiving the MBS service and the condition that the target base station or the cell supports the MBS service, for example, whether a multicast tunnel is established with a core network, and the data and other information are sent by adopting a PTP or PTM mode, the method can help the UE preferentially select the target cell which supports the MBS and is a sending mode preferentially expected by the UE, is favorable for keeping the MBS conversation uninterrupted in the switching process, and ensures the continuity and reliability of the service.

Referring to fig. 4, a switching method of MBS service provided in an embodiment of the present invention, when applied to a source base station side, includes:

step 41, the source base station obtains the support information of at least one candidate target base station to the first MBS service, where the first MBS service is the ongoing or interested MBS service of the terminal to be switched.

Here, when the serving base station needs to be switched for the terminal, the source base station acquires the support information of the at least one candidate target base station for the first MBS service. The first MBS service refers to the MBS service which is currently carried out by the terminal to be switched or the MBS service which is interested by the terminal to be switched. The ongoing MBS service of the terminal to be switched may be a certain/some services in the MBS services in which the terminal to be switched is interested.

In step 41, the source base station may send the service attribute information of the first MBS service to the candidate target base station, and then receive the support information of the first MBS service fed back by the candidate target base station; at this time, as one implementation manner, the service attribute information of the first MBS service may be sent to the candidate target base station in a handover procedure, for example, in a handover request message through a handover preparation procedure.

And the source base station determines the support information of the candidate target base station for the first MBS service from the support information of the candidate target base station for the MBS service, which is acquired in advance, wherein the support information of the candidate target base station for the MBS service is obtained by interaction in the process of establishing or updating an interface between base stations.

In step 41, the source base station may also determine, from the pre-obtained support information of the candidate target base station for the MBS service, the support information of the candidate target base station for the first MBS service. Here, the support information of the candidate target base station for the MBS service may be obtained through interaction in a process of establishing an interface between the source base station and the candidate target base station, or obtained through interaction in a process of updating an interface between base stations.

And step 42, the source base station selects the target base station switched by the terminal to be switched.

Here, the source base station may select the target base station to be switched over by the terminal according to the support information of the at least one candidate target base station for the first MBS service. For example, a candidate target base station supporting the first MBS service is preferentially selected as the target base station.

Through the steps, the embodiment of the invention can preferentially select the base station supporting the MBS service which is in progress or is interested by the terminal as the target base station in the switching process, thereby avoiding the problem that the target base station can not support the MBS service of the terminal after the terminal is switched to the target base station to a certain extent, being beneficial to keeping the MBS conversation uninterrupted in the switching process and further ensuring the continuity and reliability of the service.

As an implementation manner, in the embodiment of the present invention, the source base station may receive the service attribute information of the first MBS service that is interested in or is currently performed by the terminal to be switched, which is sent by the terminal to be switched, or the source base station acquires the service attribute information of the first MBS service that is interested in or is currently performed by the terminal to be switched from another network element (e.g., a core network element) on the network side. The service attribute information of the first MBS service may be provided to the candidate target base station to help the candidate target base station determine the support information of the first MBS service.

Specifically, the service attribute information of the MBS service (e.g., the first MBS service) may include at least one of the following information: a Temporary Mobile Group Identity (TMGI), a multicast Group identity, a multicast address, a multicast session context identity, a multicast Quality of Service (QoS) flow identity, etc.

The support information for the first MBS service may specifically include at least one of the following information:

1) Whether the candidate target base station or the candidate target cell can send or provide the first MBS service;

2) Whether a candidate target base station or a candidate target cell establishes a tunnel, a session or a QoS flow of the first MBS service with a core network; here, the tunnel may be an N3 tunnel or an N9 tunnel, and the session refers to a PDU session.

3) Under the condition that a candidate target base station or a candidate target cell does not establish a tunnel, a session or a QoS flow of the first MBS service with a core network, whether the candidate target base station or the candidate target cell can establish the tunnel, the session or the QoS flow of the first MBS service for the terminal to be switched or not is judged;

4) Candidate target base stations or candidate target cells currently send the transmission mode of the first MBS service and the sending parameters related to the transmission mode, wherein the transmission mode is PTM and/or PTP; here, the same service in the same cell may be transmitted by using PTP and PTM simultaneously.

5) And the candidate target base station or the candidate target cell transmits the transmission mode adopted when the first MBS service is sent to the terminal to be switched.

In addition, before step 42, the source base station may also send a request message for requesting to establish a tunnel or session or QoS flow for the first MBS service to the candidate target base station. For example, the request message is sent at the same time as, before, or after the service attribute information of the first MBS service is sent to the candidate target base station in step 41, so that the relevant connection can be established at the candidate target base station in advance, and the continuity and reliability of the subsequent service transmission can be ensured.

The following describes how to select the target base station to be switched by the terminal to be switched according to the embodiment of the present invention.

As an implementation manner, the source base station selects a target base station to which the terminal to be switched is switched according to the support information of the at least one candidate target base station for the first MBS service, the measurement report of the terminal to be switched, and the preference information of receiving the first MBS service, where the preference information includes an expected transmission manner of the first MBS service, and the expected transmission manner may be set for the terminal to be switched, or for each MBS service, or for each Bandwidth Part (BWP), or for each Synchronization Signal block (Synchronization Signal and PBCH block, SSB).

For example, the source base station may screen out a first type base station or cell whose signal quality meets a preset condition from the at least one candidate target base station or cell according to the measurement report of the terminal to be switched; then, a second type base station or a cell which can send or provide the first MBS service is screened out from the first type base station or the cell; and then, selecting the base station or the cell which is matched with the preference information in the transmission mode adopted when the terminal to be switched sends the first MBS service from the second base station or the cell as the target base station or the target cell. Here, the target cell is a certain cell of the target base station. The above is only one judgment example for selecting a target base station in the embodiment of the present invention, and the embodiment of the present invention may also adopt a judgment sequence different from the above judgment method and adopt different judgment conditions for judgment.

In addition, before step 42, the source base station may further receive preference information for receiving the first MBS service, which is sent by the terminal to be switched, so as to be used in the above determining process. Of course, the preference information may also be obtained from other network elements on the network side (e.g., a network element storing MBS service preference information of the terminal).

After the step of selecting the target base station to which the terminal to be switched is switched in step 42, if the target base station or the target cell has not established the tunnel, the session, or the QoS flow of the first MBS service with the core network, at this time, the source base station may further send a notification message for establishing the tunnel, the session, or the QoS flow of the first MBS service to the target base station, so as to establish the relevant tunnel, the session, or the QoS flow as soon as possible. Here, the tunnel may be an N3 tunnel or an N9 tunnel, and the session refers to a PDU session.

The method of the embodiment of the present invention is explained above from the source base station side. Further description is made below from the candidate target base station side.

Referring to fig. 5, a method for switching an MBS service according to an embodiment of the present invention, when applied to a candidate target base station, includes:

step 51, the candidate target base station sends the support information of the first MBS service to the source base station, wherein the first MBS service is the MBS service which is currently carried out or is interested by the terminal to be switched.

Similarly, the support information for the first MBS service includes at least one of the following information:

1) Whether a candidate target base station or a candidate target cell can send or provide the first MBS service;

2) Whether a candidate target base station or a candidate target cell establishes a tunnel or a session or a QoS flow of the first MBS service with a core network; here, the tunnel may be an N3 tunnel or an N9 tunnel, and the session refers to a PDU session.

3) Under the condition that a candidate target base station or a candidate target cell does not establish a tunnel or a session or QoS flow of the first MBS service with a core network, whether the candidate target base station or the candidate target cell can establish the tunnel or the session or the QoS flow of the first MBS service for the terminal to be switched or not is judged;

4) Candidate target base stations or candidate target cells currently send the transmission mode of the first MBS service and the sending parameters related to the transmission mode, wherein the transmission mode comprises point-to-multipoint PTM and/or point-to-point PTP;

Through the steps, the embodiment of the invention can send the support information of the candidate target base station for the MBS service of the terminal to be switched to the source base station, and help the source base station preferentially select the target base station supporting the MBS service of the terminal in the switching process, thereby improving the continuity and reliability of the service.

Specifically, in step 51, the candidate target base station may send, to the source base station, the support information for the first MBS service after receiving the service attribute information of the first MBS service sent by the source base station. For example, according to the service attribute information of the first MBS service, the support information of the first MBS service is determined, and then sent to the source base station. The service attribute information includes at least one of the following information: temporary mobile group identification TMGI, multicast group identification, multicast address, multicast session context identification, multicast QoS flow identification, etc.

As another implementation manner, the candidate target base station may also send the support information of the candidate target base station for the MBS service to the source base station in the process of establishing or updating the interface with the source base station. The support information of the candidate target base station for the MBS service may include support information of the candidate target base station for various MBS services.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the candidate target base station may further receive a request message sent by the source base station for requesting to establish a tunnel or a session or a QoS flow of the first MBS service; and then, according to the request message, establishing a tunnel or session or QoS flow of the first MBS service with a core network. Through the step, the embodiment of the invention can establish the tunnel or the session or the QoS flow of the first MBS service in advance, thus reducing the service interruption time and ensuring the continuity and the reliability when the candidate target base station is selected as the target base station. Here, the tunnel may be an N3 tunnel or an N9 tunnel, and the session refers to a PDU session.

Referring to fig. 6, a method for switching an MBS service according to an embodiment of the present invention, when applied to a terminal, includes:

and step 61, the terminal sends preference information for receiving the first MBS service to the source base station.

Here, the first MBS service is an ongoing or interested MBS service of a terminal to be switched, and the preference information may include an expected transmission manner of the first MBS service, which is set for the terminal, or for each MBS service, or for each bandwidth segment BWP, or for each synchronization signal block SSB. The desired transmission mode may specifically comprise PTP and/or PTM.

Through the steps, the embodiment of the invention can send the preference information of the MBS business which is interested in or is in progress by the terminal to the source base station so as to help the source base station to select the proper target base station and meet the requirement of the transmission mode of the terminal.

As an implementation manner, the terminal may further send the service attribute information of the first MBS service to the source base station, so that the source base station may send the service attribute information of the first MBS service to the candidate target base station, and obtain the support information of the first MBS service fed back by the candidate target base station. Here, the service attribute information may specifically include at least one of the following information: TMGI, multicast group identification, multicast address, multicast session context identification, multicast QoS flow identification.

The method of the embodiment of the present invention is introduced from the source base station, the candidate target base station, and the terminal side, and the embodiment of the present invention is further described below by an example of an interaction procedure between devices, where the example includes the following steps:

a) Optionally, the terminal (UE) reports relevant information of the MBS service that the terminal is interested in to the serving base station (i.e. the source base station), such as one or more of the TMGI, the multicast group ID, the multicast address, the multicast Session context ID, and the multicast QoS Flow ID; further, the terminal may indicate whether it is desired to preferentially use PTP or PTM for receiving MBS services, and the indication may be of per UE, per MBS service, or per SSB/per BWP

b) In the handover preparation process, for example, in the handover request message, the source base station sends the MBS related information that the UE is interested in or is currently performing to the target base station; further, the source base station may also request the target base station to establish a tunnel for the MBS service with the UPF (e.g., the source base station may request to establish a shared N3 tunnel if it predicts that there will be a plurality of UEs interested in the MBS service or performing the MBS service to be handed over to the target base station).

c) Optionally, the target base station determines, according to the information provided by the source base station, whether a tunnel (e.g., shared N3 tunnel) corresponding to the MBs service that the UE is interested in has been established between itself and the UPF/MB-UPF. Optionally, if not, the target base station may further initiate a Session or tunnel establishment procedure for the MBs service to AMF/MB-AMF, or UPF/MB-UPF, or SMF/MB-SMF, where one or more of a multicast group ID, a multicast address, a multicast Session context ID, and a multicast QoS Flow ID may be carried; the target base station may also not establish the MBS session or tunnel with the core network first, but feedback is not established in the subsequent step d.

d) The candidate target base station sends the support situation of the corresponding MBS service to the source base station, such as:

1) The candidate target base station or the candidate target cell has established a multicast tunnel or session with a core network such as UPF;

2) The candidate target base station or the candidate target cell does not establish a multicast tunnel or session with a core network such as UPF, but can be subsequently established for the UE;

3) The candidate target base station or the candidate target cell sends the mode of MBS service which is interested by UE or is in progress, namely PTP or PTM; if there are multiple MBS services, then the supporting situation can be provided according to the per service mode; if the cell is PTM, the cell can further send G-RNTI used by the target cell for receiving MBS service, quality threshold (such as RSRP threshold) received by PMT, and the like;

4) The mode adopted by the candidate target base station or the candidate target cell for sending the MBS service to the UE is PTP or PTM;

5) Candidate target base stations or candidate target cells can not send or provide the MBS service, and the like.

e) And the source base station helps the UE to select a proper target base station or target cell for switching according to the feedback of the target base station, the measurement result of the UE, the preference of receiving the MBS service and other information. Such as:

1) The source base station helps the UE to eliminate a target cell which does not support or can not send the MBS service which the UE is interested in or is in progress;

2) For UE which wants to receive MBS service preferentially through PTM, a target cell which sends the MBS service in a PTM mode in a cell is preferentially selected for the UE;

3) For UE which wants to preferentially receive MBS service through PTP, a target cell which transmits the MBS service through PTP mode in the cell is preferentially selected for the UE, or a target cell which does not establish N3 tunnel with UPF is preferentially selected.

f) The source base station further informs the target base station to set up a shared N3 tunnel or session for MBS services (if not previously set up by the target base station)

g) The base station can also interact whether to establish shared N3 tunnel or conversation for MBS service when Xn interface is established or updated, and adopts PTP or PTM to send information of each MBS service, thus avoiding interaction in each switching process and saving signaling overhead on Xn interface.

It can be seen from the above examples that, in the embodiments of the present invention, information such as the preference of the UE for receiving the MBS service and the situation that the target base station or the cell supports the MBS service is exchanged between the source base station and the candidate target base station, so as to help the UE to preferentially select the target cell that already supports the MBS and whose receiving mode is preferentially desired by the UE, and keep the MBS session uninterrupted as much as possible during the handover process, thereby ensuring the continuity and reliability of the service.

Various methods of embodiments of the present invention have been described above. An apparatus for carrying out the above method is further provided below.

Referring to fig. 7, an embodiment of the present invention provides a source base station 70, including:

a support information obtaining module 71, configured to obtain support information of at least one candidate target base station for a first MBS service, where the first MBS service is an ongoing or interested MBS service of a terminal to be switched;

and a target base station selection module 72, configured to select a target base station to be switched by the terminal to be switched.

Optionally, the source base station further includes the following modules (not shown in the figure):

Optionally, the service attribute information includes at least one of the following information: temporary mobile group identity TMGI, multicast group identity, multicast address, multicast session context identity, multicast QoS flow identity.

Optionally, the target base station selecting module is further configured to select the target base station to be switched by the terminal to be switched according to the support information of the at least one candidate target base station for the first MBS service.

Optionally, the support information for the first MBS service includes at least one of the following information:

Optionally, the target base station selecting module is further configured to select the target base station to be switched by the terminal to be switched according to the support information of the at least one candidate target base station for the first MBS service, the measurement report of the terminal to be switched, and the preference information for receiving the first MBS service, where the preference information includes an expected transmission manner of the first MBS service, and the expected transmission manner is set for the terminal to be switched, or for each MBS service, or for each bandwidth segment BWP, or for each synchronization signal block SSB.

Optionally, the target base station selection module is further configured to screen, according to the measurement report of the terminal to be switched, a first type base station or a cell whose signal quality meets a preset condition from the at least one candidate target base station or cell; screening out a second type base station or cell capable of sending or providing the first MBS service from the first type base station or cell; and screening out a base station or a cell which is matched with the preference information in the transmission mode adopted when the terminal to be switched sends the first MBS service from the second base station or the cell, and taking the base station or the cell as the target base station or the cell.

Optionally, the support information obtaining module is further configured to:

It should be noted that the apparatus in this embodiment is an apparatus corresponding to the method shown in fig. 4, and the implementation manners in the above embodiments are all applicable to the embodiment of the apparatus, and the same technical effects can be achieved. The apparatus provided in the embodiment of the present invention can implement all the method steps implemented by the method embodiment, and can achieve the same technical effects, and detailed descriptions of the same parts and beneficial effects as the method embodiment in this embodiment are not repeated here.

Referring to fig. 8, an embodiment of the present invention provides a structural diagram of a source base station 800, including: a processor 801, a transceiver 802, a memory 803, and a bus interface, wherein:

in this embodiment of the present invention, the network side device 800 further includes: a program stored on the memory 803 and executable on the processor 801, which when executed by the processor 801, performs the steps of:

obtaining the support information of at least one candidate target base station to a first MBS service, wherein the first MBS service is the MBS service which is currently carried out or is interested by a terminal to be switched;

and selecting the target base station switched by the terminal to be switched.

It can be understood that, in the embodiment of the present invention, when being executed by the processor 801, the computer program can implement each process of the foregoing multicast broadcast service switching method embodiment shown in fig. 4, and can achieve the same technical effect, and in order to avoid repetition, details are not described here again.

In FIG. 8, the bus architecture may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, with one or more processors, represented by the processor 801, and various circuits, represented by the memory 803, linked together. The bus architecture may also link together various other circuits such as peripherals, voltage regulators, power management circuits, and the like, which are well known in the art, and therefore, will not be described any further herein. The bus interface provides an interface. The transceiver 802 may be a number of elements including a transmitter and a receiver that provide a means for communicating with various other apparatus over a transmission medium.

The processor 801 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, and the memory 803 may store data used by the processor 801 in performing operations.

In some embodiments of the invention, there is also provided a computer readable storage medium having a program stored thereon, which when executed by a processor, performs the steps of:

and selecting the target base station switched by the terminal to be switched.

When executed by the processor, the program can implement all implementation manners in the method for switching the multicast broadcast service applied to the source base station side, and can achieve the same technical effect, and is not described herein again to avoid repetition.

It should be noted that the base station in this embodiment is a source base station corresponding to the method shown in fig. 4, and the implementation manners in the foregoing embodiments are all applied to the embodiment of the source base station, and the same technical effects can be achieved. In the terminal, the transceiver 802 and the memory 803, and the transceiver 802 and the processor 801 may be communicatively connected through a bus interface, and the functions of the processor 801 may be implemented by the transceiver 802, and the functions of the transceiver 802 may be implemented by the processor 801. It should be noted that, the source base station provided in the embodiment of the present invention can implement all the method steps implemented by the method embodiment and achieve the same technical effect, and detailed descriptions of the same parts and beneficial effects as the method embodiment in this embodiment are not repeated herein.

Referring to fig. 9, an embodiment of the present invention provides a candidate target base station 90, including:

a supporting information sending module 91, configured to send supporting information for a first MBS service to a source base station, where the first MBS service is an ongoing or interested MBS service of a terminal to be switched.

Optionally, the supporting information sending module is further configured to:

after receiving service attribute information of a first MBS service sent by a source base station, sending support information of the first MBS service to the source base station; alternatively, the first and second liquid crystal display panels may be,

Optionally, the candidate target base station further includes:

Referring to fig. 10, an embodiment of the present invention provides a schematic structural diagram of a candidate target base station 1000, including: a processor 1001, a transceiver 1002, a memory 1003, and a bus interface, wherein:

in an embodiment of the present invention, the candidate targets 1000 further include: a program stored on the memory 1003 and executable on the processor 1001, which when executed by the processor 1001 performs the steps of:

obtaining the support information of at least one candidate target base station to a first MBS service, wherein the first MBS service is the MBS service which is currently carried out or is interested in by a terminal to be switched;

and selecting the target base station switched by the terminal to be switched.

It can be understood that, in the embodiment of the present invention, when the computer program is executed by the processor 1001, each process of the embodiment of the method for switching a multicast broadcast service shown in fig. 5 can be implemented, and the same technical effect can be achieved.

In fig. 10, the bus architecture may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, with one or more processors represented by processor 1001 and various circuits of memory represented by memory 1003 being linked together. The bus architecture may also link together various other circuits such as peripherals, voltage regulators, power management circuits, and the like, which are well known in the art, and therefore, will not be described any further herein. The bus interface provides an interface. The transceiver 1002 may be a number of elements including a transmitter and a receiver that provide a means for communicating with various other apparatus over a transmission medium.

The processor 1001 is responsible for managing a bus architecture and general processes, and the memory 1003 may store data used by the processor 1001 in performing operations.

It should be noted that the base station in this embodiment is a candidate target base station corresponding to the method shown in fig. 5, and the implementation manners in the above embodiments are all applied to this candidate target base station, and the same technical effects can be achieved. In the candidate target base station, the transceiver 1002 and the memory 1003, and the transceiver 1002 and the processor 1001 may be communicatively connected through a bus interface, the function of the processor 1001 may also be implemented by the transceiver 1002, and the function of the transceiver 1002 may also be implemented by the processor 1001. It should be noted that, the candidate target base station provided in the embodiment of the present invention can implement all the method steps implemented by the foregoing method embodiment, and can achieve the same technical effect, and detailed descriptions of the same parts and beneficial effects as those of the method embodiment in this embodiment are not repeated herein.

In some embodiments of the invention, there is also provided a computer readable storage medium having a program stored thereon, which when executed by a processor, performs the steps of: sending support information for a first MBS service to a source base station, wherein the first MBS service is the MBS service which is currently carried out or is interested by a terminal to be switched

When executed by the processor, the program can implement all implementation manners in the above-mentioned method for switching the multicast broadcast service applied to the candidate target base station side, and can achieve the same technical effect, and is not described herein again to avoid repetition.

Referring to fig. 11, a terminal provided in an embodiment of the present invention includes:

a preference information sending module 111, configured to send, to a source base station, preference information for receiving a first MBS service;

the first MBS service is the MBS service which is currently carried out or is interested by the terminal to be switched, and the preference information comprises the expected transmission mode of the first MBS service.

Here, the desired transmission manner may be set for the terminal, or for each MBS service, or for each bandwidth part BWP, or for each synchronization signal block SSB.

Optionally, the terminal further includes:

Referring to fig. 12, a schematic structural diagram of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown, where the terminal 1200 includes: a processor 1201, a transceiver 1202, a memory 1203, a user interface 1204 and a bus interface.

In this embodiment of the present invention, the terminal 1200 further includes: a program stored 1203 in memory and operable on the processor 1201.

The processor 1201 implements the following steps when executing the program: the method comprises the steps of sending preference information for receiving a first MBS service to a source base station;

the first MBS service is the ongoing or interested MBS service of the terminal to be switched, and the preference information comprises the expected transmission mode of the first MBS service, wherein the expected transmission mode is set aiming at the terminal, or aiming at each MBS service, or aiming at each bandwidth part BWP or aiming at each synchronous signal block SSB.

It can be understood that, in the embodiment of the present invention, when being executed by the processor 1201, the computer program can implement each process of the foregoing multicast broadcast service switching method embodiment shown in fig. 6, and can achieve the same technical effect, and in order to avoid repetition, details are not described here again.

In fig. 12, the bus architecture may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, with various circuits linking one or more processors, represented by the processor 1201, and memory, represented by the memory 1203. The bus architecture may also link together various other circuits such as peripherals, voltage regulators, power management circuits, and the like, which are well known in the art, and therefore, will not be described any further herein. The bus interface provides an interface. The transceiver 1202 may be a number of elements including a transmitter and a receiver that provide a means for communicating with various other apparatus over a transmission medium. The user interface 1204 may also be an interface capable of interfacing with a desired device for different user devices, including but not limited to a keypad, display, speaker, microphone, joystick, etc.

The processor 1201 is responsible for managing a bus architecture and general processing, and the memory 1203 may store data used by the processor 1201 in performing operations.

It should be noted that the terminal in this embodiment is a terminal corresponding to the method shown in fig. 6, and the implementation manners in the above embodiments are all applicable to the embodiment of the terminal, and the same technical effects can be achieved. In the terminal, the transceiver 1202 and the memory 1203, and the transceiver 1202 and the processor 1201 may be communicatively connected by a bus interface, the function of the processor 1201 may be implemented by the transceiver 1202, and the function of the transceiver 1202 may be implemented by the processor 1201. It should be noted that, the terminal provided in the embodiment of the present invention can implement all the method steps implemented by the method embodiment and achieve the same technical effect, and detailed descriptions of the same parts and beneficial effects as the method embodiment in this embodiment are omitted here.

In some embodiments of the invention, there is also provided a computer readable storage medium having a program stored thereon, the program when executed by a processor implementing the steps of:

the preference information of the first MBS service is received and sent to the source base station;

When executed by the processor, the program can implement all implementation manners in the method for switching the multicast broadcast service applied to the terminal side, and can achieve the same technical effect, and is not described herein again to avoid repetition.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware or combinations of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the implementation. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present invention.

It is clear to those skilled in the art that, for convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the above-described systems, apparatuses and units may refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and are not described herein again.

In the embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and method may be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-described apparatus embodiments are merely illustrative, and for example, the division of the units is only one logical division, and other divisions may be realized in practice, for example, a plurality of units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted, or not executed. In addition, the shown or discussed mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection may be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, and may be in an electrical, mechanical or other form.

The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of the embodiments of the present invention.

In addition, functional units in the embodiments of the present invention may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units are integrated into one unit.

The functions, if implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as a stand-alone product, may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present invention may be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to execute all or part of the steps of the method according to the embodiments of the present invention. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: various media capable of storing program codes, such as a U disk, a removable hard disk, a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

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

Claims

1. A switching method for multicast broadcast service MBS is characterized in that the method comprises the following steps:

a source base station acquires the support information of at least one candidate target base station to a first MBS service, wherein the first MBS service is the MBS service which is currently carried out or is interested by a terminal to be switched;

and under the condition that a candidate target base station or a candidate target cell does not establish the tunnel, the session or the QoS flow of the first MBS service with a core network, whether the candidate target base station or the candidate target cell can establish the tunnel, the session or the QoS flow of the first MBS service for the terminal to be switched or not is judged.

2. The handover method of claim 1, wherein the support information for the first MBS service further comprises at least one of the following information:

candidate target base stations or candidate target cells currently send the transmission mode of the first MBS service and sending parameters related to the transmission mode, wherein the transmission mode is point-to-multipoint PTM and/or point-to-point PTP;

3. The handover method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein before obtaining the support information of the at least one candidate target base station for the first MBS service, the method further comprises:

and the source base station receives the service attribute information of the first MBS service sent by the terminal to be switched.

4. The handover method according to claim 3, wherein the service attribute information comprises at least one of the following information: temporary mobile group identity TMGI, multicast group identity, multicast address, multicast session context identity, multicast QoS flow identity.

5. The handover method according to claim 1, wherein before the step of selecting the target base station to be handed over by the terminal to be handed over, the method further comprises:

6. The handover method according to claim 1, wherein the step of the source base station selecting the target base station to be handed over by the terminal to be handed over includes:

7. The handover method according to claim 1, wherein before selecting the target base station to be handed over by the terminal to be handed over, the method further comprises:

8. The handover method according to claim 1, wherein the step of selecting the target base station to be handed over by the terminal to be handed over comprises:

9. The handover method of claim 8, wherein the step of selecting the target base station to be handed over by the terminal to be handed over according to the support information of the at least one candidate target base station for the first MBS service, the measurement report of the terminal to be handed over, and the preference information for receiving the first MBS service comprises:

10. The handover method according to claim 1, wherein after the step of selecting the target base station to be handed over by the terminal to be handed over, the method further comprises:

11. The handover method of claim 1, wherein the step of the source base station obtaining the support information of the first MBS service by at least one candidate target base station comprises:

12. A switching method of MBS service is characterized by comprising the following steps:

and under the condition that a candidate target base station or a candidate target cell does not establish a tunnel or a session or QoS flow of the first MBS service with a core network, whether the candidate target base station or the candidate target cell can establish the tunnel or the session or the QoS flow of the first MBS service for the terminal to be switched or not is judged.

13. The handover method of claim 12, wherein the support information for the first MBS service further comprises at least one of the following information:

14. The method of claim 12 or 13, wherein the step of transmitting the support information for the first MBS service to the source base station comprises:

after receiving the service attribute information of the first MBS service sent by the source base station, the candidate target base station sends the support information of the first MBS service to the source base station; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the service attribute information comprises at least one of: temporary mobile group identity TMGI, multicast group identity, multicast address, multicast session context identity, multicast QoS flow identity.

16. The method of claim 12 or 13, further comprising:

17. A source base station, comprising:

the system comprises a support information acquisition module, a service switching module and a service switching module, wherein the support information acquisition module is used for acquiring the support information of at least one candidate target base station on a first MBS service, and the first MBS service is the MBS service which is currently carried out or is interested by a terminal to be switched;

and under the condition that a candidate target base station or a candidate target cell does not establish a tunnel, a session or QoS flow of the first MBS service with a core network, whether the candidate target base station or the candidate target cell can establish the tunnel, the session or the QoS flow of the first MBS service for the terminal to be switched or not is judged.

18. The source base station of claim 17, wherein the support information for the first MBS service further comprises at least one of the following information:

19. The source base station of claim 17 or 18, further comprising:

20. The source base station of claim 17 or 18, further comprising:

21. The source base station of claim 17 or 18,

the target base station selection module is further configured to select the target base station to be switched by the terminal according to the support information of the at least one candidate target base station for the first MBS service.

22. The source base station of claim 17 or 18, further comprising:

23. A source base station comprising a transceiver and a processor, wherein,

24. The source base station of claim 23, wherein the support information for the first MBS service further comprises at least one of the following information:

25. A source base station, comprising: processor, memory and program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, which when executed by the processor implements the steps of the handover method according to any of claims 1 to 11.

26. A candidate target base station, comprising:

a supporting information sending module, configured to send supporting information for a first MBS service to a source base station, where the first MBS service is an ongoing or interested MBS service of a terminal to be switched;

27. The candidate target base station of claim 26, wherein the support information for the first MBS service further comprises at least one of:

28. A candidate target base station comprising a transceiver and a processor, wherein,

the transceiver is used for sending support information of a first MBS service to a source base station, wherein the first MBS service is the MBS service which is currently carried out or is interested in by the terminal to be switched;

29. The candidate target base stations of claim 28, wherein the support information for the first MBS service further comprises at least one of:

30. A candidate target base station, comprising: processor, memory and program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, which when executed by the processor implements the steps of the handover method according to any of claims 12 to 16.

31. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that a computer program is stored thereon, which computer program, when being executed by a processor, carries out the steps of the handover method according to one of claims 1 to 16.