CN115884288A

CN115884288A - RAN sharing method and device and computer readable storage medium

Info

Publication number: CN115884288A
Application number: CN202111152722.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 范慧芳; 张向东
Original assignee: Spreadtrum Semiconductor Nanjing Co Ltd
Current assignee: Spreadtrum Semiconductor Nanjing Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-09-29
Filing date: 2021-09-29
Publication date: 2023-03-31
Also published as: WO2023051174A1

Abstract

A RAN sharing method and device, and a computer readable storage medium, the method comprising: executing switching judgment and selecting a target main base station; and executing the switching judgment at least according to Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) information shared by RANs supported by a plurality of target candidate main base stations, and selecting the target main base station from the target candidate main base stations. The invention can ensure the service continuity of the service terminal when the mobile access network equipment supporting RAN sharing moves, and fills the blank in the prior art.

Description

RAN sharing method and device and computer readable storage medium

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a RAN sharing method and apparatus, and a computer-readable storage medium.

Background

Referring to fig. 1, fig. 1 is a schematic view of an operating scenario of a mobile base station (Relay) in the prior art.

Specifically, the terminal 101 accesses the mobile base station 102, the mobile base station 102 accesses the main base station (Donor gNB) 103, and the main base station 103 accesses the Core Network (CN) 104 to the outside.

In the prior art, a New Radio (NR) and a Long Term Evolution (LTE) may support Radio Access Network (RAN) sharing, but when an Access Network device moves, that is, a base station is a mobile base station, how to solve a mobility problem of the Access Network device when RAN sharing is supported has not been discussed and solved. The RAN sharing may be regarded as multiple operators sharing the same base station.

Therefore, a RAN sharing method is needed to fill the gap in the prior art for the problem of guaranteeing service continuity of the served terminal when the mobile access network device supporting RAN sharing moves.

Disclosure of Invention

The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a RAN sharing method and apparatus, and a computer readable storage medium, which can fill the blank in the prior art for the problem of ensuring the service continuity of the terminal of the service when the mobile access network device supporting RAN sharing moves.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a radio access network RAN sharing method, where the method includes: executing switching judgment and selecting a target main base station; and executing the switching judgment at least according to Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) information shared by RANs supported by a plurality of target candidate main base stations, and selecting the target main base station from the target candidate main base stations.

Optionally, the RAN sharing method further includes: sending a handover request to the target master base station; wherein the handover request includes an indication bit message indicating that the mobile base station supports the RAN sharing.

Optionally, the RAN sharing method further includes: receiving a handover request acknowledgement message from the target primary base station; wherein the handover request confirm message includes an RRC reconfiguration message, or the handover request confirm message encapsulates the RRC reconfiguration message.

Optionally, the RRC reconfiguration message includes a handover timer, where the handover timer is started when the mobile base station receives the RRC reconfiguration message and is stopped after the mobile base station completes the random access procedure; and the time length of the switching timer is longer than the time length of the switching timer adopted when the mobile base station sharing function is not supported.

Optionally, the RAN sharing method further includes: sending the RRC reconfiguration message to the mobile base station; wherein the RRC reconfiguration message includes the handover timer.

Optionally, the RAN sharing method further includes: PLMN information shared with one or more of the target candidate master base station interworking supported RANs.

In the embodiment of the application, the source host base station selects a proper target host base station by considering PLMN information shared by RAN interactively supported by the source host base station and the target candidate host base station when executing switching judgment, so that the source host base station can select the target host base station which meets switching conditions and supports the maximum PLMN shared by RAN for the mobile base station, the influence of mobile base station switching on data transmission of a terminal accessed to the mobile base station is reduced as much as possible, and the service continuity of the terminal is improved.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a radio access network RAN sharing method, used for a mobile base station, where the method includes: switching to a target master base station; and selecting a target base station for a terminal working in a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) which is not supported by the target main base station, wherein the target base station at least supports the PLMN in which the terminal works.

Optionally, the RAN sharing method further includes: and sending a switching request to the target base station.

Optionally, the RAN sharing method further includes: acquiring a Radio Resource Control (RRC) reconfiguration message from a source main base station; the RRC reconfiguration message comprises a switching timer, wherein the switching timer is started when the mobile base station receives the RRC reconfiguration message and is stopped after the mobile base station completes a random access process; the duration of the switching timer is longer than the duration of the switching timer adopted when the mobile base station sharing function is not supported.

Optionally, the selecting the target base station for the terminal working in the PLMN that is not supported by the target primary base station includes: sending a measurement request to the terminal working on a PLMN not supported by the target main base station; receiving a measurement result from the terminal; and selecting one of one or more target candidate base stations supporting the PLMN as the target base station according to the measurement result.

In the embodiment of the application, the mobile base station sends a measurement request to a terminal of a PLMN which is not supported by the target main base station, and selects a target base station for the terminal according to a measurement result, wherein the target base station at least supports the PLMN in which the terminal works.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a radio access network RAN sharing method, where the method includes: receiving a handover request from a source master base station; wherein the handover request includes an indication bit message indicating that the mobile base station supports the RAN sharing.

Optionally, the RAN sharing method further includes: sending a handover request acknowledgement message to the source primary base station; wherein the handover request acknowledgement message includes a radio resource control, RRC, reconfiguration message, or the handover request acknowledgement message encapsulates the RRC reconfiguration message.

Optionally, the RRC reconfiguration message includes a handover timer, where the handover timer is started when the mobile base station receives the RRC reconfiguration message, and is stopped after the mobile base station completes the random access procedure; and the time length of the switching timer is longer than the time length of the switching timer adopted when the mobile base station sharing function is not supported.

Optionally, the RAN sharing method further includes: public land mobile network, PLMN, information shared by RANs that are inter-supported with a source master base station and one or more target candidate master base stations.

To solve the foregoing technical problem, an embodiment of the present invention provides a radio access network RAN sharing apparatus, including: the target main base station selection module is used for executing switching judgment and selecting a target main base station; and executing the switching judgment at least according to Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) information shared by RANs supported by a plurality of target candidate main base stations, and selecting the target main base station from the target candidate main base stations.

In the embodiment of the present application, when the target primary base station receives the handover request of the source primary base station, and the handover request includes the indication bit information for indicating that the mobile base station supports RAN sharing, the target base station may correspondingly adjust the configuration information of RRC reconfiguration in the handover request acknowledgement message, for example, the frequent configuration of the handover timer is longer, which provides sufficient time for the mobile base station to switch out the terminal operating on the PLMN that is not supported by the target primary base station, thereby ensuring that the mobile terminal can normally access the network.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a radio access network RAN sharing apparatus, including: the switching module is used for switching to a target main base station; and the target base station selection module is used for selecting a target base station for a terminal of a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) which does not support the target main base station, wherein the target base station at least supports the PLMN on which the terminal works.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a radio access network RAN sharing apparatus, including: a receiving module, configured to receive a handover request from a source master base station; wherein the handover request includes an indication bit message indicating that the mobile base station supports the RAN sharing.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, where the computer program, when executed by a computer, causes the radio access network RAN sharing method to be performed.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a radio access network RAN sharing apparatus, including a memory and a processor, where the memory stores a computer program capable of running on the processor, and the processor executes the radio access network RAN sharing method when running the computer program.

Compared with the prior art, the technical scheme of the embodiment of the invention has the following beneficial effects:

in the embodiment of the application, the source main base station executes a switching judgment, the target main base station is selected, the mobile base station executes a switching judgment, the target base station is selected for a terminal working on a PLMN which is not supported by the target main base station, and the target base station at least supports the PLMN which is operated by the terminal, so that the target base station supporting the PLMN which is operated by the terminal can be selected for the influenced terminal after the mobile base station is switched, and the continuity of terminal services is improved.

Further, the handover request includes an indication bit message, where the indication bit message is used to indicate that the mobile base station supports RAN sharing, so that the current handover request may be indicated to the target master base station as a handover request shared by the RAN, so that the target master base station configures a handover timer in the sent RRC reconfiguration message.

Further, the RRC reconfiguration message includes a handover timer, and the duration of the handover timer is longer than the duration of the handover timer used when the sharing function of the mobile base station is not supported, so that more time can be reserved for the mobile base station to implement the handover of the terminal to the target base station.

Further, the source main base station interacts with the PLMN information shared by the RANs supported by one or more target candidate main base stations, so that the PLMN information supported by other target candidate main base stations can be known, and when the source main base station performs handover decision, the target candidate main base stations supporting the number of PLMNs shared by the RANs as much as possible can be selected, for example, the target candidate main base stations supporting all PLMNs shared by the RANs are selected, thereby reducing the possibility that the terminal is affected after the mobile base station is handed over.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of an operating scenario of a mobile station in the prior art;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a 5G network architecture in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3 is an interaction flowchart of a RAN sharing method in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is an interaction flow diagram of another RAN sharing method in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a RAN sharing apparatus in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of another RAN sharing apparatus in this embodiment.

Detailed Description

The technical scheme of the embodiment of the application can be applied to various data processing communication systems, such as: a communication system supporting a fourth generation (4G) access technology (e.g., a Long Term Evolution (LTE) access technology); alternatively, the communication system may also be a communication system supporting a fifth generation (5G) access technology (e.g., a New Radio (NR) access technology); alternatively, the communication system may also be a communication system supporting a third generation (3G) access technology (e.g., universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) access technology); alternatively, the communication system may also be a communication system supporting multiple radio technologies (e.g., supporting LTE access technology and NR access technology). In addition, the communication system may also be adapted for future-oriented communication technologies.

The system architecture described in the embodiment of the present application is for more clearly illustrating the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, and does not form a limitation to the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application, and as a person having ordinary skill in the art knows, along with the evolution of the network architecture and the appearance of a new service scenario, the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application is also applicable to similar technical problems. In the embodiments of the present application, the method provided is applied to an NR system or a 5G network as an example for description. It should be noted that the method provided in the embodiment of the present application may also be applied to other networks, for example, an Evolved Packet System (EPS) network (generally referred to as a 4G network). Correspondingly, when the method provided by the embodiment of the present application is applied to an EPS network, the network node executing the method provided by the embodiment of the present application may be replaced with a network node having the same or corresponding function in the EPS network.

Referring to fig. 2, fig. 2 is a diagram of a 5G network architecture in an embodiment of the present application. The 5G network may include a plurality of Network Functions (NF) entities as follows: AN authentication server Function (AUSF) entity, AN Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) entity, a Data Network (DN), a Unified Data Management (UDM) entity, a Policy Control Function (PCF) entity, a (radio) Access network (R) AN entity, a User Plane Function (UPF) entity, a user equipment (user equipment, UE), AN Application Function (AF) entity, a Session Management Function (SMF) entity, a Location Management Function (Location Function, LMF) entity, etc.

It is understood that fig. 2 is only an exemplary architecture diagram, and that besides the functional entities shown in fig. 2, the 5G network architecture may further include other functional entities, for example, a network open function (NEF) entity may be further included between the AF entity and the PCF entity. An entity may also be referred to as a network element or device, among others.

The UDM entity, the AUSF entity, the PCF entity, the AMF entity, the SMF entity, and the LMF entity in fig. 2 may also be collectively referred to as a Control Plane Function (CPF) entity, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present invention.

Specifically, the (R) AN is a network composed of a plurality of access network devices, and implements functions of a wireless physical layer, resource scheduling and wireless resource management, wireless access control, and mobility management. The access network equipment is connected to the UPF through a user plane interface N3, and is used for transmitting data of a terminal (i.e., the UE in the above text, which may also be referred to as a mobile station (mobile station), a subscriber unit (subscriber unit), a station (station), a Terminal Equipment (TE), and the like). The access network equipment establishes control plane signaling connection through the control plane interface N2 and the AMF, and is used for realizing functions such as wireless access bearer control and the like. The AMF is mainly responsible for authentication of the terminal, terminal mobility management, network slice (network slice) selection, SMF selection, and other functions. AMF is used as anchor point of N1 and N2 signaling connection and provides route of N1/N2 interface Session Management (SM) message for SMF; maintaining and managing state information of the terminal. The SMF is mainly responsible for all control plane functions of terminal session management, including UPF selection, internet Protocol (IP) address allocation, quality of service (QoS) management of a session, policy and Charging Control (PCC) policy acquisition from a PCF, and the like. The UPF is used as an anchor point of a Packet Data Unit (PDU) session connection, and is responsible for filtering data packets, transmitting/forwarding data, controlling rate, generating charging information, and the like of a terminal. The LMF manages the overall coordination and scheduling of resources required to register to a 5G Core Network (CN) or to access the location of a terminal of the 5G CN, may also calculate or validate the final position or velocity estimate, and may estimate the accuracy achieved.

It should be noted that, in the process of accessing the access network device by the terminal, the terminal may directly access the access network device, or may access the access network device through the mobile base station (as shown in fig. 1, at this time, the access network device is a main base station), and the application is not limited thereto. In fig. 1, the mobile base station 102 corresponds to a base station with respect to the terminal 101, that is, the terminal 101 may access the mobile base station 102 through the Uu port. The mobile base station 102 corresponds to a terminal with respect to the main base station 103, that is, the mobile base station 102 accesses the main base station 103 through the Uu port. In this case, the protocol stack of the mobile station 102 may include a physical layer, a layer 2, a Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer, a Non-Access Stratum (NAS), and the like.

It should be noted that, the (R) AN entity, the AMF entity, the SMF entity, the AUSF entity, the UDM entity, the UPF entity, the PCF entity, the LMF entity, etc. in fig. 2 are only names, and the names do not limit the entities themselves. In a 5G network and other future networks, network elements or devices corresponding to these entities may also be under other names, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application. For example, the UDM entity may also be replaced by a user home server (HSS) or a User Subscription Database (USD) or a database entity, and the like, which are described herein in a unified manner and will not be described in detail below.

The method provided by the embodiment of the application can also be applied to network slicing of a 5G network, wherein the network slicing technology is to cut a physical network into a plurality of virtual end-to-end networks, and devices, access technologies, transmission paths and core networks in the networks are logically independent among the virtual networks. Each network slice is formed by instantiating an independent network function or a function combination, has different functional characteristics and is oriented to different requirements and services. The separation of the network slices enables different users and user groups to flexibly and dynamically define and customize network capabilities according to different application scenes and requirements of the users and the user groups without influencing each other.

One network slice includes CPF entities and UPF entities. The CPF entity mainly completes access control and mobility management functions such as access authentication, security encryption, location registration, etc. of the terminal, and session management functions such as establishment, release, and modification of a user plane transmission path, and the UPF entity mainly completes functions such as routing forwarding of user plane data.

The access network device in this embodiment may be a device that is used by an access network side to support a terminal to access a communication system, and for example, may be a Base Transceiver Station (BTS) and a Base Station Controller (BSC) in a second generation (2G) access technology communication system, a node B (node B) and a Radio Network Controller (RNC) in a 3G access technology communication system, an evolved node B (eNB) in a 4G access technology communication system, a next generation base station (next generation node B, gNB) in a 5G access technology communication system, a Transmission Reception Point (TRP), a relay node (relay node), an access point (access point, AP), and the like.

The terminal in the embodiments of the present application may be a device that provides voice or data connectivity to a user. For example, the terminal may be a cellular phone (cellular phone), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a wireless modem (modem), a handheld device (handheld), a laptop computer (laptop computer), a cordless phone (cordless phone), a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a tablet (pad), and the like. With the development of wireless communication technology, the device that can access the communication system, can communicate with the network side of the communication system, or can communicate with other objects through the communication system may be a terminal in the embodiments of the present application, such as a terminal in intelligent transportation and an automobile, a home appliance in an intelligent home, a power meter reading instrument in an intelligent power grid, a voltage monitoring instrument, an environment monitoring instrument, a video monitoring instrument in an intelligent security network, a cash register, and so on.

In the prior art, the third Generation Partnership project (3 rd Generation Partnership project,3 gpp) has only been studied on mobile base station bases and has not yet been standardized. RAN sharing is currently supported in NR and LTE, but how RAN sharing is not yet discussed and addressed in mobile base stations.

In the RAN sharing technology based on NR and LTE, the RAN sharing has the following changes to the protocol:

1) Broadcasting system information: a list of supported shared Public Land Mobile Networks (PLMNs) and specific parameters of each PLMN, such as cell identifiers, tracking areas, closed Access Group identifiers (CAG), etc., need to be broadcasted in system information.

2) Single (per) PLMN for access control

3) Single PLMN doing data volume measurements

4) Multiple PLMNs support Minimization Drive Test (MDT).

However, in the case where the mobile base station supports RAN sharing regionally (i.e., RAN sharing is supported in a main base station (Donor gNB) in one region and RAN sharing is not supported in a main base station in another region), when the mobile base station is handed over between main base stations in different regions, continuity of terminal traffic is poor and the terminal cannot normally access the network.

Specifically, public Land Mobile Networks (PLMNs) may be regarded as terms of Mobile communication networks, and specifically, to each country, a Network of each Mobile communication operator is a PLMN, and taking china as an example, networks of china Mobile, china unicom and chinese telecommunications are different PLMNs, and a PLMN identifier is divided into two parts, one part is called a country Code (MCC), the other part is called a Mobile Network Code (MNC), for example, the PLMN of china Mobile is 46000, and the PLMN of china unicom is 46001.

If the mobile base station is switched from the main base station supporting China mobile to the main base station supporting China telecom, communication link failure may occur to the terminal of China mobile accessing the mobile base station, and normal communication with the network is not possible.

In order to solve the problem, in the embodiment of the present application, when the source master base station performs a handover decision and selects the target master base station, PLMN information shared by RANs supported by the target candidate master base station is considered, so that the source master base station can select, for the mobile base station, the target master base station that satisfies a handover condition and supports the most PLMN shared by RANs, the influence of handover of the mobile base station on data transmission of a terminal accessing the mobile base station is reduced as much as possible, and the service continuity of the terminal is improved.

Referring to fig. 3, fig. 3 is an interaction flowchart of a RAN sharing method in an embodiment of the present application. The method may comprise S301-S304, optionally the method may further comprise S305, S306 (S denotes step):

s301: the source main base station executes switching judgment and selects a target main base station;

s302: the source main base station sends a switching request to the target main base station;

s303: the target main base station performs admission control;

s304: the target main base station sends a switching request confirmation message to the source main base station;

s305: the source main base station sends RRC reconfiguration information to the mobile base station;

s306: and the mobile base station executes the switching judgment and selects a target base station, wherein the target base station at least supports the PLMN of the terminal.

S301, in specific implementation, may execute the handover decision according to PLMN information shared by RANs supported by multiple target candidate primary base stations, and select the target primary base station from the multiple target candidate primary base stations.

Further, the step of performing the handover decision based on at least PLMN information shared by RANs supported by a plurality of target candidate master base stations, and selecting the target master base station among the plurality of target candidate master base stations may include: and selecting the target candidate main base station supporting the maximum PLMN number shared by the RAN as the target main base station.

Specifically, for example, if the target candidate main base station 1 supports a PLMN network for china mobile, china telecommunication, and china unicom, and the target candidate main base station 2 supports only a PLMN network for china mobile and china telecommunication, the target candidate main base station 1 is selected as the target main base station.

Still further, performing the handover decision based at least on PLMN information shared by RANs supported by a plurality of target candidate master base stations, the step of selecting the target master base station among the plurality of target candidate master base stations may comprise: and selecting the target candidate main base stations which support the PLMN number shared by the RAN and exceed the preset number.

The preset number may be determined based on an upper limit value of the number of PLMNs supporting RAN sharing, for example, the preset number may be equal to the upper limit value of the number of PLMNs supporting RAN sharing multiplied by a preset ratio. Wherein the preset proportion may be selected from 50% to 100%.

Specifically, for example, china mobile, china unicom and chinese telecommunication, the upper limit of the number of PLMNs supporting RAN sharing is 3, and the preset number may be set to 2 or 3, that is, the target primary base station is selected from the target candidate primary base stations of PLMNs supporting RAN sharing in 2 or 3.

Still further, performing the handover decision based at least on PLMN information shared by RANs supported by a plurality of target candidate master base stations, the step of selecting the target master base station among the plurality of target candidate master base stations may comprise: and selecting the target candidate main base stations supporting the RAN shared PLMN number exceeding the preset number according to the switching algorithm of the source main base stations.

Specifically, the source primary base station may determine to perform handover according to a measurement result reported by the mobile base station, may determine to perform handover according to a current network overload, and may further perform handover decision by using its own handover algorithm.

Specifically, the target candidate master base stations whose number of PLMNs that support RAN sharing exceeds the preset number are selected, so that the number of PLMNs that the target candidate master base stations support RAN sharing is selected as much as possible.

Further, before S301, the method may further include the step of the mobile base station measuring and reporting the measurement result.

Specifically, the source main base station may send a measurement request to the mobile base station, and report a measurement result to the source main base station after the mobile base station (or the mobile base station and the terminal) completes measurement.

Further, the measurement request may be a Radio Resource Management (RRM) measurement request, the measurement may be an RRM measurement, and the measurement result may be an RRM measurement result.

The RRM measurement request may be measurement configuration information, which instructs the mobile base station to perform RRM measurement.

RRM measurement is mainly to support mobility of a terminal and to obtain a channel condition of a current surrounding cell of the terminal in time. The measurement configuration may include: measuring objects, reporting configuration, measuring identification, measuring quantity configuration, measuring starting threshold, measuring interval distribution and the like; the measurement object defines a measurement target, which includes a measurement object Identifier (ID) and a specific configuration corresponding to the measurement target, and includes intra-RAT (intra-RAT) NR measurement and Inter-RAT (Inter-RAT) Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) measurement. The reporting configuration defines a measurement reporting criteria, which includes a measurement reporting identifier and a specific configuration of the corresponding measurement reporting criteria.

In a specific implementation, the handover request may include an indication bit message, where the indication bit message is used to indicate that the mobile base station supports RAN sharing.

The indication bit message may adopt a single bit (bit) or multiple bits, for example, when a single bit is adopted, 1 may be adopted to indicate that the RAN sharing is supported by the mobile base station, and 0 may be adopted to indicate that the RAN sharing is not supported by the mobile base station. When multiple bits are used, all 1 s may be used to indicate that the mobile base station supports the RAN sharing, and all 0 s may be used to indicate that the mobile base station does not support the RAN sharing.

In this embodiment of the present invention, the handover request includes an indication bit message, where the indication bit message is used to indicate that the mobile base station supports RAN sharing, so that the current handover request may be indicated to the target master base station as a handover request shared by the RAN, so that the target master base station configures a length of an appropriate handover timer in the RRC reconfiguration message sent by the target master base station.

S303 may adopt a conventional admission control method when it is specifically implemented, which is not limited in this application.

S304, during the specific implementation, the HANDOVER REQUEST acknowledge (HANDOVER REQUEST ACK) message sent by the target primary base station to the source primary base station may include an RRC reconfiguration message; or the handover request confirm message may encapsulate (encapsulate) the RRC reconfiguration message.

Here, encapsulating the RRC reconfiguration message may be understood as that the handover command (including the RRC reconfiguration message) sent to the mobile terminal is included in an Acknowledgement (ACK) message in the form of an RRC container (container).

Further, the RRC reconfiguration message includes a handover timer, which is started when the mobile base station receives the RRC reconfiguration message and stopped after the mobile base station completes the random access procedure; and the time length of the switching timer is longer than the time length of the switching timer adopted when the mobile base station sharing function is not supported.

In a specific application, the switching timer may be T304. The target master base station can allocate a longer T304 timer duration for the mobile base station handover, so as to reserve a longer handover time for the mobile base station.

In the embodiment of the invention, the RRC reconfiguration message contains a switching timer, and the duration of the switching timer is longer than that of the switching timer adopted when the sharing function of the mobile base station is not supported, so that more time can be reserved for the mobile base station to realize the switching of the terminal to the target base station.

S305, in specific implementation, the RRC reconfiguration message sent by the source primary base station to the mobile base station may include a handover timer.

Further, the RRC reconfiguration message may also carry necessary information for accessing the target host base station, for example, the necessary information at least includes a target cell identifier, a new cell-Radio Network temporary Identity (C-RNTI), a security algorithm identifier of the target host base station, and may also carry a dedicated Random Access Channel (RACH) resource set for accessing the target cell, an association between an RACH resource and a Synchronization broadcast block (Synchronization Signal/PBCH, SSB), an association between an RACH resource and a CSI-RS configuration dedicated to the terminal, a common RACH resource, system information of the target cell, and the like.

S306 in specific implementation, the mobile base station receives the RRC reconfiguration message, and may select a target base station for the terminal that operates on the PLMN that is not supported by the target primary base station, where the target base station supports at least the PLMN that the terminal operates on.

As a non-limiting example, in the case that there is a PLMN that is not supported by the target main base station, for example, the target main base station does not support china mobile, for a terminal operating in china mobile, the mobile base station may select a target base station that supports china mobile for the terminal.

Further, since there may be a plurality of target base stations supporting the PLMN, the target base stations supporting the PLMN may be selected according to a measurement result of the terminal.

Specifically, the step of selecting the target base station for the terminal operating on the PLMN that is not supported by the target primary base station may include: sending a measurement request to the terminal working on a PLMN not supported by the target main base station; receiving a measurement result from the terminal; and selecting one of one or more target candidate base stations supporting the PLMN as the target base station according to the measurement result.

And selecting a target base station from the one or more target candidate base stations after the handover decision is executed.

The measurement request may be an RRM measurement request, and the measurement result may be an RRM measurement result.

In a specific implementation, the terminal reports the measurement result, and the sent measurement report may include a pilot type in the measurement reporting configuration corresponding to the measurement identifier, such as a measurement result corresponding to a Synchronization Signal and a Broadcast Physical CHannel (PBCH) block (SSB) and a CHannel-state information reference Signal (CSI-RS).

The RRM measurement request may be measurement configuration information, and instruct the terminal to perform RRM measurement.

Further, the source primary base station may interact with one or more target candidate primary base stations for supported RAN shared PLMN information.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the source main base station interacts with the PLMN information shared by the RANs supported by one or more target candidate main base stations, so that the PLMN information supported by other target candidate main base stations can be known, and when the source main base station performs handover decision, the target candidate main base stations supporting the number of PLMNs shared by the RANs as much as possible can be selected, for example, the target candidate main base stations supporting all PLMNs shared by the RANs are selected, thereby reducing the possibility that the terminal is affected after the mobile base station is handed over.

In order to make the RAN sharing method shown in fig. 3 more clear, the following describes an implementation procedure. It should be noted that, in actual implementation, the execution sequence of each step in the flow may be other sequences, some steps in the flow may also be absent, and the present application is not limited.

Referring to fig. 4, fig. 4 is an interaction flowchart of another RAN sharing method in the embodiment of the present application. The process comprises the following steps:

s401: the source main base station, the target candidate main base station 1 and the target candidate main base station 2 interactively support RAN shared PLMN information.

The target candidate master base station 1 and the target candidate master base station 2 shown in fig. 4 are for example only. In the embodiment of the present application, there is no limitation on the specific number of target candidate master base stations,

s402: the source master base station transmits a measurement request to the mobile base station. Accordingly, the mobile base station receives the measurement request.

S403: the mobile base station performs measurements.

S404: the mobile base station transmits the measurement result to the source main base station. Accordingly, the source master base station receives the measurement result.

S405: the source main base station performs a switching decision to select a target main base station.

In the specific embodiment shown in fig. 4, the selected target master base station is the target candidate master base station 1.

S406: the source main base station transmits a handover request to the target candidate main base station 1. Accordingly, the target candidate master base station 1 receives the handover request.

S407: the target candidate master base station 1 performs admission control.

S408: the target candidate master base station 1 transmits a handover request confirm message to the source master base station. Accordingly, the source-master base station receives the handover request confirm message.

S409: the source main base station transmits an RRC reconfiguration message to the mobile base station. Accordingly, the mobile base station receives the RRC reconfiguration message.

S410: the mobile base station sends a measurement request to the terminal. Accordingly, the terminal receives the measurement request.

S411: the terminal performs the measurement.

S412: the terminal sends the measurement result to the mobile base station. Accordingly, the mobile base station receives the measurement result.

S413: and the mobile base station executes the switching judgment and selects a target base station, wherein the target base station at least supports the PLMN of the terminal.

S414: the mobile base station sends a handover request to the target base station. Accordingly, the target base station receives the handover request.

It can be understood that the target base station may also perform subsequent operations such as admission control, which is not limited in this embodiment of the application.

For specific description of each step shown in fig. 4 and the beneficial effect of the scheme, reference may be made to the embodiment shown in fig. 3, and details are not described here.

The embodiment of the present application further discloses a RAN sharing apparatus, which may be the above-mentioned primary base station.

The RAN sharing apparatus may include: the target main base station selection module is used for executing switching judgment and selecting a target main base station; and executing the switching judgment at least according to Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) information shared by RANs supported by a plurality of target candidate main base stations, and selecting the target main base station from the target candidate main base stations.

Further, the RAN sharing apparatus may further include: a switching request sending module, configured to send a switching request to the target primary base station; wherein the handover request includes an indication bit message indicating that the mobile base station supports the RAN sharing.

Further, the RAN sharing apparatus may further include: a handover request acknowledgement message receiving module for receiving a handover request acknowledgement message from the target primary base station; wherein the handover request confirm message includes an RRC reconfiguration message, or the handover request confirm message encapsulates the RRC reconfiguration message.

Further, the RRC reconfiguration message includes a handover timer, which is started when the mobile base station receives the RRC reconfiguration message and stopped after the mobile base station completes the random access procedure; and the time length of the switching timer is greater than the time length of the switching timer adopted when the mobile base station sharing function is not supported.

Further, the RAN sharing apparatus may further include: an RRC reconfiguration message sending module, configured to send the RRC reconfiguration message to the mobile base station; wherein the RRC reconfiguration message includes the handover timer.

Further, the RAN sharing apparatus may further include: and the interaction module is used for interacting the PLMN information shared by the supported RANs with one or more target candidate main base stations.

For the principle, specific implementation and beneficial effects of the RAN sharing apparatus, please refer to the related description of the RAN sharing method shown in fig. 1 to 4, which is not described herein again.

Referring to fig. 5, fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a RAN sharing apparatus in an embodiment of the present application. The RAN sharing apparatus may be the mobile base station.

The RAN sharing apparatus may include: the switching module is used for switching to a target main base station; and the target base station selection module is used for selecting a target base station for a terminal of a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) which does not support the target main base station, wherein the target base station at least supports the PLMN on which the terminal works.

Further, the RAN sharing apparatus may further include: and a handover request sending module, configured to send a handover request to the target base station.

Further, the RAN sharing apparatus may further include: the RRC reconfiguration message acquisition module is used for acquiring a radio resource control RRC reconfiguration message from the source main base station; the RRC reconfiguration message comprises a switching timer, wherein the switching timer is started when the mobile base station receives the RRC reconfiguration message and is stopped after the mobile base station completes a random access process; the duration of the switching timer is longer than that of the switching timer adopted when the sharing function of the mobile base station is not supported

Further, the target base station selection module comprises: the measurement request sending submodule is used for sending a measurement request to the terminal of the PLMN which is not supported by the target main base station; a measurement result receiving submodule for receiving a measurement result from the terminal; and the target base station selection submodule is used for selecting one of one or more target candidate base stations supporting the PLMN as the target base station according to the measurement result.

The embodiment of the application also discloses a RAN sharing device, which can be the target master base station.

The RAN sharing apparatus may include: a receiving module for receiving a handover request from a source primary base station; wherein the handover request includes an indication bit message indicating that the mobile base station supports the RAN sharing.

Further, the RAN sharing apparatus may further include: a switching request confirmation message sending module, configured to send a switching request confirmation message to the source primary base station; wherein the handover request confirm message includes a radio resource control, RRC, reconfiguration message, or the handover request confirm message encapsulates the RRC reconfiguration message.

Further, the RAN sharing apparatus may further include: and the interaction module is used for interacting the shared public land mobile communication network PLMN information with the RAN interactively supported by the source main base station and one or more target candidate main base stations.

In a specific implementation, the RAN sharing apparatus may correspond to a chip having a data processing function in a user equipment; or to a chip module comprising a chip with data processing function in the user equipment, or to the user equipment.

An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, where the computer program is executed by a computer, and the RAN sharing method is executed. The readable storage medium may be a computer-readable storage medium, and may include, for example, non-volatile (non-volatile) or non-transitory (non-transitory) memory, and may also include optical disks, mechanical hard disks, solid state hard disks, and the like.

An embodiment of the present application further provides a RAN sharing apparatus, which includes a memory and a processor, where the memory stores a computer program that can be executed on the processor, and the processor executes the RAN sharing method when executing the computer program.

Referring to fig. 6, fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of another RAN sharing apparatus in this embodiment.

The apparatus 600 comprises at least one processor 601 and at least one memory 602, the memory 602 being adapted to store computer programs and/or data. The memory 602 is coupled to the processor 601. Processor 601 is configured to execute computer programs and/or data stored in memory 602 to implement the RAN sharing methods described above. The coupling in the embodiments of the present application is a spaced coupling or communication connection between devices, units or modules, and may be in an electrical, mechanical or other form, which is used for information interaction between the devices, units or modules. As another implementation, the memory 602 may also be located external to the apparatus 600. The processor 601 may operate in conjunction with the memory 602. The processor 601 may execute computer programs stored in the memory 602. At least one of the at least one memory may be included in the processor.

In some embodiments, apparatus 600 may also include a communication interface 603, where communication interface 603 is used to communicate with other devices over a transmission medium, so that modules used in apparatus 600 may communicate with other devices. Illustratively, the communication interface 603 may be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module, or other type of communication interface.

The connection medium among the communication interface 603, the processor 601, and the memory 602 is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. For example, in fig. 6, the memory 602 and the communication interface 603 are connected to the processor 601 according to the embodiment of the present application. Of course, in the embodiment of the present application, the memory 602, the communication interface 603, and the processor 601 may also be connected through a bus, and the bus may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, and the like.

In the embodiments of the present application, the processor may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component, and may implement or execute the methods, steps, and logic blocks disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor or the like. The steps of a method disclosed in connection with the embodiments of the present application may be directly implemented by a hardware processor, or may be implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules in a processor.

In the embodiment of the present application, the memory may be a nonvolatile memory, such as a Hard Disk Drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD), and may also be a volatile memory (RAM), for example. The memory is any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited to such. The memory in the embodiments of the present application may also be a circuit or any other device capable of implementing a storage function for storing a computer program and/or data.

The method provided by the embodiment of the present application may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. The procedures or functions according to the embodiments of the present application are wholly or partially generated when the computer program is loaded and executed on a computer. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, a network appliance, a user device, or other programmable apparatus. The computer program may be stored in a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another computer readable storage medium, for example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center by wire (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital Subscriber Line (DSL)), or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device, such as a server, a data center, etc., that incorporates one or more of the available media. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., an SSD), among others.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made in the present application without departing from the scope of the application. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is intended to include such modifications and variations as well.

With regard to each module/unit included in each apparatus and product described in the above embodiments, it may be a software module/unit, or may also be a hardware module/unit, or may also be a part of a software module/unit and a part of a hardware module/unit. For example, for each apparatus and product applied to or integrated into a chip, each module/unit included in the apparatus and product may all be implemented by hardware such as a circuit, or at least a part of the modules/units may be implemented by a software program running on a processor integrated within the chip, and the remaining (if any) part of the modules/units may be implemented by hardware such as a circuit; for each device or product applied to or integrated with the chip module, each module/unit included in the device or product may be implemented by using hardware such as a circuit, and different modules/units may be located in the same component (e.g., a chip, a circuit module, etc.) or different components of the chip module, or at least some of the modules/units may be implemented by using a software program running on a processor integrated within the chip module, and the rest (if any) of the modules/units may be implemented by using hardware such as a circuit; for each device and product applied to or integrated in the terminal, each module/unit included in the device and product may be implemented by using hardware such as a circuit, and different modules/units may be located in the same component (e.g., a chip, a circuit module, etc.) or different components in the terminal, or at least part of the modules/units may be implemented by using a software program running on a processor integrated in the terminal, and the rest (if any) part of the modules/units may be implemented by using hardware such as a circuit.

Although the present invention is disclosed above, the present invention is not limited thereto. Various changes and modifications may be effected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for Radio Access Network (RAN) sharing, the method comprising:

executing switching judgment and selecting a target main base station;

and executing the switching judgment at least according to Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) information shared by RANs supported by a plurality of target candidate main base stations, and selecting the target main base station from the target candidate main base stations.

2. The RAN sharing method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending a handover request to the target master base station;

wherein the handover request includes an indication bit message indicating that the mobile base station supports the RAN sharing.

3. The RAN sharing method of claim 2, further comprising:

receiving a handover request confirm message from the target master base station;

wherein the handover request acknowledgement message includes an RRC reconfiguration message, or the handover request acknowledgement message encapsulates the RRC reconfiguration message.

4. The RAN sharing method according to claim 3, wherein the RRC reconfiguration message comprises a handover timer, and the handover timer is started when a mobile base station receives the RRC reconfiguration message and stopped after the mobile base station completes a random access procedure;

and the time length of the switching timer is greater than the time length of the switching timer adopted when the mobile base station sharing function is not supported.

5. The RAN sharing method of claim 4, further comprising:

sending the RRC reconfiguration message to the mobile base station;

wherein the RRC reconfiguration message includes the handover timer.

6. The RAN sharing method of claim 1, further comprising:

PLMN information shared with one or more of the target candidate master base station interworking supported RANs.

7. A method for Radio Access Network (RAN) sharing, for a mobile base station, the method comprising:

switching to a target master base station;

and selecting a target base station for a terminal working in a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) which is not supported by the target main base station, wherein the target base station at least supports the PLMN in which the terminal works.

8. The RAN sharing method of claim 7, further comprising:

and sending a switching request to the target base station.

9. The RAN sharing method of claim 7, further comprising:

acquiring a Radio Resource Control (RRC) reconfiguration message from a source main base station;

the RRC reconfiguration message comprises a switching timer, wherein the switching timer is started when the mobile base station receives the RRC reconfiguration message and is stopped after the mobile base station completes a random access process;

the duration of the switching timer is longer than the duration of the switching timer adopted when the mobile base station sharing function is not supported.

10. The RAN sharing method of claim 7, wherein selecting a target base station for a terminal operating in a PLMN not supported by the target master base station comprises:

sending a measurement request to the terminal working on a PLMN not supported by the target main base station;

receiving a measurement result from the terminal;

and selecting one of one or more target candidate base stations supporting the PLMN as the target base station according to the measurement result.

11. A method for Radio Access Network (RAN) sharing, the method comprising:

receiving a handover request from a source master base station;

12. The RAN sharing method of claim 11, further comprising:

sending a handover request acknowledgement message to the source primary base station;

wherein the handover request acknowledgement message includes a radio resource control, RRC, reconfiguration message, or the handover request acknowledgement message encapsulates the RRC reconfiguration message.

13. The RAN sharing method according to claim 12,

the RRC reconfiguration message comprises a switching timer, and the switching timer is started when the mobile base station receives the RRC reconfiguration message and is stopped after the mobile base station completes the random access process;

and the time length of the switching timer is longer than the time length of the switching timer adopted when the mobile base station sharing function is not supported.

14. The RAN sharing method of claim 11, further comprising:

public land mobile network, PLMN, information shared by RANs that are inter-supported with a source master base station and one or more target candidate master base stations.

15. A radio access network, RAN, sharing apparatus, comprising:

the target main base station selection module is used for executing switching judgment and selecting a target main base station;

16. An apparatus for Radio Access Network (RAN) sharing, comprising:

the switching module is used for switching to a target main base station;

and the target base station selection module is used for selecting a target base station for a terminal of a public land mobile communication network (PLMN) which does not support the target main base station, and the target base station at least supports the PLMN of the terminal.

17. A radio access network, RAN, sharing apparatus, comprising:

a receiving module, configured to receive a handover request from a source master base station;

18. A computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program, wherein the computer program, when executed by a computer, causes the radio access network, RAN, sharing method of any one of claims 1 to 6 to be performed, or causes the RAN sharing method of any one of claims 7 to 10 to be performed, or causes the RAN sharing method of any one of claims 11 to 14 to be performed.

19. RAN sharing apparatus comprising a memory and a processor, the memory having stored thereon a computer program operable on the processor, wherein the processor, when executing the computer program, performs the radio access network RAN sharing method of any of claims 1 to 6, or performs the RAN sharing method of any of claims 7 to 10, or performs the RAN sharing method of any of claims 11 to 14.