Granted Patent B2

US 12,610,215 · App. 18/147,395 · Granted Apr 21, 2026

Inventors: Meng Li (Beijing, CN); Yanmei Yang (Beijing, CN); Cuili Ge (Beijing, CN)

Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.

H04W4/06H04W64/00

Abstract

Claims (50)

1 . A communication method, comprising:

receiving, by a first session management network element, a first request, wherein the first session management network element corresponds to a terminal device, and the first request comprises identification information of a multicast/broadcast service with which the terminal device requests to be associated;

sending, by the first session management network element, a second request, wherein the second request comprises the identification information of the multicast/broadcast service;

receiving, by the first session management network element, a response to the second request, wherein the response comprises multicast/broadcast area information of the multicast/broadcast service, the multicast/broadcast area information is used for the terminal device to receive the multicast/broadcast service, and the multicast/broadcast area information identifies a service area of the multicast/broadcast service; and

in response to the first session management network element determining, based on a location of the terminal device, that the terminal device is inside the service area of the multicast/broadcast service, associating, by the first session management network element, the terminal device with the multicast/broadcast service.

2 . The communication method according to claim 1 , wherein sending, by the first session management network element, the second request comprises:

sending, by the first session management network element, the second request to a second session management network element, wherein the second session management network element corresponds to the multicast/broadcast service, and wherein the second request requests the multicast/broadcast area information.

3 . The communication method according to claim 2 , wherein before sending, by the first session management network element, the second request to the second session management network element, the method further comprises:

sending, by the first session management network element, a third request to a centralized storage network element, wherein the third request comprises the identification information of the multicast/broadcast service, and the third request requests to obtain identification information of the second session management network element; and

receiving, by the first session management network element, a response to the third request from the centralized storage network element, wherein the response to the third request comprises the identification information of the second session management network element.

4 . The communication method according to claim 1 , wherein sending, by the first session management network element, the second request comprises:

sending, by the first session management network element, the second request to a centralized storage network element.

5 . The communication method according to claim 1 , wherein associating, by the first session management network element, the terminal device with the multicast/broadcast service comprises:

adding, by the first session management network element, information related to the multicast/broadcast service to context information of the terminal device; or

adding, by the first session management network element, information about the terminal device to context information of the multicast/broadcast service.

6 . The communication method according to claim 1 , further comprising:

sending, by the first session management network element, an activation indication to an access network device, wherein the activation indication indicates to the access network device to activate or deactivate the multicast/broadcast service.

7 . The communication method according to claim 1 , wherein the first session management network element manages a unicast session of the terminal device.

8 . The communication method according to claim 1 , wherein the first request is a protocol data unit (PDU) session modification request.

9 . The communication method according to claim 1 , wherein the multicast/broadcast area information comprises one or more of the following information: a service area identifier, a tracking area identifier, or a cell identifier.

10 . A communication method, comprising:

receiving, by an access network device, a fourth request, wherein the access network device corresponds to a terminal device, and the fourth request comprises identification information of a multicast/broadcast service with which the terminal device requests to be associated and multicast/broadcast area information, and wherein the multicast/broadcast area information identifies a service area of the multicast/broadcast service; and

associating, by the access network device, the terminal device with the multicast/broadcast service based on the identification information of the broadcast service and the multicast/broadcast area information.

11 . The communication method according to claim 10 , wherein associating, by the access network device, the terminal device with the multicast/broadcast service based on the identification information of the multicast/broadcast service and the multicast/broadcast area information comprises:

associating, by the access network device, the terminal device with the multicast/broadcast service when the access network device finds context information of the multicast/broadcast service based on the identification information of the multicast/broadcast service and determines that the terminal device is inside the service area of the multicast/broadcast service.

12 . The communication method according to claim 11 , wherein the context information of the multicast/broadcast service is used by the access network device to allocate a resource to the terminal device.

13 . The communication method according to claim 10 , wherein the fourth request further comprises an activation indication, and the activation indication indicates to the access network device to activate or deactivate the multicast/broadcast service.

14 . The communication method according to claim 10 , wherein associating, by the access network device, the terminal device with the multicast/broadcast service comprises:

adding, by the access network device, information related to the multicast/broadcast service to context information of the terminal device; or

adding, by a first session management network element, information about the terminal device to context information of the multicast/broadcast service.

15 . A communication apparatus, comprising:

at least one processor, wherein the at least one processor is coupled to a non-transitory memory, and wherein the non-transitory memory is configured to store a computer program; and

wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the computer program stored in the non-transitory memory, to enable the communication apparatus to perform the following:

receiving a fourth request, wherein the communication apparatus is an access network device corresponding to a terminal device, and the fourth request comprises identification information of a multicast/broadcast service with which the terminal device requests to be associated and multicast/broadcast area information, and wherein the multicast/broadcast area information identifies a service area of the multicast/broadcast service; and

associating the terminal device with the multicast/broadcast service based on the identification information of the broadcast service and the multicast/broadcast area information.

16 . The communication apparatus according to claim 15 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to:

associate the terminal device with the multicast/broadcast service when the access network device finds context information of the multicast/broadcast service based on the identification information of the multicast/broadcast service and determines that the terminal device is inside the service area of the multicast/broadcast service.

17 . A communication apparatus, comprising:

at least one processor, wherein the at least one processor is coupled to a non-transitory memory, wherein the non-transitory memory is configured to store a computer program; and

wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the computer program stored in the non-transitory memory, to enable the communication apparatus to perform the following:

receiving a first request, wherein the communication apparatus is a first session management network element corresponding to a terminal device, and the first request comprises identification information of a multicast/broadcast service with which the terminal device requests to be associated;

sending a second request, wherein the second request comprises the identification information of the multicast/broadcast service;

receiving a response to the second request, wherein the response comprises multicast/broadcast area information of the multicast/broadcast service, the multicast/broadcast area information is used for the terminal device receiving the multicast/broadcast service, and the multicast/broadcast area information identifies a service area of the multicast/broadcast service; and

in response to determining, based on a location of the terminal device, that the terminal device is inside the service area of the multicast/broadcast service, associating the terminal device with the multicast/broadcast service.

18 . The communication apparatus according to claim 17 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

send the second request to a second session management network element, wherein the second session management network element is a session management network element corresponding to the multicast/broadcast service, wherein the second request is used to request the multicast/broadcast area information.

19 . The communication apparatus according to claim 17 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

add information related to the multicast/broadcast service to context information of the terminal device; or

add information about the terminal device to context information of the multicast/broadcast service.

20 . The communication apparatus according to claim 17 , wherein the first session management network element is a session management network element that manages a unicast session of the terminal device.

Assignments (1)

Priority Claims (1)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (20)