Light connection control method and apparatus

A method performed by a second base station in a communication system, the method comprising:

• receiving, from a first base station, a first paging message including an identifier associated with a context of a user equipment (UE) in an inactive state;
• transmitting, to the UE, a second paging message for the UE based on the first paging message, the second paging message including the identifier associated with the context of the UE in the inactive state;
• and
• receiving, from the UE, a control message for requesting resumption of a radio resource control (RRC) connection,
• wherein the inactive state is a state in which a connection between the UE and a core network is maintained, a connection between the UE and a base station is suspended, and the context of the UE is maintained.

A first base station in a communication system, the first base station comprising:

• a transceiver;
• and
• a controller coupled with the transceiver and configured to:
• receive, from a core network, inactive state assistance information,
• determine whether a user equipment (UE) is moved to an inactive state based on the inactive state assistance information,
• transmit, to the UE, a control message for entering into the inactive state for the UE, the control message including an identifier associated with a context of the UE in the inactive state, in case that the UE is moved to the inactive state based on the inactive state assistance information, and
• transmit, to a second base station, a paging message including the identifier associated with the context of the UE in the inactive state,
• wherein the inactive state is a state in which a connection between the UE and the core network is maintained, a connection between the UE and a base station is suspended, and the context of the UE is maintained.

A second base station in a communication system, the second base station comprising:

• a transceiver;
• and
• a controller coupled with the transceiver and configured to:
• receive, from a first base station, a first paging message including an identifier associated with a context of a user equipment (UE) in an inactive state,
• transmit, to the UE, a second paging message for the UE based on the first paging message, the second paging message including the identifier associated with the context of the UE in the inactive state, and
• receive, from the UE, a control message for requesting resumption of a radio resource control (RRC) connection,
• wherein the inactive state is a state in which a connection between the UE and a core network is maintained, a connection between the UE and a base station is suspended, and the context of the UE is maintained.