Communication method and apparatus

A communication method, wherein the method comprises:

• receiving, by a second network element, a request message for a passive terminal sent by a first network element, and sending a first message generated based on the request message to a reader, wherein the first message indicates the reader to complete random access with the passive terminal, the request message is generated based on an operation request sent by a requester to the first network element, the first network element is in a home network of the passive terminal, and the second network element is in a first network that the requester requests to access;
• receiving, by the second network element, a second message sent by the passive terminal via the reader, and determining the home network of the passive terminal based on the second message;
• and
• sending, by the second network element, a third message to the requester over the home network, wherein the third message is generated in response to the request message.

An apparatus, comprising:

• at least one processor;
• and
• a memory storing programming, the programming including instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform:
• receiving a broadcast message sent by a reader, wherein the broadcast message is generated based on a first message sent by a second network element to the reader, the broadcast message comprises a network identifier of a first network, the second network element is in the first network, the first message is generated based on a request message sent by a first network element to the second network element, and the first network element is in a home network of the apparatus;
• and
• after the apparatus confirms that the network identifier of the first network is in a network identifier list comprised in an identifier of the apparatus, completing, by the apparatus, random access to the reader.