The cell radius supported by the message 1 may be a maximum cell radius, and the subcarrier spacing supported by the message 1 may be a minimum subcarrier spacing.
In another implementation, the TA is related to a message 1 (e.g., random access preamble) format of the terminal device, and a minimum subcarrier spacing and/or maximum cell radius of the message 1 in a frequency range of the terminal device. For example, for a high frequency (e.g., greater than or equal to 6 GHz), a corresponding message 1 subcarrier spacing is of 60 kHz or 120 kHz; for a low frequency (e.g., lower than 6 GHz), a corresponding message 1 subcarrier spacing is of 15 kHz or 30 kHz.
In the foregoing, the terminology “being related to” may refer to “being associated with.” In another implementation, the terminology “being related to” may be replaced with “being determined” or “being calculated.” The TA may be predetermined by the network device and notified to the terminal device, and then the terminal device determines a time gap based on the TA. Alternatively, the TA may be determined by the terminal device based on some parameters (e.g., a TAC and a distance between the network device and the terminal device) indicated by the network device. Alternatively, the network device and the terminal device separately predetermine a TA.