This technology of this application relates to a communication method and an apparatus. The method includes selecting, by user equipment (UE), a type of a random access message and determining one or more transmission opportunities based on one or more of a configuration message of a network device, a capability of the UE, and a preset rule set; and sending, by the UE, the random access message on one or more valid transmission opportunities in the one or more transmission opportunities. Types of random access messages include a first random access message and a second random access message, the first random access message includes a preamble sequence preamble and a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), and the second random access message includes a preamble but does not include a PUSCH.