Mobile Edge Computing Networks: Latest Advances and Prospects

Dear Colleagues,

Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) is a cornerstone of next-generation mobile networks, enabling low-latency, context-aware, and privacy-sensitive computing by bringing intelligence and services closer to end users. As MEC evolves toward an AI-native edge–cloud continuum, it must support increasingly complex workloads, including real-time generative services and long-horizon, interactive intelligence.

In particular, LLM-powered agents and generative AI are redefining how edge services are orchestrated, automated, and delivered—moving from static optimization to agentic, tool-using, and multi-agent coordination across devices, edge nodes, and clouds. At the same time, blockchain and Web3 mechanisms are becoming important enablers for trust, provenance, and decentralized governance of data/model pipelines and edge marketplaces. Finally, quantum computing and quantum communication are emerging as transformative technologies for future networks, motivating research on mobile edge–quantum computing, hybrid classical–quantum workflows, and quantum-secure network architectures (including post-quantum cryptography and quantum key distribution integration).

This Special Issue solicits original, unpublished research contributions and high-quality surveys that advance the theory, algorithms, systems, and experimental validation of MEC networks, with a strong emphasis on the above frontier directions. We welcome submissions that address, but are not limited to, the following aspects:

• Novel architectures, protocols, and mechanisms for MEC networks and the edge–cloud continuum;
• Agentic intelligence and generative services over MEC with measurable gains in latency, reliability, energy efficiency, security, and user experience;
• Trustworthy and verifiable edge intelligence via blockchain/Web3 approaches;
• Quantum-enabled and quantum-secure MEC networks, including quantum communication integration and post-quantum transition strategies;
• Prototypes, testbeds, datasets, and reproducible evaluations that demonstrate practical feasibility.

Prospective authors are invited to submit manuscripts on (but not limited to) the following topics:

1. LLM-agent-driven intent-based orchestration for MEC and 6G networks
2. Agentic AI for zero-touch MEC operations, including closed-loop optimization and self-healing
3. Multi-agent systems for distributed MEC coordination (offloading, caching, orchestration)
4. Foundation-model-empowered intelligent networks at the AI-native edge
5. Cloud–edge–device collaboration for model services, including model routing and cooperative inference
6. Split/partitioned LLM inference across device–edge–cloud under latency/cost constraints
7. Edge RAG pipelines and knowledge caching, including vector databases and freshness/consistency control
8. Resource-efficient generative AI deployment on MEC (memory/storage/I/O-aware placement and switching)
9. Distributed generative AI at the edge, including collaborative inference and inter-edge coordination
10. Fine-tuning and continual adaptation of foundation models over MEC (PEFT/LoRA, federated tuning, on-device adaptation)
11. Benchmarking and evaluation methodologies for LLM/agent services with QoS/QoE metrics
12. Secure LLM-as-a-Service at the edge, including governance, isolation, and risk management
13. Privacy-preserving federated learning and machine unlearning for edge intelligence
14. Confidential computing and trusted execution for secure computation offloading and inference
15. Blockchain-enabled provenance and auditability for edge data/model pipelines (trustworthy EdgeAI)
16. Smart-contract-based SLA enforcement, resource trading, and decentralized edge marketplaces
17. Decentralized identity (DID), access control, and trust management for edge services
18. Post-quantum cryptography (PQC) for MEC/IoT and 6G, including migration strategies and performance impacts
19. Quantum communication for quantum-secure MEC/6G, including QKD integration and key management
20. Mobile edge–quantum computing (MEQC) and hybrid classical–quantum offloading/scheduling

Dr. Minrui Xu
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• mobile edge computing (MEC)
• LLM agents and agentic AI
• generative AI at the edge
• edge–cloud–device collaboration
• blockchain-enabled edge intelligence
• quantum-secure communications (PQC/QKD)
• mobile edge–quantum computing (MEQC)