Communication Networks: Technologies and Applications

Dear Colleagues,

Introduction: In recent years, communication networks have become the backbone of digital society, supporting everything from personal communications to industrial automation and critical infrastructures. The transition from 5G to 6G, together with the rise in cloud-native designs, artificial intelligence, and edge computing, is reshaping both the technological landscape and the range of services that networks can deliver. New paradigms of new infrastructure, such as reconfigurable intelligent surfaces, terahertz links, and intelligent orchestration, are enabling capabilities far beyond those of current systems.

At the same time, the diversity of applications—ranging from ultra-reliable low-latency services in healthcare and autonomous driving, to massive/industrial IoT and IoE deployments in smart cities and industry—has created new performance and security requirements. Meeting these demands requires a rethinking of network design, protocols, and applications. For these reasons, research in this area is both timely and vital.

Aim of the Special Issue:

The Special Issue aims to bring together high-quality research and practice-oriented contributions that address the challenges and opportunities in modern communication networks. The focus is on both enabling technologies and their applications, reflecting the journal’s scope in advancing knowledge on networking, computing, and digital infrastructures.

Accordingly, the Special Issue will provide a forum for presenting recent scientific and engineering advances, highlighting the interplay between network technologies and real-world applications, and fostering interdisciplinary discussion across communications, computing, and applied sciences.

This collection will therefore serve researchers, engineers, and practitioners who are shaping the future of communication technologies and their societal impact.

Suggested Themes:

Potential themes for this Special Issue include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Evolution of 5G and 6G systems, terahertz, quantum, and optical wireless links.
• Network architectures and protocols: SDN, NFV, network slicing, and edge–cloud integration.
• AI- and data-driven methods for traffic management, optimization, and self-organizing networks.
• Security, privacy, and trust in next-generation communications.
• Sustainable and energy-aware networking solutions.
• Applications in IoT, Industry 4.0, IoE, e-health, autonomous systems, immersive media, intrusion detection and protection systems, and digital twins.
• Experimental platforms, testbeds, and case studies validating innovative solutions.

Dr. Haider W. Oleiwi
Prof. Dr. Mahmoud Abdel-Aty
Guest Editors

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