Next-Generation Wireless Communication for Smart Cities: Architectures, Protocols, and Applications
A special issue of Electronics (ISSN 2079-9292). This special issue belongs to the section "Microwave and Wireless Communications".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 January 2026 | Viewed by 65
Special Issue Editors
Interests: industrial IoT; communication protocols; wireless sensor networks; machine learning
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The evolution of modern urban environments into Smart Cities is driving an unprecedented demand for intelligent, reliable, and high-capacity communication networks. With the explosion of connected devices and urban digital services, 5G and emerging 6G wireless communication technologies are set to become the digital backbone of Smart Cities, empowering sustainable, efficient, and responsive urban ecosystems. These technologies offer the capabilities required to support the unique demands of Smart Cities, including ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC), massive machine-type communication (mMTC), and enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB). Together, they will empower a wide range of applications, such as autonomous mobility, real-time traffic management, drone operations, augmented-reality (AR/VR) experiences in public spaces, smart grids, digital health monitoring, and remote city governance. However, deploying these technologies in dense and dynamic urban environments introduces significant challenges, including network heterogeneity, spectrum scarcity, security and privacy concerns, the need for scalable architectures, and high energy demands. In response, the integration of AI-driven network control, edge/fog computing, software-defined networking (SDN), reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS), and digital twin models is gaining momentum as a way to optimize communication infrastructure and enhance service reliability and sustainability.
Therefore, this Special Issue aims to present cutting-edge research on and innovations in 5G/6G communication systems, network architectures, and applications tailored for Smart Cities. This Issue welcomes original research articles and reviews that address the design, analysis, implementation, and optimization of communication technologies for future urban environments. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following areas:
- Advanced 5G/6G architectures for smart city networks;
- Edge/fog/cloud integration for low-latency city services;
- Network slicing and resource optimization in heterogeneous environment;
- MmWave/THz communication and RIS-assisted networks for urban deployment;
- UAV- and satellite-enabled connectivity for underserved areas in cities;
- IoT communication frameworks for smart infrastructure and public services;
- Secure and privacy-aware communication protocols for urban data exchange;
Digital twin models for city-wide network simulation and optimization.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Dr. Hossam M. Farag
Dr. Mustafa Ozger
Guest Editors
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Keywords
- 5G/6G networks
- AI
- smart cities
- terahertz (THz) communications
- edge computing
- digital twins
- satellite communication
- network optimization
- privacy-preserving communications
- green communications
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