Next-Generation Network Architectures—Trends, Challenges and Innovations
A special issue of Electronics (ISSN 2079-9292). This special issue belongs to the section "Networks".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2026 | Viewed by 209
Special Issue Editors
Interests: internet of vehicles; wireless powered communications; network performance analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
We are pleased to invite you to contribute to this Special Issue of Electronics, titled “Next-Generation Network Architectures—Trends, Challenges and Innovations”. The ongoing proliferation of intelligent edge devices, cloud-native infrastructures, and AI-enhanced services is reshaping how networked systems are designed, optimized, and deployed. Modern network architectures are evolving toward ultra-low latency, resilience, scalability, and dynamic adaptability, particularly in highly decentralized and heterogeneous environments.
This Special Issue aims to gather original research and comprehensive reviews on the design and analysis of intelligent network systems, emphasizing architectural innovations that integrate AI, distributed intelligence, and communication efficiency. We particularly welcome interdisciplinary works that advance the theory and application of next-generation networks, including but not limited to federated learning, multi-agent communication, semantic-aware data exchange, and energy-efficient design.
Topics of interest include (but are not limited to) the following:
- Intelligent and autonomous network architectures (6G, IoT, vehicular, satellite);
- AI/ML-driven network optimization and orchestration;
- Federated and distributed learning over constrained networks;
- Edge, fog, and cloud collaborative intelligence systems;
- Software-defined networking and network function virtualization;
- Network security, trust, and privacy in decentralized environments;
- Semantic communication and efficient information routing;
- Robust and adaptive multi-agent systems in networked settings;
- Green networking and sustainable protocol design;
- Network topology design and system-level co-optimization.
Both original research articles and in-depth review papers are welcome.
We look forward to receiving your contributions to this timely and impactful Special Issue.
Dr. Siyuan Zhou
Dr. Zaipeng Xie
Guest Editors
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. Electronics 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.
Keywords
- next-generation network architectures
- intelligent network systems
- network optimization and control
- network security and privacy
- networked multi-agent systems
- federated learning over networks
- network topology design
- edge network intelligence
- communication-efficient networking
- software-defined networking
- distributed intelligence
- semantic communication over networks
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