Standards play a key role in the success of the communications industry, as enablers of global systems inter-operability and economies of scale. The last years, industry has achieved critical progress on technology readiness, and operators around the world are starting the commercial rollout. This represents the culmination of years of concerted industry and academia efforts in scoping out and designing the next generation of mobile systems. Past editions of the IEEE CSCN conference have played their own part in these efforts.

In 2024, IEEE CSCN will be divided into 6 Tracks and a Special Session (on Research projects) designed to cover the diverse space of technologies – not limited to cellular systems. New, original and previously unpublished papers are invited that address the emerging connectivity solutions and the standardization approaches and strategies that these may take, as well as the relevant business models and use-cases.

New proposals of end-to-end network architectures and protocols enabling new business models and paving the way for a new breed of services targeting enterprise customers and vertical industries are also welcome. Moreover, papers that look at what lies ahead in terms of technical and business challenges for successful 5G deployments are also invited. Furthermore, papers that examine new research topics and technical challenges for 6G are also welcome.

We are pleased to invite you to submit an original previously unpublished paper on (but not limited to) the topics of the following tracks. For each Track and Special Session, paper topics may include (but are not limited to):
Tracks/Special Sessions
Track on Emerging Wireless Communications towards 6G

Moving towards 6G era, mobile services are expected to be support the following key services: mobile broadband reliable low latency communication (MBRLLC), massive ultra-reliable, low latency communications (MURLLC), human-centric services (HCS), and multi-purpose Communications, Computing, Control, Localization, and Sensing (3CLS) and energy services (MPS). To enable these services that have challenging requirements that current networks are not designed to support, new technologies will be required, in particular on the Radio Access Network (RAN) side. This track aims to discuss the new technologies beyond 5G Radio and Wireless Communications. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

    Physical layer and MAC layer design for enabling beyond-5G wireless networks.
    Next-Generation Wi-Fi systems (IEEE 802.11be/bn).
    Future IoT networks.
    Communication systems in Infrared, Visible and Ultraviolet Light bands.
    High-frequency access, backhaul, and self-backhauling.
    Communications systems in THz bands.
    Radio-based positioning, localization, and sensing.
    Integrated Sensing and Communications.
    Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces.
    Out-of-band channel estimation.
    Green and energy efficient wireless networks.
    Full-duplex communications.
    Solutions for battery-conserving, interference-mitigating device design.
    Massive and FD-MIMO communications.
    Hybrid and coordinated beamforming.
    New control signaling for heterogeneous networks.
    Operation and coexistence in unlicensed and shared spectrum bands.
    Resource management and control in Radio Access Networks.
    Topology, deployment, and optimization of wireless networks.
    Dynamic scheduling, power control, interference management, and QoS management.
    Wireless technology for high speed users
    Next-generation satellite communications systems.
    Machine Learning techniques in the Radio Access Network.
    Emerging candidate technologies and business use-cases for 6G.
    Results from simulation, prototyping, and experiments in Radio Access Networks.

Track on IoT, URLLC and Automotive

Internet of Things (IoT) has led to adding a new dimension of the Internet and is driven by the integration of communication systems and consumer electronic appliances located around us. Thereby, these systems can provide ubiquitous communication & computing with the purpose of defining a new generation of services. IoT is a key enabler for the realization of new Smart-* realm (Smart Cities, Smart Buildings, Smart Factories, Smart Agriculture, Smart Mobility, etc.) as pervasive interactions with/between smart things lead to an effective integration of information into the digital world. These smart (mobile) things – which are instrumented with sensing, actuation, and interaction capabilities – have the means to exchange information and influence the real (physical) world entities and other actors of a smart -* eco-system in real time, forming a smart pervasive computing environment, which is also called ambient compute or intelligence. The objective is to reach a global access to the services, information and intelligence through this so-called Internet of Things through the efficient support for global communications.

IoT and 5G are highly related as 5G aims to natively support enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine type communication (mMTC) and ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC) services over the same infrastructure. Beyond 5G and 6G communication networks are expected to further accelerate this trend. WLANs also begin to provide time-sensitive communications, with the novel IEEE 802.11 amendments. Specifically, the IEEE 802.11be working group has developed mechanisms to provide a deterministic PHY and MAC access. This brings opportunities for many vertical sectors such as automobile, industry automation, media, and health, to expand and renew their business models.

In that context new areas of applications and new challenges appear with the integration of IoT and URLLC in the Vehicle to anything (V2X) environment. Many organizations like e.g. IEEE, ETSI, 3GPP or OneM2M are developing standards for V2X on different protocol layers, where V2X could be seen as a special application of automated IoT communication, e.g. for time critical transmission of warning messages between vehicles.

This track is looking to original papers from both academia and industry on the recent advances in theory, application and implementation of the Internet of Things. URLLC and V2X concepts, technologies and applications. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

    IoT architecture design options and system optimizations.
    IoT security and privacy of IoT devices and services.
    System optimization to support ultra-low complexity devices.
    Radio access optimizations for ultra-low power devices.
    Experience and lessons learnt from IoT large-scale pilots.
    IoT standards platforms interworking and gap analysis.
    IoT interoperability methodologies.
    Massive IoT deployments.
    Software Defined Networks (SDN) and IoT.
    Industrial Internet of Things.
    Factory of Things.
    Mission-Critical (MC) IoT.
    Tactile Internet.
    Edge computing, fog computing and IoT.
    IPv6-based IoT networks.
    IoT protocols such as IPv6, 6LoWPAN, RPL, 6TiSCH, WoT.
    Novel air interface design and networking architecture for Beyond 5G or 6G IoT.
    Artificial intelligence and machine learning for IoT.
    Sensing and localization
    V2X standards and architectures.
    Private LTE / 5G / 6G IoT networks.

Track on Softwarization, Slicing, Automation and Network Management

It is nowadays a fact that 5G networks rely on network softwarization techniques, with Network Function Virtualization (NFV), Software-Defined Networking (SDN) and Service-Based Architecture (SBA) as three of the main pillars. Infrastructures for future 6G networks will further build on top of those pillars, toward an even more intelligent and user-oriented network architecture. Relying on these technologies provides indeed unparalleled flexibility to deploy and manage advanced networks that can support the diverse and extreme requirements of 5G/6G vertical services and use cases, and in particular implement the concept of network slicing. However, they also bring new challenges in many domains such as performance, reliability, security and multi-tenancy. Furthermore, the highly dynamic nature of 5G/6G networks and network slices require advanced service and network management and orchestration approaches, leveraging automation techniques and artificial intelligence to simplify network operations and ultimately achieve a zero-touch management paradigm.

This track is looking to discuss standard-related topics on network softwarization, slicing, and automation, as well as network management. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

    Architectures and protocols for network automation and zero-touch management.
    Intelligent-, intent-based and cognitive networking and network management.
    Programmable architectures and systems for 5G/6G services and verticals.
    Programmable data plane and in-network computing solutions for 5G/6G networks.
    Analysis and considerations for common VNFs across fixed and mobile networks.
    5G service-based architecture evolution toward 6G.
    Network functions placement in distributed clouds.
    5G/6G functional decomposition and deployment.
    Secure operations in future virtualized networks.
    Resource management and sharing for network slicing.
    Scalability and reliability in 5G/6G networks and network slicing.
    Dedicated and shared network functions in network slices.
    Cross-slice management for end-to-end QoS.
    Progress on network slicing standardization (e.g. 3GPP, GSMA, etc.).
    Evaluation of network softwarization and fundamental trade-offs.
    Test-bed experience in softwarization and network slicing.
    SDN and programmable network architectures and interfaces.
    SDN and programmable network languages and data models.
    Progress and future challenges in standardization (e.g. ETSI NFV, IETF/IRTF, etc.).
    Orchestration and management in programmable and virtualized networks.
    Multi-domain and multi-tenancy considerations in programmable and virtualized networks.
    Open Source efforts in relation to programmable and virtualized networks (e.g., ONAP, OPNFV, OpenStack, Open Source MANO).
    QoS/QoE aspects related to programmable and virtualized network services.

Track on Access Network, Edge Computing and Transport for 5G and beyond

The emerging 5G services, directly linked with vertical industry needs, introduce stringent performance requirements on telecoms networks that cannot be met unless a significant network infrastructure upgrade occurs in terms of capacity, latency and jitter assurance, availability, scalability, and reliability. 5G network design is not just limited to the RAN, but it also has end-to-end implications that span all network segments (access, metro, and core), all technology domains (optical and wireless), all types of networks (mobile and transport) and all types of resources (computing, storage, and network) distributed throughout the infrastructure. Ultimately, new network architectures are needed that merge storage and computation into the network infrastructure and allow an end-to-end control of heterogeneous multi-domain infrastructures. These architectures enable a paradigm shift for supporting network operational services, with particular interest in RANs that can take advantage of the high capacity fixed network solutions and enable concepts such as the cloud RAN and network slicing over the crosshaul (i.e., the integrated backhaul, middlehaul, and fronthaul). Furthermore, the introduction of Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) standard in ETSI is witnessing the progressive introduction of end-user applications at the edge of the communication network. MEC will bring significant benefits not only for operators but also for vertical industries, third parties and over-the- top (OTT) companies that will have the opportunity to run their applications at the edge of the fixed and mobile network, close to subscribers. In addition, new protocols and routing, including ICN and VPNs enhancements, may assist to enable this landscape facilitating new RAN, crosshaul, andservices technologies.

This track is looking to discuss standards-related topics on access network, edge computing, and transport for 5G. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

    Multi-Access Edge Computing, Edge-Fog Computing.
    Routing protocols, segment routing and VPN extensions for 5G slicing.
    Multi-tenancy, slicing, and control of multi-domain heterogeneous infrastructures.
    SDN and NFV in access, edge, and transport for 5G
    Transporting 5G mobile services over optical access networks.
    SDN solutions for mobile networks and fixed IP cross layer transport and routing.
    5G architectures supporting Cloud-RAN and functional split options.
    5G architectures supporting fronthaul/middlehaul/backhaul integration.
    Network slicing issues with multi-RATs devices.
    End-to- end resource optimization for 5G mobile services: from radio head to data center.
    Integrated backhaul/middlehaul/fronthaul
    Backhaul/middlehaul/fronthaul considerations for dynamic capacity and mobility management.
    Delivering services over ICN in 5G within a framework enabling network slicing.
    Enhancing 5G backhaul/middlehaul/fronthaul with ICN.
    Mechanisms and protocol enhancements for Hybrid Access networks.
    Introduction of ETSI MEC technology and applications on vertical market segments.
    New user applications at the edge of the communication network.
    Vertical industry implications to transport, edge computing, and 5G access networks.
    Insights on pilots, proof-of-concept, and prototypes on access, edge, and transport networks.

Track on Verticals, Services and Applications

The coming years are characterized by the explosion of M2M connections due to the increase of IoT traffic and services, dominated by several new vertical business segments, e.g., automotive and mobility, smart factories (sometimes referred also as Industry 4.0), health care, media and entertainment, and energy. The development of new communication systems, such as 5G and 5G-Advanced, will be thus acting as enablers for new kind of services and applications with advanced requirements especially in terms of latency, resilience, trust, coverage and bandwidth. From this perspective, the Web is now widely recognized as a powerful platform to provide highly intuitive and user friendly applications. Thus, continuing development of web interfaces and standardization of the same is a central enabler of the emergent interactive communications world. Furthermore, next generation communication systems are expected to integrate different technologies such as mobile, fixed, satellite and optical to offer a more seamless experience to users as they move between locations served by networks of different capabilities. With this increasing demand of new functionalities, new requirements and new use cases, next generation communication networks will need to possess intelligent mechanisms for network orchestration and efficient processing methods of large amounts of data.

This track addresses the above issues. The following topic are of interest, but are not limited to:

    Specific applications/services for automotive and cooperative vehicles
    Specific applications/services for robotics and factories of the future
    Specific applications/services for eHealth and mHealth
    Specific applications/services for media and entertainment vertical
    Specific applications/services for the energy industry
    Specific applications/services for tele-operated and autonomous vehicles
    New introduction of end-user applications at the edge of the communication network
    Services and application relying on smart/intelligent/connected road-infrastructure and/or digital roads
    Standardization under W3C and standards for future web interoperability
    Web standardization for interactivity and human interactions with web platforms
    Specific applications/services for eEducation
    Interoperability for end-to- end mobile services
    Standard architectures for service enablers including integrated networks such as mobile, fixed,satellite and optical
    Open interfaces and open source platforms
    IETF standardization for CPS
    Development of mobile service enablers specifications & Standards
    Standard architectures for delivery of Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and/or Object-Based-Broadcasting by next generation communication systems

Track on AI/ML for Future Network Standards

5G and 5G-Advanced standardization, particularly within 3GPP, have paved the way for integrating AI/ML as part of mobile network architecture. For instance, the optional Network Function (NF): Network Data Analytics Function (NWDAF) in 5G Core Architecture is aimed for incorporating AI/ML. In the Management Plane, Management Data Analytics Function/Service (MDAF/MDAS) has been established to support intelligent management actions. Very recently in 5G-Advanced, the usage of AI/ML for radio processes has been a hot topic for standardization, focusing on scenarios like beam management, channel state information (CSI) and positioning. These standardization efforts are significant steps towards making AI/ML an integral part of Mobile Network Architecture. However, AI/ML remains as use-case dependent and add-on feature in mobile networks. Advances in AI/ML, such LLMs, Generative AI, and various forms of collaborative AI, have not been properly or extensively considered in 5G and 5G-Advanced mobile networks. 

Therefore, this track aims to attract original papers both from academia and industry, presenting new scenarios and innovative technologies for both the usage of AI/ML in mobile networks (AI4Net), as well as the support that mobile networks can provide to AI/ML applications (Net4AI). A key point of interest is to explore how these new proposals impact the current and future directions of standardization. 

Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

    Application of AI/ML to 5G-Advanced
    Enhancing 5G-Advanced to support AI/ML Applications
    Design of Native AI/ML in 6G Mobile Networks
    Design of mobile network architecture for supporting LLM and Generative AI
    Usage of LLM and Generative AI for 6G Mobile Network Services
    Standard Impact and potential standard roadmap to achieve native AI in Mobile Architectures
    Collaborative AI/ML in 6G Mobile Networks
    Distributed AI/ML in Mobile Networks
    Convergence/Integration of AI/ML process in Access Networks, Management Plane, Core Network, and Services
    Dependability of AI/ML in Mobile Networks
    Energy efficiency aspects of AI/ML
    Use Cases and Emerging Technology Supporting new AI/ML-based Mobile Network services 
    Standard impact of native AI in RAN, Core, Management 
    AI/ML for Network Automation