The International Journal for the Computer and Telecommunications Industry

Computer and Communications networks are key infrastructures of the information society with high socio-economic value as they contribute to the correct operations of many critical services (from healthcare to finance and transportation). Internet is the core of today's computer-communication infrastructures. This has transformed the Internet, from a robust network for data transfer between computers, to a global, content-rich, communication and information system where contents are increasingly generated by the users, and distributed according to human social relations. Next-generation network technologies, architectures and protocols are therefore required to overcome the limitations of the legacy Internet and add new capabilities and services. The future Internet should be ubiquitous, secure, resilient, and closer to human communication paradigms.

Computer Communications is a peer-reviewed international journal that publishes high-quality scientific articles (both theory and practice) and survey papers covering all aspects of future computer communication networks (on all layers, except the physical layer), with a special attention to the evolution of the Internet architecture, protocols, services, and applications. Topics include, but are not limited to:

    Internet of Things
    Edge/cloud computing
    Green networking
    Mobile and ubiquitous networks
    Terrestrial and Non-terrestrial networks
    Mobile network services and applications
    Experimental test-beds and research platforms
    Algorithmic aspects of communication networks
    Emerging technologies for next generation network
    Future Internet architecture, protocols and services
    Modeling, measurement, and simulation of computer communication networks 

Special Issue on Smart Blockchain Network Empowered Metaverse and Web 3.0
Submission Date: 2024-08-31

Metaverse and Web 3.0 are two emerging technologies that are expected to revolutionize the digital world and future society in the coming years. The Metaverse aims to seamlessly integrate the physical and cyber worlds by digitizing physical objects to create digital twins. On the other hand, Web 3.0 represents a decentralized Internet paradigm, constructed on blockchain networks, where users retain ownership of their generated data. This data can be intelligently stored and processed in a decentralized manner, utilizing artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies. These technologies enable users to interact within the cyber world, maintaining ownership of their generated data. This paradigm shift necessitates a convergence of communication, networking, computing, and storage in a decentralized manner, with blockchain technology playing a pivotal role in establishing this zero-trust environment.

However, to meet these requirements, blockchain technologies face significant challenges in scalability, high-throughput, trust establishment, and application exploration. A variety of service functions will need to be integrated into the network via smart contracts. Incentives and consensus algorithms will need to be designed for function and content sharing. Furthermore, blockchains must be interoperable to facilitate service provision among users across diverse blockchains. The computations within the smart contract should be completed through efficient resource allocation and collaboration between edge and cloud environments. Additionally, robust security and privacy policies must be enforced to protect assets and users' private information, thereby enabling a trustworthy cyber world.

We believe this special issue will shed more light on the recent advances in smart blockchain technologies for Metaverse and Web 3.0. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

New blockchain architecture for Metaverse and Web 3.0
Decentralized data management and analysis in Metaverse and Web 3.0
Decentralized identifiers (DID) for Metaverse and Web 3.0
Incentive and consensus algorithms in Metaverse and Web 3.0
Function-embedded smart contract for Metaverse and Web 3.0
Blockchain with edge-cloud collaboration in Metaverse and Web 3.0
Blockchain with AIGC
AI-driven blockchain for Metaverse and Web 3.0
Integration between networking and blockchain in Metaverse and Web 3.0
Data security challenges and solutions for Metaverse and Web 3.0
Data privacy protection in Metaverse and Web 3.0
System performance optimization for Metaverse and Web 3.0
Blockchain Interoperability in Metaverse and Web 3.0
Systems and platforms for Metaverse and Web 3.0 

Special Issue on Advances in IoT and Cloud Continuum
Submission Date: 2024-11-15

This special issue aims to foster the dissemination of high-quality research with new methods, theories and practice in order to solve challenging research issues related to advances in IoT and the cloud continuum.

The Internet of Things (IoT) provides a dynamic network infrastructure incorporating interoperable communication protocols that enable interaction and control of physical things such as smart devices, sensors, and embedded systems. IoT devices are generally characterized by resource scarcity in terms of storage, computing power, and network bandwidth and communication. Cloud computing (together with Fog and Edge) provide convenient and on-demand network access to a large-scale shared pool of configurable, scalable and elastic computing resources. The convergence and continuum of IoT and cloud improve their synergy and provide better service provisioning. Advances in wireless networks, such as 5G networks have opened up new venues for IoT and cloud continuum by offering faster data transfer, high bandwidth and low latency. Such networks can potentially handle a large number of heterogeneous and distributed devices, which is critical for developing IoT and cloud ecosystems.

This special issue aims to foster the dissemination of high-quality research with new methods, theories and practice in order to solve challenging research issues related to advances in IoT and cloud continuum. Original research articles are solicited, which include (but are not limited to) the following topics:

    Models and architectures for the IoT-Cloud continuum
    Edge and fog computing within the IoT-Cloud continuum
    Performance modeling and optimization in IoT-Cloud systems
    Application of AI and machine learning in the IoT-Cloud continuum
    Security and privacy in the IoT-Cloud continuum
    Big data management in IoT-Cloud environments
    On-demand service provisioning in the IoT-Cloud continuum
    QoS of applications in the IoT-Cloud continuum
    Integration of IoT, cloud, and Industry 4.0 within the continuum
    Energy efficiency in IoT-Cloud systems
    Service-oriented computing for IoT-Cloud Continuum

Timeline:

Submission Open Date *01/11/2024
Final Manuscript Submission Deadline *15/11/2024
Editorial Acceptance Deadline *15/01/2025

Keywords:

Cloud, IoT, Ege, Continuum

Special Issue on Artificial Intelligence of Things for Future Communication Networks
Submission Date: 2024-12-31

The evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) and internet of things (IoT) technologies brings about artificial intelligence of things (AIoT), referring to a groundbreaking technology that leverages AI models to process the large amount of data generated by IoT devices. AIoT collects and processes IoT data in real time and empowers IoT devices to run AI models for intelligent decisions. AIoT seamlessly integrates the cutting-edge technologies, e.g., sensing, cloud and edge computing, and big data analytics, and has a wide range of applications, e.g., intelligent transportation systems and smart healthcare.

We envision the future communication network to be a large-scale mass-connected network consisting of billions of cloud, edge, and end devices. AIoT empowers future communication networks in mass connection, low-latency data transmission and routing, virtualization and resource abstraction, data security and privacy, intelligent decisions, etc. Meanwhile, future communication networks provide a platform to meet the high storage, networking, and computation requirements and run AIoT algorithms.

This special issue aims to tackle the challenging issues and foster original research and innovative solutions related to AIoT for future communication networks. We welcome the dissemination of high-quality research on emerging ideas, approaches, theories, frameworks, and practices of AIoT technologies, especially in future communication networks. Prospective authors are invited to submit original manuscripts on topics including but not limited to:

    New AIoT framework, architecture, and platforms of future communication networks
    AIoT sensing and communication in future communication networks
    Edge artificial intelligence for AIoT
    AIoT security and privacy solutions for future communication networks
    AIoT machine learning and data mining for future communication networks
    Novel systems and cases studies of AIoT-enabled future communication networks
    Emerging applications of AIoT-enabled future communication networks

Note that the impact of the contributions should be clearly demonstrated in the context of AIoT in future communication networks. Papers that do not directly address this theme will be considered out of scope and will be subject to immediate rejection. Merely including a few descriptive paragraphs in the introduction is not sufficient to demonstrate relevance; the entire manuscript should be substantially focused on AIoT in future communication networks.

Timeline:

Submission Open Date *31/05/2024
Final Manuscript Submission Deadline *31/12/2024
Editorial Acceptance Deadline *31/03/2025