Special issue on Digital continuum

This special issue of the ITU J-FET on “Digital continuum and next generation networks” will address complementary aspects of emerging trends and innovative approaches in communications and networks research. The overall aim is to highlight selected driving technologies, techniques, and principles that will enable the next generation of networked communication systems and their effective take-​up in smart society, production, and the economy.

The explosive growth and the rapid changes in the fields of communications and networking ask for innovative approaches to ensure efficient performance and the provision of advanced services to users. These innovative approaches include, but are not limited to, network optimization, efficient data management, cognitive computing, blockchain-based solutions and unconventional hardware and software design and deployment. Such approaches can be proven useful not only in the operations of current networks but also in the design of future network architectures – evolutionary or disruptive. 

This special issue solicits papers that address the above-mentioned issues with an emphasis on the combination of innovative techniques with advanced system applications. Technical contributions with working implementations and practical evaluations are particularly welcome. We also welcome research work that explores new and compelling communications and networking scenarios and applications, particularly where this work goes beyond providing a general overview and instead offers compelling scientific insights.