JOURNAL of COMMUNICATIONS and NETWORKS (JCN)

JCN invites submission of high-quality papers in the areas of Communication Theory and Systems, Wireless Communications, and Networks and Services.

A prospective author should submit the manuscript for publication consideration in electronic file (pdf) via JCN ScholarOne Manuscripts website (https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jcommnet) to an appropriate Division Editor (for regular papers) or to any Guest Editor of an appropriate Special Issue. (Special Issues may include regular papers to avoid unnecessary publication delays.)

JCN is available in both paper and electronic formats, with the latter available in the JCN Digital Library in the JCN Web site, http://jcn.or.kr. For further details on paper submission and subscription, please visit the JCN Web site.

Low subscription rates are offered to members of KICS and its Sister Societies, including ComSoc, CIC, and IEICE. Application forms are available in the JCN web site.

Call for Special Issue Proposals

Journal of Communications and Networks (JCN) invites scholars to submit a special issue proposal. The purpose of the special issue is to provide collection of articles on a specific topic that the journal has not covered substantially and has the potential to be of high interest to the readers. We plan to consider proposals for special issue on Communications and Networks of highest quality throughout the year. JCN is a peer-reviewed, Open Access journal that publishes bimonthly, published by the Korean Institution of Communications and Information Sciences (KICS) and IEEE ComSoc. The JCN is committed to publishing high quality papers that advance the state-of-the-art and practical applications of communications and information networks. For any inquiry, please contact Prof. Anthony Ephremides and Prof. Inkyu Lee, Editor-in-Chief of JCN, at jcn@kics.or.kr.

Information to be provided in a proposal

The format of a proposal is not important but it should contain the following information:

1. 1. 500 word rational explaining the significance, novelty, technical advancement, and adherence to the scope of the journal of the proposed theme.
2. 2. A brief outline of the topics in the proposed theme.
3. 3. A plan for obtaining quality papers.
4. 4. A brief resume of the proposed Guest Editors. (JCN usually selects four or five Guest Editors based on balanced technical and geographical background.)
5. 5. List of potential reviewers.
6. 6. A proposed call-for-papers.
7. 7. A proposed time schedule including submission deadline and completion of the editorial process.
8. 8. JCN encourages guest editor-authored tutorial and overview papers.

Selection process of the proposals

1. 1. Overall quality of the proposal.
2. 2. Topic is within the scope of the journal.
3. 3. Provides significant novelty and complements previously published issues of the journal.
4. 4. Guest editor's experience in editorial work.
5. 5. Securing high quality reviewers..
6. 6. Delivering the final product within the proposed deadline.

Guest Editor’s Expected Role

1. 1. Once the proposal is accepted, GE will circulate the call for papers for the special issue and invite submissions.
2. 2. GE will manage submissions to the special issue in the ScholoarOne (the web-based journal management system) including assigning reviewers, collating reviews, communicating with authors, making editorial decisions of acceptance, decline and minor revisions.
3. 3. GE will secure at least three subject experts as reviewers per submission and can make a final decision based on two review results.
4. 4. GE will coordinate the editorial process in consultation with the Editor-in-Chief.
5. 5. GE will meet deadlines and deliver the final project as scheduled.
6. 6. GE will conduct all business with reviewers, authors, and editorial staff in ethical and professional manners.

Upcoming Special Issues

JCN SPECIAL ISSUE ON

Communications and Networking Approaches for Combatting COVID-19 PUBLICATION DATE: October 2021

Communication and Networking researchers have much to offer to help address the on-going COVID-19 pandemic. Wireless networks can be utilized to help facilitate contact tracing and other forms of remote health monitoring. Ideas such as those from coding theory and compressed sensing can be applied to improve group testing algorithms. Epidemic models developed for studying the propagation of information and viruses in communication networks can be adapted to study the propagation of a true epidemic like COVID-19. Techniques such as machine learning can be utilized to make better predictions from limited data. Approaches for privacy and security can be leveraged to protect confidential health information. This special issue seeks original research papers as well as expository and survey papers, addressing such work. Example topics of interest include:

• Modeling and prediction of epidemics over networks
• AI/ML applied to epidemic data
• Approaches for resource constrained testing
• Adaptive interventions
• Contact tracing
• Mobile sensing for health monitoring
• Privacy in E-health
• Technologies to mitigate misinformation around epidemics
• Other communications and networking approaches relevant for combatting COVID-19

Continuing JCN’s tradition of fast turnaround together with full peer reviews, a tentative schedule is set as follows:

March 31, 2021 (Extended)

Electronic manuscript (.ps or .pdf) submission to JCN website [An earlier note to editors with intent to submit will be appreciated.]

May 30, 2021

Reviews returned to authors. Papers will be either accepted, rejected, or returned to the authors with requests for changes

August 20, 2021

Final revised manuscript due

October 30, 2021

Special issue published

Prof. Randall Berry, Northwestern University, rberry@northwestern.edu

Prof. Zhu Han, University of Houston, zhan2@uh.edu

Prof. Krishna Narayanan, Texas A&M University, krn@tamu.edu

Prof. H. Vincent Poor, Princeton University, poor@princeton.edu

Dr. Christos Verikoukis, Centre Tecnològic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya, cveri@cttc.es

Prof. Osman Yağan, Carnegie Mellon University, oyagan@andrew.cmu.edu

Electronic submissions should be made through http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com:/jcommnet. Information for authors is available on the JCN web site, http:/www.jcn.or.kr. The manuscript should be formatted in LaTex file and uploaded in PDF version. JCN accepts double column FULL papers without page limits that follow the standard of JCN (or similar IEEE) publication format. however, we strongly recommend keeping the page count under 20 pages in double columns for ease of readability. Please direct inquiries and intent to submit notifications to the Lead Guest Editor. JCN is a high-quality bimonthly archival journal, published by the Korean Institute of Communications and Information Sciences with the technical co-sponsorship of the IEEE Communications Society, covering the fields of Communication Theory and Systems, Wireless Communications, and Networks and Services. JCN began publication in March 1999 and is available in IEEE Xplore.

JCN SPECIAL ISSUE ON

Aerial Access Networks for 6G PUBLICATION DATE: April 2022

The current development of 5G networks represents a breakthrough in the design of communication networks, for its ability to provide a single platform enabling a variety of data services. With these significant enhancements enabled by 5G, it is already possible to envision the needs towards 6G. Providing “connectivity from the sky” is one innovative trend for coming 6G communication systems. Satellites, high and low altitude platforms (HAP and LAP), drones, aircrafts, and airships are being considered as candidates for deploying wireless communications complementing the terrestrial communication. Combining these network elements, Aerial Access Networks (AANs) have attracted many attentions from both academia and industry, and recognized as a potential solution for the 6G systems. AANs are heterogeneous networks that are engineered to utilize satellites, HAPs, and LAPs to build network access platforms. Unlike terrestrial wireless networks, AANs are characterized by frequently changed network topologies and more vulnerable communication connections. However, AANs are not intended to replace the existing technologies, but instead to work with them in a complementary and integrated fashion. Therefore, AANs have the demand for the seamless integration of heterogeneous networks such that the network quality-of-service (QoS) can be improved. Therefore, it is essential to develop new communications, signal processing, and optimization techniques to accommodate diverse services and applications with different QoS requirements in various scenarios. This IEEE/KICS Journal of Communication Networks special issue aims to solicit high-quality unpublished research papers by experts from mobile communication industries (operators, telecom vendors, as well as consulting firms) and academia in the fields of AANs. Topics of interest include but are not limited to:

• Channel measurement and modeling
• Integrations of AANs with terrestrial communications in future heterogeneous networks
• Network architecture and protocols including Information Centric Networking (ICN)
• Cross-layer MAC-PHY design
• AI-enabled techniques for AANs
• Transmission technologies, e.g., mmWave/THz, Massive MIMO, intelligent surfaces, etc.
• Interference cancellation, management, and coordination
• QoS-aware trajectory and topology optimization
• Safety and security issues
• Prototype results, testbeds, and new applications

Continuing JCN’s tradition of fast turnaround together with full peer reviews, a tentative schedule is set as follows:

September 30, 2021

Paper submission deadline

November 30, 2021

First round of review

December 30, 2021

Revised paper due

January 30, 2022

Final acceptance notification

February 28, 2022

Final paper due

April 30, 2022

Special issue published

Zhu Han, University of Houston, TX, USA, hanzhu22@gmail.com

Hongliang Zhang, Princeton University, NJ, USA,hz16@princeton.edu

George C. Alexandropoulos, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece, alexandg@di.uoa.gr

Nguyen Hoang Tran, The University of Sydney, Australia, nguyen.tran@sydney.edu.au

Electronic submissions should be made through http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com:/jcommnet. Information for authors is available on the JCN web site, http:/www.jcn.or.kr. The manuscript should be formatted in LaTeX or MS Word file and uploaded in PDF version. JCN accepts double column FULL papers without page limits that follow the standard of JCN (or similar IEEE) publication format. However, we strongly recommend keeping the page count under 20 pages in double columns for ease of readability. Please direct inquiries and intent to submit notifications to the Lead Guest Editor. JCN is a high-quality bimonthly archival journal, published by the Korean Institute of Communications and Information Sciences with the technical co-sponsorship of the IEEE Communications Society, covering the fields of Communication Theory and Systems, Wireless Communications, and Networks and Services. JCN began publication in March 1999 and is available in IEEE Xplore.