February 17th, 2026 
Daniela Lopez de Luise ================================================================================
DEADLINE APPROACHING – Final Manuscript Submission Deadline 28/02/2026
CALL FOR PAPERS
Elsevier Computer Communications
Special Issue
“Intelligence and Service Orchestration in Next-Generation Mobile Networks”
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Mobile communication and computing infrastructures are undergoing a profound transformation, moving toward highly dynamic, service-centric ecosystems. Fundamental to this evolution is a novel paradigm for the infrastructure and service management for 5G-and-beyond networks.
Indeed, the architectural paradigm of 5G is shifting toward Open Radio Access Network (RAN), which introduces RAN Intelligent Controllers (RICs) for network overseeing and reconfiguring through Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications able to enhance the overall performance. The shift from monolithic components to virtualized functions through Network Function Virtualization (NFV) and the adoption of Software Defined Networking (SDN) allow the deployment of innovative solutions that demand flexible orchestration methods.
In this context, Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) and Network and Service Orchestration (NSO) play a crucial role by enabling real-time automation and optimization across highly dynamic and heterogeneous network environments, whilst integrating radio, transport, and core domains under a single control plane. These solutions are apt to tackle key challenges including service provisioning, resource allocation, power consumption, and quality of service. Central to this scenario is the role of AI, which enables closed-loop network automation and control, predictive management, automated fault detection, and intent-based service delivery. As such, network intelligence is essential for resilient, scalable, and adaptive orchestration techniques capable of meeting the stringent latency, reliability, and performance requirements of future mobile networks.
This Special Issue aims to collect innovations proposed by the research community in the field of Intelligence and Service Orchestration in next-gen mobile networks. These topics and challenges have recently been investigated by researchers, telco stakeholders, government agencies, and international organizations (e.g. NextGenerationEU, CAMARA).
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
- Management and orchestration architectures and techniques for next-gen networks
- Automation, coordination, management and optimization of network resources and services
- Placement and resource allocation for VNFs
- Resource monitoring and service analytics
- Orchestration solutions for control plane, core, and RAN
- Orchestration in Transport and Multi-Domain Networks
- Enabling technologies for network orchestration
- AI-based network orchestration
- Closed-loop automation engines in NSO
- Zero-Touch and intent-driven Open RAN orchestration, optimization, control, and management
- QoS in network orchestration
- NSO for sustainability
- Resilience, scalability, and adaptability of next-gen networks
- Industry-supported efforts for network optimization
- Integrated Sensing and Communications
- Privacy in orchestration frameworks
- Energy-aware and Sustainable Network Management
- Testbeds, emulators and benchmarking for orchestration solutions
***Manuscript submission information***
The journal's submission platform (Editorial Manager®) will be open for submissions to this Special Issue from October 26, 2025. Please refer to the Guide for Authors to prepare your manuscript and select the article type of “VSI: Intelligent Orchestration in Next-Generation Networks” when submitting your manuscript online. Both the Guide for Authors and the submission portal could be found on the Journal Homepage: https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/computer-communications
The impact of SI contributions should be clearly demonstrated in the context of the theme of the special issue. Papers that do not directly address this theme are considered out of scope and are subject to immediate rejection.
***Timeline***
Submission Open Date 26/10/2025
Final Manuscript Submission Deadline 28/02/2026
Editorial Acceptance Deadline 15/09/2026
***Guest editors***
Prof. Abderrahim Benslimane
University of Avignon, France
Email: abderrahim.benslimane@univ-avignon.fr
Prof. Cristiano Bonato Both
University of Vale do Rio dos Sinos (UNISINOS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
Prof. Giang T. Nguyen
Dresden University of Technology, Germany
Email: giang.nguyen@tu-dresden.de
Prof. Giovanni Stanco
University of Naples Federico II, Italy
Email: giovanni.stanco@unina.it
Prof. Stefania Zinno
University of Naples Federico II, Italy
Email: stefania.zinno@unina.it
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