CALL FOR PAPERS

NoF 2026

The 17th International Conference on Network of the Future

September 29 - October 2, 2026 – Rome, Italy

On-site event

https://nof.dnac.org/2026/


*** Paper submission deadline: May 8, 2026 ***

Internet has witnessed remarkable advancements in recent years, driven by high-performance computing, programmable network equipment, and the emergence of new generation services. The 17th International Conference on Network of the Future (NoF) invites authors to submit original contributions in the area of Future Internet design, with emphasis on enabling and cutting-edge technologies from the perspectives of specification, design and analysis related to network of future architecture, applications, services, management, programmability, sustainability, scalability, security standardization, business and legal aspects, just to name a few.

The conference aims at providing a forum for researchers, students, and professionals to exchange ideas, share their experiences, and discuss their research results around a single-track of technical sessions and a series of keynote speeches.

NoF 2026 will be held in the beautiful city of Rome, Italy. Rome is the Eternal City, welcoming visitors with its unique blend of history, beauty, and atmosphere. Built on seven legendary hills and crossed by the “blond” Tiber River, it displays millennia of art and architecture, from the Colosseum and the Pantheon to Piazza Navona and the Trevi Fountain. Its skyline, marked by domes and ancient bridges, opens to vast green spaces such as Villa Borghese and the Appia Antica Park. From the Pincio Terrace or the Janiculum Hill, every view tells the story of a city that is eternal yet ever new.


*** Topics of interest ***

The topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

*** Networks ***
* 5G and Beyond (B5G) networks
* Virtual networks and networking for cloud computing
* Overlay networks
* Intermittently connected networks
* Wireless networks and cellular networks
* Wireless sensor networks
* Access, metro, backbone and core networks
* Next-generation carrier-grade networks
* Vehicular ad hoc networks and intelligent transportation systems
* Communications and applications for unmanned aerial vehicles
* Wireless communications for Concentrated Solar Power fields
* Mesh and ad hoc networks
* Internet of Things networks and IoT-assisted wireless networks
* Information-centric networks
* Enterprise networks and campus networks
* Time-sensitive networks
* Data center networks
* Optical networks
* IP networks
* Home networks
* SCADA networks and distributed control systems
* Smart cities and smart grids
* Resilient networks
* Sustainable and inclusive networks
* Industrial and smart manufacturing networks
* Communication and computing infrastructures for disaster management
* Communication infrastructures for AR/VR/XR/metaverse computing
* Energy efficiency in networks
* Edge and fog computing/networking
* Centralized-RAN, Could-RAN, Fog-RAN and Open-RAN architectures
* Non-Terrestial-Networks (NTN)


*** Enablers ***
* Quality of Service and Traffic Engineering
* Network Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Reasoning
* Network Data Analytics, Anomaly Detection, Feature Extraction
* Network Automation and Orchestration
* Autonomic, Cognitive and Intent-Based Networking
* Zero-touch Networks
* B5G/6G Network Architecture, Services and Protocols
* B5G/6G Control and Management Architecture
* B5G/6GFunctional Decomposition and Composition
* Advanced B5G Infrastructure Slicing and Radio Slicing
* Scalability and multi-tenancy in B5G
* Network Programmability and Softwarization
* Protocols for Ultra-Low Latency and Ultra-High Reliability
* Fog, Edge and Multi-Access Computing
* Software-Defined Networking (SDN) and High Availability
* Network Function Virtualization (NFV) and Orchestration
* Service Function Chaining and Virtual Network Embedding
* Big data and Fast Data Processing and Management
* CDN Architectures and Network Cache Allocation Schemes
* Advanced multimedia and Real-Time Communications
* Performance, Optimization and Resource Allocation
* Security, Trust and Privacy
* Use of Blockchains in Networking and Servicing
* Energy-Aware Networking
* Delay/Disruption-tolerant Networking

*** Business and Legal Aspects ***
* Economic aspects
* Multi-stakeholder aspects
* Service level agreements
* Lifecycle aspects
* Process and workflow aspects
* Legal perspective
* Regulatory perspective
* Privacy aspects

*** Methods ***
* Mathematical optimization
* Control theory
* Probability theory, stochastic processes, and queueing theory
* Machine/Reinforcement/Federated/Deep learning and artificial intelligence
* Evolutionary algorithms
* Economic theory and game theory
* Mathematical logic and automated reasoning
* Data mining and (big) data analysis
* Monitoring and measurements
* Computer simulation experiments
* Prototype implementation and testbed experimentation
* Field trials


*** Submission guidelines ***

Authors are invited to submit original contributions that have not been published or submitted for publication elsewhere. Papers should be prepared using the IEEE 2-column conference style and are limited to 9 pages including references (regular papers) or 6 pages including references (short papers). They must be submitted electronically in PDF format through EDAS at:
https://edas.info/N34867


For specific details about submission format and procedure, please check:
https://nof.dnac.org/2026/call-for-papers/

Papers exceeding page limits, multiple submissions, and self-plagiarized papers will be rejected without further review. All other papers will sustain a thorough single-blind review process.

Authors of selected papers accepted for publication at NoF 2026 will be invited to submit an extended version of their paper to IEEE Transactions on Network and Service Management (IEEE TNSM).

For accepted papers to be included on NoF 2026 proceedings and to be submitted to IEEE Xplore, at least one author must register at the Author rate and papers must be presented in-person at the conference by a registered co-author.



*** Important dates ***

- Paper submission deadline: May 8, 2026.
- Paper acceptance notification: July 6, 2026
- Camera-ready Papers: July 31, 2026
- Conference Date: September 29 - October 2 , 2026


*** TPC Co-Chairs ***

Marco Polverini (Sapienza University, Italy)
Sahar Hoteit (Paris-Saclay University, France)

*** General Co-Chairs ***

Barbara Martini (Universitas Mercatorum)
Paolo Monti (Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden)

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Website: https://nof.dnac.org/2026/