Cellular and Wireless Networks

The research area of cellular and wireless networks spans diverse technologies and applications including mobile broadband networks, wireless data networks, wireless sensor networks, and wireless network security. It includes technologies, such as LTE and 5G, IoT, WiFi, and Zigbee, and ranges from deployments on a national scale to small experimental networks. Papers in this field provide innovative solutions to challenges, whether new or well established, where the most interesting portion of the network is wireless. Such issues and solutions will primarily be technical, but relevant social, environmental, or economic issues are also appropriate for this minitrack.

The defining property of cellular and wireless networks is the use of the wireless medium, with all its challenges and opportunities, to support communication, often among mobile systems. Issues for such systems are as diverse as security, spectrum and channel allocation, cell sizes and offloading, all the way to game-theoretic incentive designs and routing protocols. Another defining property of cellular and wireless networks is their ubiquity, and this minitrack welcomes any contribution that offers new insights into recent standards, such as 5G, or into existing widely deployed networks. Support for mobility may range from cellular handoff to vehicle-to-roadside VANET applications and ad-hoc wireless networks. Novel applications of wireless networks are also appropriate, especially if these applications are enabled by recent advances in the technology. Non-technical issues that may affect the success or usefulness of a new technology, or issues of scale and experimentation and evaluation of existing, practical networks are all relevant to this topic.Topical coverage

The following is a partial list of research topics of interest for this minitrack:

- 5G, 4G, 3G, and 2G cellular networks
- Wi-Fi networks
- ad hoc wireless networks including mesh networks
- wireless communication for the Internet of Things (IoT)
- wireless communication for home automation
- security in wireless networks
- protocols and algorithms for physical, MAC, routing, transport, and application layers, including cross-layer techniques
- theoretical issues of interest in the design or implementation of wireless networks, including communications, scalability, coordination, access control, and other advances in the field, such as millimeter wave technologies
- novel applications of wireless networks
- social and environmental benefits and consequences of the use of wireless networks and new applications.

In general, this minitrack is expansive in welcoming submissions in any area related to cellular and wireless networks including visible light communication. Prospective authors are invited to contact the minitrack chairs if they seek more detailed guidance.