[Coin] Call for Papers for IEEE NetSoft 2026 - Deadline: January 12, 2026

[Mohamed Faten Zhani <[e-mail]>]

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                           Call for Papers

                          IEEE NetSoft 2026

            “Autonomous and Reliable Softwarized Networks
               in the Age of Distributed Intelligence”

     12th IEEE International Conference on Network Softwarization
              29 June – 3 July 2026 // Berlin, Germany

                https://netsoft2026.ieee-netsoft.org/
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***IMPORTANT DATES***
  * Paper submission deadline: January 12, 2026
  * Acceptance notification: March 23, 2026
  * Camera-ready paper: April 24, 2026

Submission link: https://edas.info/N34542


***SCOPE***
IEEE  NetSoft,   the  premier  International  Conference   on  Network
Softwarization,   addresses    advanced   research    challenges   and
opportunities raised  by the  overall transformation trend  of network
“softwarization”, which has been  revolutionizing the networking field
and has accelerated its convergence with adjacent industries.

Network Softwarization  refers to  the transition from  legacy network
infrastructures   and  functionalities   traditionally  provided   via
hardware appliances to new ones provided via software. This technology
has   become  feasible   with   the  maturity   of  network   function
virtualization,  software-defined  networking,  and  service  function
chaining in the last 16 years.  In particular, the ability to program,
manage, and  operate network  and service infrastructures  more freely
makes it possible to reinvent network & cloud architectures, customize
services,  accelerate  service   deployment,  and  facilitate  greater
operational  efficiency.  This  is  even more  relevant  nowadays,  as
network  infrastructures  and   service  deployment  technologies  are
challenged  by   the  growing   interest  in   distributed  Artificial
Intelligence  (AI)  and  computing  solutions. The  need  for  further
advances in these topics is reflected  in the overall theme of NetSoft
2026: “Autonomous and Reliable Softwarized Networks in the Age of Dis-
tributed Intelligence”.

NetSoft  2026 will  feature technical  paper presentations,  keynotes,
panels, tutorials,  workshops, demos, posters and  PhD symposiums from
world-leading   experts  representing   service  providers,   vendors,
research institutes, open-source projects, and academia.


***TOPICS OF INTEREST***

The  conference  welcomes paper submissions  with significant research
contributions  to network softwarization.  Topics of interest include,
but are not limited to:

Architecture and Infrastructure
   * AI-native 5G/6G and beyond architecture
   * Future Internet and New IP architecture
   * Internet re-engineering
   * Network softwarization for non-terrestrial  and terrestrial inte-
     gration
   * Quantum-safe and post-quantum networking architectures
   * Softwarized cloud, fog, and edge infrastructures
   * Softwarized Networks for Data Centers and AI/ML infrastructures
   * Abstractions and virtualization of resources, services, and func-
     tions
   * Cooperative multi-domain, multi-tenant environments

Networking Technologies and Protocols
   * Programmable networking languages and architectures
   * Software Defined Radio (SDR) and cognitive radio networks
   * Programmable Networking Protocols
   * Programmable data planes with AI acceleration
   * Network slicing and slice management
   * Service Function Chaining (SFC)
   * Policy-based and Intent-based networking
   * Dynamic resource discovery and negotiation schemes
   * Deterministic or dependable networking
   * High-precision communications and computing

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) for Networks
   * AI and ML techniques
   * Applications of Generative AI
   * Agentic AI and Multi-Agent Systems
   * Distributed learning  and collaborative inference with different
     scale softwarized networks
   * Cognitive and autonomic networking
   * Autonomous networks enabled with softwarization
   * Explainable and trustworthy AI for network autonomy
   * Self-organizing, self-healing,  and self-optimizing  softwarized
     networks

Performance, Security, Dependability, and  Sustainability
   * QoS and QoE
   * Assurance and Measurements
   * Resilience, reliability, and robustness
   * Security, Ethics, Safety, Trust, and Privacy
   * Sustainability, energy efficiency, and carbon footprint

Services, Operations, and Applications
   * Internet of Things (IoT)
   * Digital twins
   * eXtended Reality (AR/VR/ER)
   * Experience reports   from experimental testbeds and deployments
   * Development methodologies (DevOps, NetOps, Verification)
   * Open source
   * New value chains and service models
   * Sovereign digital services  and cross-border compliance  in soft-
     warized environments
   * Deployment and transition strategies
   * Socio-economic impact and regulations


***PAPER SUBMISSION***

Prospective authors  are invited to submit high-quality original tech-
nical papers for presentation at the conference and publication in the
NetSoft 2026  Proceedings. All submissions must  be written in English
and must use the standard IEEE two-column conference template that can
be downloaded from:
https://www.ieee.org/conferences/publishing/templates.html.

Technical Papers can  be of two types:  Full or Short papers,  up to 9
and  6   pages  respectively,  including  references   and  all  other
material.  Long papers  are the more  traditional form  for presenting
technical work. Long papers  should emphasize   not only  novelty  and
vision, but execution and  thoroughness of  the contribution  (design,
evaluation).  Short  papers  are the  preferred vehicle  for visionary
papers or  traditional technical  papers whose description fits within
a smaller  number of pages. Short  papers may not yet be "fully baked"
in terms of  execution and evaluation.  In both Full and Short papers,
author names and  affiliations should  be included after the title, as
provided in the templates.  Authors are strongly encouraged to provide
means ensuring reproducibility of their work.

Papers  submitted  should  describe original,  previously  unpublished
research results, not currently under  review by another conference or
journal. Papers not meeting the length  and formatting requirements or
violating IEEE’s  guidelines on  plagiarized content will  be rejected
without review. All other papers will be reviewed. Selected papers for
NetSoft  2026   may  be   conditionally  accepted  and   subjected  to
shepherding before final  acceptance. Only PDF files  will be accepted
for the  review process,  and all  manuscripts must  be electronically
submitted through EDAS. Make sure that all authors are  well mentioned
in the manuscript  (and in EDAS). No author addition or deletion  will
be accepted after the submission deadline.

Submission link: https://edas.info/N34542


Important: NetSoft  2026 is enforcing  a strict publication  & no-show
policy  as stated  by IEEE. Be aware  of the IEEE guidelines regarding
AI-content generation.
For courtesy to the Reviewers and the TPC, an accepted paper cannot be
withdrawn  without  appropriate reasons approved by the TPC Co-Chairs.
By submitting  a contribution, you agree  with the terms of the publi-
cation  and  no-show policy,  as NetSoft 2026  is an in-person  event.
For details,  please refer to  the Submission guidelines  available on
the conference website.


***IMPORTANT DATES***
  * Paper submission deadline: January 12, 2026
  * Acceptance notification: March 23, 2026
  * Camera-ready paper: April 24, 2026

***CONFERENCE WEBSITE***
https://netsoft2026.ieee-netsoft.org/


***TPC CO-CHAIRS***
  * Ilhem Fajjari, Orange, France
  * Israat Haque, Dalhousie University, Canada
  * Diogo M.F. Mattos, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Brazil


***GENERAL CO-CHAIRS***
  * Prosper Chemouil, Cnam, France
  * Stefan Schmid, Technical University of Berlin, Germany