Call for Papers

The Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) vision is based on the three principles of (i) open interfaces; (ii) cloudification; and (iii) automation through closed-loop control. It is a network architecture paradigm embodied and augmented through technical reference specifications of the 3GPP and the O-RAN Alliance. At the centre of Open RAN are open, programmable, and virtualized components, connected to each other through open interfaces that enable closed-loop, data-driven, intelligent control. For instance, the O-RAN Alliance introduced two RAN Intelligent Controllers (or RICs) that connect through open interfaces to the disaggregated components of the RAN, and implement control loops that run at different time scales.

While Open RAN networks are being deployed in trials around the world, there are still several open issues for both standardization and research, related to the design of data-driven intelligent solutions, efficient control loops, extension of open interfaces and testing, security, and use cases related to private cellular networks, non-terrestrial deployments, spectrum sharing, commercial 5G/6G networks, and evaluation and assessment of fundamental trade-offs, among others. Research in this area will shape the future development and deployment of Open RAN systems, making contributions to this JSAC Special Issue timely and relevant to the community.

This JSAC Special Issue aims at providing a comprehensive overview of fundamental research on algorithmic, architectural, and system issues, as well as on experimental aspects that substantially advance the state-of-the-art on the design of Open RAN systems. Prospective authors are invited to submit original, high-quality contributions, which comply with the IEEE JSAC editorial guidelines, in areas including, but not limited to, the following:

• Open RAN architectures and deployments
• Evolution of Open RAN Architectures and RAN Intelligent Controllers (RICs)
• Algorithms for inference and control in the Open RAN
• Machine Learning and other Artificial Intelligence techniques for the Open RAN
• Sequential decision making control techniques for closed-loop control of the RAN
• Analysis of fundamental trade-offs in Open RAN systems, including metrics such as energy efficiency, latency, overhead, cost, among others
• Federated learning for the Open RAN
• Efficient and distributed data collection paradigms
• Use cases and applications for Open RAN deployments
• Open RAN fronthaul networks and interfaces design
• Design and implementation of open source Open RAN solutions
• Security analysis of & solutions for Open RAN architectures and interfaces
• Design, testing, and evaluation of rApps, xApps, dApps for O-RAN
• RAN Intelligent Controllers
• The role of Service and Management Orchestration (SMO) frameworks in the Open RAN
• Data-driven techniques to enhance Open RAN security
• Multi-scale control of Open RAN networks
• Fundamental limits in distributed control for Open RAN networks
• Conflict mitigation in Open RAN networks
• Design and optimization of Open RAN use cases for private cellular networks
• Extension of Open RAN deployments to non-terrestrial networks
• Communication-theoretic and network-theoretic modeling and analysis of Open RAN
• Large scale Open RAN testbeds and trials
• Application acceleration for 6G use cases, including the metaverse

Submission Guidelines

Prospective authors should submit their manuscripts following the IEEE JSAC guidelines. Papers should be submitted through EDAS according to the scheduled deadlines.

Important Dates

Manuscript Submission Deadline: 7 January 2023 (Deadline Extended)
First Notification: 15 February 2023
Acceptance Notification: 15 May 2023
Final Manuscript Submission: 31 July 2023
Publication Date: Fourth Quarter 2023

Guest Editors