The 2026 IEEE/IFIP Network Operations and Management Symposium (NOMS 2026) will be held 18–22 May 2026, in Rome, Italy. First organized in 1988, NOMS follows the 38-year tradition of NOMS and IM as the IEEE Communications Society’s primary forum for technical exchange on network and service management, focusing on research, development, integration, standards, service provisioning, and user communities. Under the theme “AI for Management and Management for AI”, NOMS 2026 seeks original contributions that address recent developments and technical solutions for the management of emerging and future networks and services. The theme emphasizes the dual role of artificial intelligence: as a driver empowering network and service management, and as a workload that demands reliable, scalable, and sustainable infrastructures. The NOMS 2026 program will feature a rich set of sessions, including keynotes, tutorials, technical sessions, experience sessions, demos, posters, panels, and dissertation sessions.

TOPICS OF INTEREST

Authors are invited to submit papers that fall into or are related to the following topics of interests:

Management of Networks

IP Networks
Wireless and Cellular Networks
5G network and Beyond (6G)
Quantum Networks
Optical Networks
Virtual Networks and SDN
Home and Access Networks
Fog, Edge and Cloud Networks
Enterprise and Campus Networks
Data Center Networks
Industrial Networks
Vehicular and Autonomous Systems Networks
IoT, Sensor and M2M Networks
Information-Centric Networks
Mission Critical Networks

Management of Services

Multimedia and Immersive Media Services
Over-The-Top Services
Content Delivery Services
Cloud Computing, Edge Services, and Computing Continuum
Internet Connectivity and Internet Access Services
Internet of Things Services
Security and Privacy Services
Context-Aware Services
Information Technology Services
Service Assurance
Management of AI Workloads and Services

Management of Businesses

Economic Aspects
Multi-Stakeholder Aspects
Service Level Agreements
Lifecycle, Process, and Workflow Management
Legal, Regulatory, and Compliance Perspectives
Privacy Aspects
Organizational Aspects

Functional Areas

Fault Management
Configuration Management
Accounting Management
Performance Management
Security Management

Management Paradigms

Centralized, Hierarchical and Distributed Management
Integrated Management
Federated Management
Autonomic and Cognitive Management
Policy- and Intent-Based Management
Model-Driven Management
Proactive Management
Energy-aware Management
QoE-Centric Management
Zero-Touch and Self-Driving Networks

Management Technologies

Communication Protocols
Middleware
Overlay and Peer-to-Peer Networks
Cloud Computing and Cloud Storage
Data, Information, and Semantic Models
Information Visualization
Software-Defined Networking
Network Function Virtualization
Orchestration
Operations and Business Support Systems
Control and Data Plane Programmability
Distributed Ledger Technology
Digital Twins
Programmable and AI-Driven Network Architectures
AI-based management (Reinforcement Learning, Generative AI, …)

Methods

Mathematical Logic and Automated Reasoning
Optimization Theories
Control Theory
Probability Theory, Stochastic Processes, Queuing Theory
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
Evolutionary Algorithms
Economic Theory, Game Theory and Business Models
Risk Management Methods
Monitoring and Measurements
Data Mining and (Big) Data Analysis
Computer Simulation Experiments
Testbed Experimentation and Field Trials
Software Engineering Methodologies

Authors are invited to submit original contributions that advance the state of the art in network and service management. Submissions should emphasize both novelty and impact, supported by theoretical analysis, simulations, testbeds, or real-world deployments.