Guest Editorial

During the past decade, we have witnessed the deployment and evolvement of broadband networks and mobile networks growing at an unprecedented pace, which has enabled many new applications and services, ranging from IPTV to telepresence, from interactive online games to cloud computing, and from mobile video streaming to mobile social networks. This imposes many challenges and leads to the rising demand for many aspects of computer networks and communications, including greater network bandwidth, more reliable and secure network connection, more optimal resource allocation across the network, more efficient cross-layer network architecture design, and higher quality of service and experience by consumers. The twentieth International Conference on Computer Communication Networks (ICCCN) is one of the leading international conferences for presenting novel ideas and fundamental advances in the fields of computer communications and networks. It covers a very wide range of topics including next-generation computer network architectures and protocols (broadband, sensor networks, optical and grid networking, wireless ad hoc networks, mesh networks), network algorithms and performance evaluation, content networking and multimedia delivery technologies, network security and privacy, as well as Internet applications and services. In 2011, the main conference attracted a record 452 submissions of which 134 high quality regular papers (also a record) were accepted for presentation. In view of the success of ICCCN 2011, this special issue on the advances in communications and networking is dedicated to this conference. We invited the authors of the very top papers