Smart Urban Environments in Hybrid Wireless Networks: Bridging Innovation and Infrastructure

This Research Topic explores the integration, deployment, and optimization of smart applications within hybrid wireless environments. As urban and industrial landscapes transition toward next-generation connectivity, modern infrastructure increasingly relies on a heterogeneous mix of wireless networks—including Wi-Fi, 4G, 5G, and emerging protocols such as LPWAN and private 5G. This hybrid reality directly shapes the performance, scalability, security, and overall capabilities of data-intensive systems, and raises new questions about how networks of different generations and standards can coexist efficiently.To reflect this diverse landscape, the Research Topic covers the broader spectrum of smart urban and industrial environments. We invite contributions exploring applications in domains such as smart buildings, digital manufacturing (Industry 4.0), intelligent transportation, smart grids, and localized IoT ecosystems, alongside macro-level municipal services such as public safety, environmental monitoring, and smart city management.Areas of interest include, but are not limited to:Challenges and innovations in hybrid network architectures (Wi-Fi/4G/5G coexistence)Real-time data processing, edge computing, and IoT device interoperability in heterogeneous settingsAdaptive algorithms and protocols for seamless connectivity across diverse network typesEmpirical evaluations of network performance in real-world industrial and urban scenariosStrategies for optimizing legacy infrastructure to support advanced, high-bandwidth smart servicesApplication QoE and QoS management in hybrid wireless environmentsSecurity, privacy, and resilience considerations in multi-network smart environmentsEnergy efficiency and sustainability in hybrid wireless deploymentsBy addressing both the opportunities of emerging technologies and the constraints of current multi-network deployments, this Research Topic aims to foster the development of resilient, sustainable, and highly efficient smart urban ecosystems, while bridging the gap between academic innovation and practical infrastructure deployment. Topic editors: Abhik Banerjee, Abdur Rahim Mohammad Forkan, Jonathan Kua Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/83971/smart-urban-environments-in-hybrid-wireless-networks-bridging-innovation-and-infrastructure