Designing, dimensioning, and optimization of communication networks have been an inseparable part of the development of telecommunications and ICT infrastructure from the very beginning of their existence. These networking problems have changed substantially over the recent years as a result of the changes in the telecommunications area towards 4G/5G wireless multiservice networks and mobile communications, as well as networks convergence. Each and every newly introduced type of a radio network technology is followed by a substantial increase in both the number and the complexity of problems that need to be resolved by theoreticians and engineers.

No matter what these developing changes may bring, the essential tasks for 4G/5G wireless communication networks remain the same: (1) to develop new technologies offering increasing radio network capacity, (2) to determine and evaluate the relationship between the quality of service (quality of experience) parameters and the parameters characterizing traffic sources (services), (3) to control and optimize the usage of radio network resources, and (4) to enhance the capabilities of data transport, transmission, and reception between end users and the core network. These tasks provide a basis for developing engineering algorithms and tools used for designing, analysis, dimensioning, and optimization of wireless systems and networks.

The objective of this special issue is to bring together the state-of-the-art research contributions that address challenges in 4G/5G radio networks design, dimensioning, and optimization.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• 4G and 5G radio networks technologies and architectures
• 4G/5G networks and services planning and dimensioning
• Call and packet level performance evaluation of 4G/5G wireless networks
• Resource management tools for 4G/5G networks and services modelling
• Traffic control and traffic planning in 4G/5G wireless multiservice networks
• Analytical and simulation teletraffic models of 4G/5G radio access networks
• Planning, dimensioning, and optimization of 5G self-organizing networks
• Planning, dimensioning, and optimization of C-RANs
• Design of machine-to-machine radio access networks