The 2026 IEEE/CIC International Conference on Communications in China (ICCC) was held at the China Optics Valley Convention and Exhibition Center in Wuhan from Aug 7 to 9.

Jointly hosted by the China Institute of Communications (CIC), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and the IEEE Communications Society (IEEE ComSoc), the conference was organized by Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST). Zhao Houlin, Honorary Chairman of CIC, and You Zheng, President of HUST, served as Honorary Chairs of the conference.

Gao Liang, Vice President of HUST; Shen Xuemin, ICCC Steering Committee Chair, former IEEE ComSoc President, and Professor of University of Waterloo; Zhang Yanchuan, Vice Chairman and Secretary General of CIC; and Zhang Ning, Co-Chair of the Technical Program Committee, and Professor at the University of Windsor, delivered opening addresses. The event was attended by over 700 experts and young scholars from global universities, research institutions, and industries.

The theme of this year's conference was "Intelligent Links, Boundless Proximity — Wireless Communication and Networking in AI Era". It featured six keynotes, 19 invited talks, 20 tutorials, 20 workshops, 23 demos, and two special industry-academia-research forums. The conference also featured 12 technical tracks and 58 specialized technical sessions, focusing on topics such as wireless communications, intelligent networking, 6G evolution, and AI-empowered communications.

The conference showcased the latest research achievements, technological breakthroughs, and practical applications in the field of communications and networking in the intelligent era. A total of 1,042 papers were submitted, with 483 papers accepted.

Professor Zhang Hongke from Beijing Jiaotong University introduced the evolution of network intelligence and the application of new networks in private systems. Professor Wang Jiangzhou from Southeast University elaborated on Rydberg atomic receivers in the context of 6G demands, discussing their principles, modeling, and system design. Professor Tony Q. S. Quek from the Singapore University of Technology and Design proposed an AI-RAN token-based communication paradigm for generative AI services. Professor Marco Di Renzo from King's College London presented wave-domain computations for future wireless networks, exploring both their advantages and remaining challenges.

Professor Zhang Qian from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology shared insights on multimodal sensing and AI technologies for healthcare, focusing on chronic disease management in aging populations. Dr Huang Yuhong, Director of the China Mobile Research Institute, explored the five key 6G capabilities for mobile AI applications and discussed the evolution of networks from ubiquitous connectivity to ubiquitous intelligence.

The School of Electronic Information and Communications at HUST handled all organizational details, providing academic planning, guest coordination, conference support, and volunteer services to ensure the event ran smoothly.

As a significant international academic conference in the field of information and communications in China, ICCC has built a platform for academic and industrial exchange and collaboration between domestic and international experts.

This year’s conference fostered industry-academic-research integration in the communications field, supported the global iteration and upgrading of information and communications technology, and contributed to the high-quality development of the industry and shared digital ecosystems worldwide.

Source: School of Electronic Information and Communications, HUST