IEEE Access Special Section Editorial: Survivability Strategies for Emerging Wireless Networks

Recent developments in mobile and wireless networks have paved the way for them to become a fabric of society and the economy. The ever-increasing penetration rate of mobile telephony and wireless broadband data access, and the ubiquity of WiFi are just a few examples of this phenomenon. While multihop wireless networks (e.g., WiMax, LTE-A, ad hoc, sensor, and mesh networks) offer many advantages, such as enhanced capacity, extended communication range, deployment, and operational flexibility, they usually lack provisioning for network robustness and do not, in general, withstand network equipment failures. Network failures may have drastic effects on network performance and hinder network operation. The capability of a network to deliver data successfully in a timely manner and continue its services despite the presence of failures and attacks is referred to as survivability, which is an important system design and operational characteristic that must be provisioned.