Guest Editorial: Special Issue on Recent Advances on Blockchain for Network and Service Management

With the rapid adoption of new technologies and applications, e.g., the Internet of Things, 5G/6G communication networks, big data analytics, and artificial intelligence, a deluge of devices are being connected to the network, thus generating a large amount of data. The collection, processing, and analysis of this vast amount of data are essential to help people and enterprises gain valuable information, make sensible decisions, and subsequently improve the quality of people’s lives. However, the underlying communication networks are thus facing a new number of unprecedented challenges. Managing these large numbers of devices in a scalable and secure manner is bringing significant challenges to the infrastructure construction, maintenance, and management of the communication networks. Recurring data privacy breaches and the lack of control make Internet users and enterprises less willing to provide valuable data for processing and analysis.