Meteor Burst Communication (MBC), a niche yet revolutionary wireless communication paradigm, exploits the transient ionized trails generated by meteors ablating in Earth’s atmosphere to enable sporadic yet resilient long-distance radio links. Known for its exceptional resilience, robustness, and sustained connectivity, MBC holds significant promise for applications in emergency communications, remote area connectivity, military/defense systems, and environmental monitoring. However, the scientific exploration and application of MBC have long been highly challenging. In particular, under the combined influence of multiple physical field factors, the channel experiences superimposed multiple random fading effects, exhibiting bursty, highly time-varying, and strongly random characteristics. This persistent technical challenge has resulted in the absence of a practical statistical channel model for MBC to date.It is evident that the core challenge of current MBC stems from insufficient understanding of the dynamic ionospheric environment and the physical mechanisms governing meteor trail generation and evolution. This knowledge gap leads to a mismatch between channel mechanisms and transmission protocol design, manifested as limited rates, dependence on random meteor events for communication windows, and challenges in achieving highly reliable network integration. These factors collectively pose a critical bottleneck for its practical application and large-scale deployment.
The convergence of artificial intelligence, advanced ionospheric sensing technologies, and improved hardware/software systems is ushering in a new era for MBC. For example, enhanced by AI-driven signal processing techniques that enable robust modulation/demodulation and intelligent signal recognition in challenging low-SNR environments, coupled with innovative multi-mode transmission schemes combining ionospheric scattering and sporadic E-layer propagation, MBC is poised to achieve substantial performance leaps. In the future, the application scenarios of MBC will expand significantly beyond its current unique value in military communications, emergency communication. Furthermore, it could serve polar scientific expeditions, oceanographic monitoring, and act as a crucial supplement to satellite communications, supporting the construction of highly survivable, wide-area integrated space-ground networks. The main goal of this special issue is to attract academic and industrial researchers in an effort to identify and discuss the major technical challenges, recent breakthroughs, and new applications related to MBC.
The main goal of this special issue is to attract academic and industrial researchers in an effort to identify and discuss the major technical challenges, recent breakthroughs, and new applications related to next-generation MBC systems.
Topics include (but not limited to):
1. MBC Channel Probing & Measurement
● Dynamics of meteor ionization trails: Temporal/spatial evolution patterns
● Ionospheric-meteor trail interaction phenomena
● Novel radar/lidar-based meteor trail detection techniques
● Satellite-aided meteor burst observation systems
● Multi-station reception correlation analysis
● Signal processing algorithms for weak trail detection
● Global long-term ionospheric space communication link observation and performance databases
2. Multi-Dimensional End-to-End Channel Modeling for MBC
● Statistical characterization of burst duration/availability
● Machine learning-driven time-varying channel predictors
● MBC channel fading model
3. Cross-Layer Adaptive Transmission Mechanisms for MBC
● Adaptive modulation for intermittent channels
● MIMO techniques in sparse scattering environments
● Cross-layer scheduling with channel state prediction
● Adaptive variable-rate transmission protocols for low-SNR burst communications
● AI-driven spectrum sensing and interference avoidance
● “Ionospheric scattering+Meteor Burst+X” multi-mode redundant system design
4. Channel Coding & Multiscale Error Control for MBC
● Short-blocklength coding for burst-mode transmission
● Hybrid ARQ schemes with channel memory utilization
● Turbo/Polar codes optimization for MBC channels
● Deep learning-based error correction decoders
5. Validation for Practical MBC System
● Hardware-in-loop simulation platforms
● International standardization and protocol compatibility for MBC
● Low-cost ionospheric probing and communication co-testing
● Certification and compliance analysis for military/aviation/maritime applications
Submission Deadline: August 15, 2025
Acceptance Notification (1st round): September 25, 2025
Minor Revision Due: October 25, 2025
Final Decision Due: November 15, 2025
Final Manuscript Due: November 30, 2025
Publication Date: February 15, 2026
Guest editors
Li Zan, Xidian University, China
Tony Q.S. Quek, Singapore University of Technology and Design, Singapore
Shi Jia, Xidian University, China
Zhang Shengyu, Singapore University of Technology and Design, Singapore
Submission guidelines
This special issue focuses on satellite Internet and aims to publish cutting-edge research on space-terrestrial integrated 6G network architectures, as well as advancements in networking and transmission technologies.
Papers should be submitted in two separate .doc files (preferred) or .pdf files: 1) Main Document (including paper title, abstract, key words, and full text); 2) Title page (including paper title, author affiliation, acknowledgement and any other information related with the authors’ identification) through the Manuscript Central. Please register or login at http://mc03.manuscriptcentral.com/chinacomm, then go to the author center and follow the instructions there. Remember to select “Beyond Terrestrial Infrastructure: Meteor Burst Communications for Next-Generation Emergency Communication Networks—February Issue 2026” as your manuscript type when submitting; otherwise, it might be considered as a regular paper.