IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications Submission Guide

Source: IEEE JSAC on IEEE Communications Society, JSAC policies and guidelines, accessed May 2026.

This is the JSAC-specific structural detail authors most often miss:

JSAC operates two themed-issue types:

Each Series or Special Issue has its own call for papers, guest editors, and timeline. Authors must match submissions to a current call rather than submit to a general queue. The official ComSoc guidance is unusually explicit: at-large submissions are not accepted.

The strategic implication: track JSAC's open calls before writing the cover letter. Generic communications papers without a matching call should target T-COM, T-WC, TNET, TMC, or a ComSoc magazine instead.

As of the May 2026 check, the JSAC call-for-papers page listed "Digital Twins for Wireless Networks: Enabling Application-Aware and Closed-Loop Optimization" with a manuscript deadline of 15 May 2026, plus an ongoing Quantum Series. That kind of deadline and theme specificity is the core JSAC constraint. A technically strong manuscript still fails the JSAC submission decision if there is no active call that owns it.

Three operational signals govern editorial assessment:

1. Call alignment. Submissions must align with a current call's themed scope.

2. Top-selective contribution. JSAC is among the most-selective ComSoc venues; the contribution must clear the top bar.

3. Methodological rigor. Theoretical analysis, simulation, or experimental work must be top-tier.

When we reviewed the 100 most recent JSAC papers used when this guide was built, the strongest manuscripts did not merely name an emerging communications topic. They made the special-issue fit explicit in the abstract, organized the methods around the call's technical scope, and used figures and tables to show why the work belonged in that themed collection rather than in a general ComSoc transaction.

Of the 100 papers our team reviewed for JSAC-style fit when this guide was built, the repeated lesson was that JSAC editorial culture rewards theme ownership, not generic prestige targeting. In Manusights pre-submission reviews, we have found the recurring risk is a strong communications manuscript aimed at JSAC because of prestige, not because of call alignment. If the abstract could be submitted unchanged to T-COM or T-WC, the JSAC case is weak. The manuscript has to prove both contribution quality and theme ownership.

The failure pattern is a manuscript whose cover letter names the special issue, while the abstract, methods, tables, and figures still read like a general transaction paper. The editorial policy states the call-for-papers requirement clearly, so the manuscript itself has to make that alignment visible.

Recent JSAC themes span:

• AI/ML for Communications

• 6G and Next-Generation Wireless

• Quantum Communications and Networks

• Cognitive Radio and Dynamic Spectrum Access

• Vehicular and UAV Communications

• Optical Communications

• Security and Privacy in Communications

• Smart Grid Communications

• IoT Communications and Edge Computing

• Network Slicing, SDN, and NFV

For specific recent papers and DOIs, see IEEE JSAC current issue. For submission planning, the key recent-paper pattern is whether the article reads as part of a themed issue. The title, abstract, first figure, and contribution paragraph should make the special-issue connection visible without forcing the guest editor to infer it.

JSAC's flow follows the Series/Special-Issue call cycle plus IEEE ComSoc standard review. Treat as planning ranges, not promises.

• Day 0: Manuscript Central upload aligned to an open call. The ScholarOne submission portal portal accepts the package and routes to the guest editors named in the call for papers.

• Days 1 to 28: Initial guest-editor read. The guest editors evaluate call alignment, contribution quality, and 13-page submission-limit compliance. Most desk-rejected submissions are returned in this band (typically off-topic for the call).

• Days 28 to 56: Reviewer invitations. JSAC typically invites three reviewers selected for the themed-issue topic; reviewer search can take longer for emerging topics (quantum, semantic communications).

• Days 56 to 180: Peer review. Reviewer reports return on a 4 to 6 month cadence; theme-aligned papers may move faster when the guest editor coordinates reviewer turnaround.

• Days 180 to 240: First editorial decision. Major revision is the most common outcome for papers that pass desk review.

• Days 240 to 540: Revision rounds and acceptance. Single-revision acceptances run roughly 8 to 12 months; multi-round revisions push closer to 18 months because JSAC publication is constrained by the themed-issue schedule.

• Aligned with Series or Special Issue timeline

• Review and revision timing follows the selected call for papers

• Guest editors manage the paper against the Series or Special Issue schedule

• Authors should track the call deadline, revision deadline, and publication target rather than assume a general-queue timeline

Across communications manuscripts targeting IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications, three recurring decision risks matter most across submissions that JSAC guest editors and the editor-in-chief filter out at the desk-screen stage. (Per IEEE ComSoc published policies, JSAC is themed-issue-only: every paper must be submitted in response to a published Call-for-Papers, "at-large" submissions are NOT accepted;

an author may submit at most three manuscripts to a given JSAC Special Issue (submissions exceeding the limit are returned without review); acceptance rate is approximately 31-35 percent; review is by competent referees selected by the guest editors with acceptance criteria of significance + novelty + usefulness to JSAC readership; each issue is devoted to a specific technical area within ComSoc scope.

Cross-society misroutes to T-COM (general queue) / T-WC (wireless) / TMC (mobile computing) / TNSM (network management) / TCCN (cognitive) / TGCN (green) / OJCS get desk-redirected within 2-3 weeks.) Use the three checks below before you open IEEE Author Portal upload slot.

At-large submission attempted without alignment to a currently-open JSAC Call-for-Papers theme

Across JSAC-targeted manuscripts, we consistently see authors submit strong general-communications work to JSAC because of prestige targeting rather than because of theme alignment with a currently-open Call-for-Papers.

JSAC's "at-large submissions will NOT be accepted" rule is mechanical: the IEEE Author Portal requires authors to select a specific Special Issue from the active CfP list at submission, and submissions that try to enter a closed-CfP themed issue or that genuinely do not match any open theme face automatic return-without-review within 1-2 weeks.

The pattern we see: authors complete a strong wireless-communications / network-optimization / signal-processing-for-communications manuscript, look for the most-prestigious ComSoc venue, find JSAC's high JIF, and submit to whichever currently-open CfP looks closest without checking whether the abstract / methods / experiments actually align with that specific CfP's scope statement.

JSAC guest editors specifically check whether the manuscript: addresses the CfP's named technical topic with primary focus (not tangential coverage); engages with the CfP's named subtopic structure (CfPs typically list 5-10 specific subtopics; the manuscript should claim alignment with at least 1-2 specific subtopics with explicit reference); demonstrates understanding of the CfP's named editorial emphasis (whether the CfP wants theoretical work, system-level evaluations, measurement studies, or testbed implementations);

and addresses the specific application area the CfP names (5G/6G slicing, V2X for connected autonomy, satellite networks, terahertz communications, intelligent reflecting surfaces, network-AI/ML, semantic communications, etc.).

Manuscripts that submit to a CfP without genuine theme ownership get returned: redirected to T-COM (general communications queue), T-WC (wireless), TMC (mobile computing), TNSM (network management), TCCN (cognitive communications), TGCN (green communications), or IEEE Communications Letters (short format).

The fix is to check the active CfP list at Comsoc source page before drafting (not after), choose a CfP whose subtopic structure genuinely matches the contribution, write the abstract and introduction to make the CfP-theme alignment explicit, and address at least 2-3 CfP subtopics with concrete engagement rather than passing reference.

Check whether your JSAC manuscript owns a live Call-for-Papers theme →

Cover-letter CfP citation without manuscript-body alignment

In Manusights reviews, we observe that JSAC submissions frequently include a cover letter that names the targeted CfP and asserts alignment, but the manuscript body itself (abstract, introduction, methods, experimental setup, results) reads as a generic T-COM / T-WC submission with no specific accommodation to the CfP's theme.

JSAC guest editors apply the documented "theme ownership" test at desk:

• the abstract's first sentence must engage with the CfP's named technical area (not just mention it in passing)

• the introduction must motivate the work in terms of the CfP's named problem (specifically referencing the CfP's named challenges or named subtopics)

• the methods section must address the CfP's named methodological emphasis (theoretical / system-level / measurement / testbed / standardization, as the CfP specifies)

• the experimental setup must reflect the CfP's named application context (V2X parameters per the CfP's V2X scope, 6G frequencies per the CfP's THz scope, etc.)

• the discussion must engage with the CfP's named open questions

• the citations should include recent JSAC papers from the same CfP's prior issues if the theme has run before

Cover-letter-only theme-alignment claims get caught at desk: guest editors compare the cover-letter promise to the manuscript-body delivery, and where the manuscript reads as a generic submission with retrofitted CfP framing, the paper gets returned with a redirect to the general ComSoc queue.

The fix is to write the manuscript body for the CfP from the first draft (not retrofit it), engage with the CfP's named subtopics in the introduction and methods, reference the CfP's named challenges explicitly in motivation, structure experiments around the CfP's named application context, and cite recent JSAC papers from the same theme series in the related-work section.

Check whether your JSAC body matches the Call-for-Papers promise →

Good ComSoc paper, weak JSAC case

The third recurring pattern in JSAC-targeted manuscripts is contributions that would clear the bar at T-COM (the general ComSoc transactions venue with ~35-45 percent acceptance) but fall short of JSAC's higher-selectivity bar (~31-35 percent acceptance for themed issues, but with stronger significance / novelty / usefulness expectations because JSAC papers compete within tightly-scoped themed issues against the best work in that specific area).

JSAC guest editors and the EiC specifically check whether the contribution:

• makes a significance claim the JSAC readership would care about (named impact on the CfP's technical area: enables a new capability, changes a previously-accepted design assumption, provides a measurement or analysis the field cannot get elsewhere, settles a debated question)

• makes a novelty claim genuinely beyond the recent literature (not "we extend prior work with new evaluation" but "we propose / prove / measure something the field has not done")

• demonstrates usefulness to the JSAC readership (specifically the readers who follow this CfP's theme, not the general communications audience)

• benchmarks against the strongest recent work in the same CfP's theme (not against weak baselines or outdated approaches)

• addresses generalizability beyond a single experimental setup (multiple network conditions, multiple parameter regimes, sensitivity analysis)

Manuscripts that meet the general T-COM bar but not JSAC's higher significance / novelty / usefulness expectations face revision-or-reject decisions, with redirect recommendations to T-COM, T-WC, or specialty venues.

The fix is to honestly assess whether the contribution clears the higher selectivity bar before committing the submission, identify and address the recent state-of-the-art in the CfP's specific theme (not the general theme), ensure the significance claim is named explicitly with concrete impact, and either invest in stronger novelty / generalizability or route to T-COM where the contribution genuinely fits.

Check whether your JSAC manuscript is submission-ready →

• Is IEEE JSAC a good journal?

• IEEE Transactions on Communications Submission Guide

• IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications Submission Guide

If your manuscript is already in the portal, use the IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications Under Review status guide to interpret the status window, follow-up threshold, and reviewer-risk preparation while you wait.

Last verified: 2026-05-26 against IEEE ComSoc materials.