The 20th ACM Workshop on Wireless Network
Testbeds, Experimental evaluation & Characterization

Technically co-sponsored by the PAWR Project Office and by the SLICES-RI program

The increasing complexity of the wireless ecosystem witnessed in recent years has prompted an increasing need of experimental validation of innovative wireless solutions and applications and their coexistence. The WiNTECH workshop has been created to deal with all those methodological, technical and policy issues to be faced when defining, running, controlling and benchmarking experiments on wireless solutions. The workshop, now in its 20th edition, intends to bring together academic researchers and industry players working on different aspects of experimental wireless communications and networking. As such, it serves as a forum for sharing experiences and results with real testbeds, experimental evaluation, prototyping and empirical characterization of wireless technologies.

The workshop will facilitate discussions on unresolved issues, including new laboratory methodologies, key real-life limitations of wireless technologies that have emerged over the past few years (e.g., AI-native networks, non-terrestrial networks, mmWave, underwater, 6G, 5G, IoT, wearables, Open RAN, and SDN), as well as key challenges facing the wireless networking of the future. As WiNTECH concerns experimental communications and networking, it will feature a relatively large demo session as centerpiece, where real testbeds, deployments and prototypes can be demonstrated and discussed. A demo competition is planned.

All the regular papers will be considered for the Best Paper Award.

🎉 Celebrating 20 Years of WiNTECH 🎉

The 2026 edition marks the 20th anniversary of WiNTECH. To celebrate this milestone, we are planning three special activities:

🏆 Test-of-Time Award

Recognizing WiNTECH papers from 2011–2016 that have had lasting impact on experimental wireless networking research. Winner selected by the Steering Committee.

🎤 Anniversary Keynote & Panel

A special session on “20 Years of Wireless Experimentation” bringing together leaders from academia and industry to reflect on major shifts in wireless testbeds, methodology, and open platforms.

📄 Historical Milestones Archive

A dedicated webpage documenting WiNTECH’s history — past editions, notable themes, awardees, and the evolution of experimental wireless research over two decades.

In addition to the regular papers, the program of WiNTECH 2026 will also include:

  • A keynote speech from an expert in experimental wireless research
  • A Demo session
  • Special 20th-anniversary programming, including a Test-of-Time Award and an anniversary keynote or panel

    • IMPORTANT DATES:
    Paper submission: June 5th 2026
    Acceptance notification: July 31st 2026
    Camera ready: August 21st 2026
    Workshop: October 30th 2026