Journal profile · Telecommunications
IEEE Communications Letters
ISSN 1089-7798 · eISSN 1558-2558 · Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. · UNITED STATES · Monthly · Founded 1997
IEEE Communications Letters: CAS Zone 3 · Computer Science (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 4.49; subscription journal; APC about USD 2,645; review about 2.8 months (community reports); community-reported acceptance: 75%; 687 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
IEEE Communications Letters is published by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. and is in Zone 3 of Computer Science in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Advanced Wireless Communication Techniques, Advanced MIMO Systems Optimization and Cooperative Communication and Network Coding, together about 33.1% of its articles. Its main subfields are Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Computer Networks and Communications. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The IEEE Communications Society promotes technological innovation and fosters creation and sharing of information among the global technical community. The Society provides services to members for their technical and professional advancement and forums for technical exchanges among professionals in academia, industry, and public institutions.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Telecommunications
Editor-in-chief Rose QingyangPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 2 in mainland China (about 7%); most named United States 14, Canada 4, Mainland China 2, Hong Kong, China 1, Italy 1 (30 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Advanced Wireless Communication TechniquesEngineering11.6%
- Advanced MIMO Systems OptimizationEngineering11.2%
- Cooperative Communication and Network CodingComputer Science10.3%
- Wireless Communication Networks ResearchComputer Science7.2%
- Advanced Wireless Communication TechnologiesEngineering6.8%
- Error Correcting Code TechniquesComputer Science5.2%
- Advanced Wireless Network OptimizationEngineering4.4%
- Wireless Communication Security TechniquesEngineering3.9%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Computer Science Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Computer Science | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Telecommunications | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Computer Science Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Computer Science | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Telecommunications | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Computer Science Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Computer Science | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Telecommunications | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 4.49LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 9.2LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.6LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.48LetPub ·
- h-index
- 127LetPub ·
- h-index
- 197OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 7,328OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.8OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 4.4%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 2.43%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 618LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 14,200 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 538 | 58 | 129 |
| 2025 | 687 | 67 | 1,684 |
| 2024 | 625 | 111 | 5,224 |
| 2023 | 667 | 132 | 9,840 |
| 2022 | 674 | 111 | 12,481 |
| 2021 | 699 | 143 | 15,427 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 2.8 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- 75%LetPub ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Subscription journalLetPub
A subscription journal: articles are read by subscription or purchase, and authors usually pay no publication charge.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 2,645 | — | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websitePeer review
- Peer review
Regular and double-anonymous review process. Model summary
IEEE Communications Letters follows both a regular and a double-anonymous review process.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 1997
- ISSN
- 1089-7798
- Electronic ISSN
- 1558-2558
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about IEEE Communications Letters
What CAS zone is IEEE Communications Letters in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, IEEE Communications Letters is in Zone 3 of Computer Science, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Telecommunications. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Computer Science. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of IEEE Communications Letters?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 4.49; CiteScore 9.2, h-index 197.
How long does peer review take at IEEE Communications Letters?
Authors report an average review time of about 2.8 months; the community-reported acceptance is “75%”. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Where are the editorial board members of IEEE Communications Letters based?
Of the 30 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 2 (about 7%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (14), Canada (4) and Mainland China (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index IEEE Communications Letters?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, IEEE Communications Letters is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is IEEE Communications Letters open access, and what is the APC?
IEEE Communications Letters is a subscription journal. APC about USD 2,645.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-24). Last updated: .