Dear SIGCOMM Community,
We are excited to share an important milestone for our field: beginning January 2026, all ACM publications and related artifacts in the ACM Digital Library will be made open access. This change reflects the global computing community’s commitment to making research more accessible, discoverable, and reusable.
Open access brings many benefits. Authors retain copyright to their published work while ACM helps protect against copyright and integrity violations. Research will be freely available worldwide, increasing readership, citations, and real-world application. Students, educators, and researchers everywhere can access ACM-published work without barriers. Open access fosters collaboration, transparency, and cumulative progress.
You can learn more about ACM’s transition here:
- https://youtu.be/raIvf-UjQlc
- https://authors.acm.org/open-access
- https://conferences.acm.org
- https://www.acm.org/diversity-inclusion/equity-through-oa
We understand that publication fees are a concern, so we wanted to provide the following additional information:
- SIGCOMM is providing funding to offset fees for all authors. This means fees will already be reduced below ACM’s standard charges for this year.
- Papers with at least one author from an institution participating in ACM Open will have their fees waived by ACM.
- ACM offers a waiver program for researchers in developing regions.
- SIGCOMM will in addition host its own Financial Hardship Waiver program (SIGCOMM-FHW).
- Priority will be given to authors from low-income countries or from institutions and research groups without active grant funding. Additional documentation may be requested.
- Authors with financial need can submit a brief statement, and we will approve applications based on that need. (To apply, authors can select the waiver request option available within the ACM e-rights system and provide all necessary information, which will be forwarded to the SIG.)
- Looking ahead, SIG leadership is actively working with ACM to explore avenues to further reduce fees in future years.
Our goal is to make this transition smooth and supportive for everyone in our community. If you have questions or need assistance, please reach out to the SIGCOMM Executive Committee.
Thank you for your continued dedication to advancing networking research and practice. Together, we can ensure that SIGCOMM’s work reaches the widest possible audience in a more open and accessible future.
Sincerely,
SIGCOMM Executive Committee