NetMob 2026

NetMob is the primary conference on the use of mobile phone datasets to analyze social, urban, societal, and industrial problems.

The 2026 edition marks the 10th anniversary of NetMob, continuing a tradition that began in 2010. Over the years, the conference has attracted participants from leading research institutions, industry, and public agencies worldwide. Originally focused on mobile phone data, NetMob has evolved to address a broader range of questions about human behavior, interactions, and complex social systems, leveraging large-scale behavioral data.

Following the success of NetMob 2025 in Paris, France, NetMob 2026 will be held in Niterói, Brazil, marking the conference’s first edition in the Southern Hemisphere. The event will take place at the Institute of Computing of Fluminense Federal University (UFF), located just across Guanabara Bay from Rio de Janeiro. NetMob 2026 will bring together researchers, industry professionals, and policymakers to discuss recent advances in mobile network data analysis.

Topics of interest: We welcome contributions spanning multiple aspects of mobile and behavioral data analytics. This includes but is not limited to analyses of Call Detail Records (CDRs), mobile location data, Wi-Fi traces, app usage data, and social media content.

As in previous editions, NetMob 2026 will feature a single-track format, with short contributed talks or posters providing a forum for presenting early-stage research and work published elsewhere.

Important dates

Submission website opening: May 15th, 2026
Two-page extended abstracts submission deadline: ~~July 1st, 2026~~ → ~~July 12th, 2026~~ → ~~July 19th, 2026~~ → July 21th, 2026 (grace period)
Notification of acceptance: ~~July 18th, 2026~~ → ~~July 30th, 2026~~ → August 10th, 2026
Camera ready: ~~August 15th, 2026~~ → August 30th, 2026

Submission format:

Authors are invited to submit two-page abstracts (including figures, tables, and references).
Submissions should include the title, author(s), affiliation(s), and email address(es) on the first page.
Electronic submission of manuscripts in PDF format is required.

All authors are required to use one of the official NetMob paper templates for their submissions. Papers must not exceed two pages, including all figures and references. No appendices are allowed, and the specified formatting requirements must be followed. The NetMob template is available in the following links:

Authors may choose the format that best suits their workflow, but all submissions must adhere strictly to the NetMob template. Submissions that do not comply with the NetMob template may be rejected before review.

Colocated with NetMob 2026, we are launching the new edition of the Data Challenge page. This initiative continues to foster research and innovation around mobility data, encouraging both methodological advances and practical applications that address pressing urban and societal challenges.

We invite participants to explore an urban mobility dataset from the city of Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, and submit original analyses, models, or insights that contribute to improving the efficiency, reliability, and planning of the public bus transportation system.

The dataset offers a rich, multifaceted view of the public bus transportation system operation in the city of Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, over a continuous period. It combines high-frequency vehicle tracking data with passenger demand information and operational line data.

Moreover, the dataset also comprises individual boarding information and auxiliary data, which allow for a richer and more informed analysis.

Challenge format:

Prospective participants shall apply to the challenge in order to gain access to the dataset. Instructions are available at Terms and Conditions.
Admitted participants shall submit two-page extended abstracts in PDF format by July 1st, 2026. Each submission must include: a title, author(s) and affiliation(s), email address(es) on the first page, a description of preliminary results from the analysis of the dataset, and must comply with the official NetMob 2026 paper template (see link above).
Selected participants will be invited to submit a final report consisting of: a complete document (no page limits) that will remain confidential and be used to select challenge awardees and to decide whether the work will be presented at the conference as a talk or a poster; and a 2-page summary of the work that will be published in the public NetMob 2026 Book of Abstracts.

Important dates:

Challenge launch: May 15th, 2026
Abstract submission website opening: May 15th, 2026
Two-page extended abstracts submission deadline: ~~July 1st, 2026~~ → ~~July 12th, 2026~~ → ~~July 19th, 2026~~ → July 21th, 2026 (grace period)
Notification of acceptance: ~~July 18th, 2026~~ → ~~July 30th, 2026~~ → ~~August 10th, 2026~~ → August 14th, 2026
Abstract Camera-ready deadline: August 30th, 2026
Early-bird registration: August 31th, 2026
Final full report submission deadline: September 6th, 2026
Final notification of presentation and poster: September 11th, 2026
Presentation at the conference: October 16th, 2026

NetMob 2026 will take place in the Institute of Computing of the Fluminense Federal University (UFF). Nestled in the vibrant city of Niterói, just across the bay from Rio de Janeiro, UFF offers an exceptional setting for international events. Niterói combines the charm of beautiful beaches, cultural attractions, and a reputation for safety with a well-developed network of hotels and restaurants. The city provides a calm and welcoming atmosphere while remaining only a short and convenient ride—just minutes away by Uber—from the bustling energy of Rio de Janeiro. UFF’s modern campus and inspiring seaside views make it an ideal venue for global collaboration and exchange.

Rio de Janeiro is located nearby, connected to Niterói by the Rio–Niterói Bridge. Downtown Rio is only 21 km away, while the southern districts of Leblon and Ipanema are less than 35 km from Niterói.

Venue address: Institute of Computing of the Fluminense Federal University (UFF) - Avenue General Milton Tavares de Souza, Niterói

The campus is a 26 KM from the International Airport of Rio de Janeiro.

From Digital Traces to Behavioral Insights: LLMs, Data Bias, and Fairness

Vanessa Frias-Martinez

Professor in Computer and Information Science at University of Maryland.

Vanessa Frías Martínez is a professor in the College of Information and the Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS) at the University of Maryland, where she leads the Urban Computing Lab. Her research focuses on the development of computational models to understand and predict human behaviors in the built environment as well as on the design of tools to aid decision makers build more equitable and resilient communities. Frías Martínez is the recipient of multiple National Science Foundation awards, including the prestigious CAREER award. Prior to academia, she spent five years at Telefonica Research. She received her PhD in Computer Science from Columbia University.

To Be Announced

Rafael H. M. Pereira

Head of Data Science at the Brazilian Institute for Applied Economic Research (Ipea) and visiting professor at the University of Toronto.

Rafael Pereira (Rafa for short) is a senior researcher (tenured) working in the fields of urban analytics, spatial data science and transport studies at the Institute for Applied Economic Research (Ipea - Brazil), where he leads the Data Science team and the Access to Opportunities Lab (AOP-Lab). He is also a visiting professor (Bousfield Distinguished Visitor in Planning) at the Department of Geography and Planning at the University of Toronto (2024-2025). Rafa's research looks broadly at how urban policies shape the spatial organization of cities, human mobility as well as their impacts on social and health inequalities. Some of my key contributions to the fields of urban analytics and urban and transport planning involve the development of new methods and open-source computational tools to the study of urban systems and transportation networks. These contributions emerge from substantive interests around social justice and sustainability concerns with urban development; specifically focused on issues of inequalities in access to opportunities, and the environmental impacts of built environments and mobility patterns. He is particularly interested in the equity concerns underlying impact assessment of urban and transport planning policies and their effects on inequalities in access to opportunities. Since 2019, Rafa leads the Access to Opportunities Lab (AOP-Lab) investigate urban mobility conditions and access to opportunities in cities. The lab generates annual estimates of accessibility to employment opportunities, education and health services for Brazil’s largest urban areas, and develop new open source computational tools for transport accessibility and emissions modeling. Rafa received the 2017 Lee Schipper Memorial Scholarship from the World Resources Institute (WRI). In 2019, his work received the award for best PhD thesis in transportation by the American Association of Geographers (AAG) and the Young Researcher of the Year Award by the International Transport Forum (ITF/OECD).

Beyond the Trace: GeoAI and Open Geodata as the Context Layer for Mobility Where the Map Runs Out

Alexandre Zipf

Chair of GIScience (Geoinformatics) at Heidelberg University, Germany.

Prof. Dr. Alexander Zipf is chair of GIScience (Geoinformatics) at Heidelberg University (Department of Geography) since late 2009. He is member of the Centre for Scientific Computing (IWR) and founding member of the Heidelberg Center for the Environment (HCE). His core research interests include VGI, crowdsouring and analysing of user generated geoinformation for several application domains, especially transportation and humanitarian aid. Currently he is busy establishing the Heidelberg Institute for Geoinformation Technology (HeiGIT)as a non profit organization with the goal of transferring results from basic research into practice ion particular in the three core areas: Smart Mobility, GI for Humanitarian Aid and Big Spatial Data Analytics. Between 2012 -2018 he was speaker of the graduate school “CrowdAnalyser - Spatio-temporal Analysis of User-generated Content“. He is also member of the editorial board of several journals and organized a set of conferences and workshops. 2012-2015 he was regional editor of the ISI Journal Transactions in GIS (Wiley). Currently he is associated editor of the international journal Geo-spatial Information Science (GSIS) by Taylor & Francis (open access). Before coming to Heidelberg he led the Chair of Cartography at Bonn University and earlier was Professor for Applied Computer Science and Geoinformatics at the University of Applied Sciences in Mainz, Germany. He has a background in Mathematics and Geography from Heidelberg University and finished his PHD at the European Media Laboratory EML in Heidelberg where he was the first PhD student. There he also conducted further research as a PostDoc for 3 years.

Registration Information

Registration for NetMob 2026 will open on August 12, 2026. We will offer discounted early bird rates until September 7, 2026. Regular rates will apply until the start of the conference.

Conference registration must be completed through the ECOS platform. You can select English using the language button in the top-right corner.

Attendee	Early Bird*	Regular
Undergraduate Student	R$750	R$1000	Register
Student	R$825	R$1000	Register
Teachers in primary and secondary schools	R$750	R$1000	Register
Academic/Industry	R$1650	R$2250	Register

You can check the conversion from Brazilian Reais to Euros here .

Early Bird registration ends on September 7th, 2026. Regular rates apply until October 16th, 2026.

Terms and Conditions

All payments are processed through the SBC ECOS gateway — the NetMob 2026 organization committee has no liability whatsoever.

Student registration rates are available to full-time students only. A valid student ID or other proof of full-time student status is required to pick up the registration on-site.

Refund and Cancellation Policy

For any question regarding the registration procedure, please contact netmob2026@midiacom.uff.br .

All registration refund requests must be sent via email to netmob2026@midiacom.uff.br and received no later than September 24, 2026.

Payment Methods

Here are some guidelines regarding the payment methods for international participants that appears in Ecos.

For international participants

If you are an international participant (outside Brazil), the recommended payment method is credit card.

Please select the option corresponding to your credit card brand:

Line 4 – American Express → Credit card
Line 6 – Mastercard → Credit card
Line 7 – Visa → Credit card

Choose American Express, Mastercard, or Visa, depending on the card you will use.

Translation of the payment options:

Boleto Bancário → Brazilian bank payment slip. For Brazilian participants only.
Débito em Conta Banco do Brasil → Direct debit from a Banco do Brasil bank account. For Brazilian participants only.
Nota de Empenho → Government/institutional payment commitment document. Typically used by Brazilian public institutions.
American Express → Credit card (American Express). Recommended for international participants.
Elo → Credit/debit card network primarily used in Brazil. Generally not suitable for international participants.
Mastercard → Credit card (Mastercard). Recommended for international participants.
Visa → Credit card (Visa). Recommended for international participants.
Faturamento → Invoice / billing. Used when payment is handled through institutional or organizational billing. Please check with the conference organizers before selecting this option.
Cartão de Crédito (Estabelecimento) → Credit card (merchant/establishment). For international participants, Visa, Mastercard, or American Express (lines 4, 6, and 7) are the recommended choices.
PIX → Brazilian instant payment system. For Brazilian bank accounts only.
Cota de Patrocinador → Sponsor contribution / sponsorship payment. For registered sponsors only.

If you do not have a Brazilian bank account, do not select Boleto Bancário, Débito em Conta Banco do Brasil, or PIX.

Visas to enter Brazil are granted by Brazilian consulates abroad. Citizens of countries that are members of Mercosul do not require visas; only a valid passport or a valid identity document is required.

To learn more about the documentation and procedures for granting visas, please contact the Brazilian embassy/consulate in your country of origin. You can also check this page for further information on Brazilian visas.

Citizens traveling with passports from Australia, Canada, and the United States who are visiting Brazil for tourism and business will be subject to visa requirements for entry into Brazilian territory starting April 10, 2025. These citizens can request an e-Visa through the portal https://brazil.vfsevisa.com/ . More information about the application process: here