A domestic research team has achieved the remarkable feat of leading the international standardization of short-range wireless communication technology, which has been mainly used within 10 cm, to enable Internet communication.

The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) announced on the 21st of last month that the Internet of Things' low-power communication technology, 'Near Field Communication (NFC)-based Internet Communication Technology' standard (RFC 9428) was finally established as an international standard by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).

Near Field Communication (NFC) has been mainly used for communication between short-range devices or equipment.

On the other hand, it was not used as a technology for extensive Internet communication, but if the standard 'RFC 9428' developed by ETRI is applied, Internet use becomes possible even in a short-range wireless communication environment.

Internet communication based on short-range wireless communication enables Internet-based communication even in payment environments between NFC devices.

This allows offline merchants to use existing NFC payment services without having to install a separate dedicated payment terminal.

Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technologies, commonly used in everyday life, communicate in a relatively wide wireless radio environment.

On the other hand, this technology has a narrow range of less than 10cm on average.Because it communicates over radio waves, it is less vulnerable to hacking than Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.

Therefore, data can be transmitted safely in the wireless communication section.

Additionally, this technology is a unique technology that ETRI Standard Research Center possesses for the first time in the world.

By securing international standard patents simultaneously with securing this international standard, it is expected to become a bridgehead for creating high added value in new payment and authentication markets related to Internet of Things services both domestically and internationally.

During the development of this RFC 9428 standard, the research team also passed the interoperability testing event hosted by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) with high scores.

This has proven its technological prowess globally and has been introduced as an excellent technology by the Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC), an international Internet address management organization.

ETRI is actively conducting standardization activities in international standardization organizations such as IETF and ITU-T with the goal of establishing international standards in the field of the Internet of Things through the Ministry of Science and ICT's Information and Communication Broadcasting Standard Development Support Project.

ETRI's Kang Shin-gak, head of the Standards Research Division, said, "The establishment of this international standard is very significant in that it has secured the development of independent standard technology and the acquisition of standard patents. “This is a valuable achievement that can lead to innovation in the Internet of Things and lead to dominating future markets,” he said.

In addition, the research team believes that this technology will be very useful in various payment and communication environments required in various Internet of Things online and offline service environments such as smart homes, smart buildings, and smart factories that utilize contactless short-range wireless communication.

The IETF regular meeting, held four times a year, is attended by approximately 1,500 experts from over 50 countries, including global companies such as Cisco and Ericsson, research institutes, and academia.

ETRI has been conducting continuous standardization activities and research, including establishing more than 15 international standards, including next-generation Internet protocol (IPv6), mobile technology, and Internet of Things technology, at the IETF, the highest authority international organization that establishes Internet standard technologies.