ETRI Secures Second Internet Infrastructure Technology with Identifier-Based Technology

Next-generation networking technology based on IDs (identifiers) has been developed instead of the Internet Protocol (IP) commonly used in wired and wireless communication networks.

ETRI (Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute) announced that it has succeeded in developing core technologies for ID-based next-generation networking, an alternative to IP-based networks that have reached their limits, and has completed verification.

IP, which communicates based on addresses, becomes highly inefficient when the recipient moves or when duplicate incoming data exists on the network. For example, in the current IP technology environment, the address (IP) configured for a company computer cannot be used when traveling on business or at home.


In contrast, communication using IDs—identifiers like names—is independent of addresses, so it can fundamentally resolve the problems associated with IP. ETRI stated that this technology is designed to enable the assignment of identifiers to various communication objects, such as terminals, people, data, and services.

ETRI explained that this technology is suitable for the upcoming 5th generation (5G) mobile communication era and the Internet of Things (IoT) era. With the advent of 5G and IoT, it is expected that tens of billions of diverse devices will be connected to the internet, requiring high mobility and security.

In such cases, it is true that current IP-based network methods have structural limitations in addressing these requirements for large scale, mobility, and security.

Therefore, there is a global consensus that next-generation network technology is evolving based on ID. Consequently, leading research groups are competitively engaging in the development of solutions to address technical challenges.

Furthermore, as IP-based technology originated primarily in the United States, foreign products are dominating not only the internet equipment market but also the service market. In the case of equipment, major developed countries such as the United States hold more than 80% of the market share.

Replacing foreign products and laying the foundation to lead the next-generation network market

Therefore, ETRI's development of core technologies for next-generation networks has significant implications. In other words, it amounts to securing a "second internet-based technology."

ETRI explained that the core technologies developed this time include: a routing protocol that quickly finds information transmission paths even in large-scale networks; a mapping system that finds the location of large-scale communication objects in real time and provides structural mobility; and a trusted communication protocol that uses an identifier containing authentication information to prevent tampering or forgery of the sender on the network itself and efficiently respond to DDoS attacks.

Meanwhile, ETRI stated that based on this technology, it received a great response from attendees through demonstrations of the developed technology at the ACM ICN conference held in San Francisco, USA last September and the ICT 2015 exhibition held in Lisbon, Spain last October.

Jeong Hee-young, Head of the ID Communication Research Lab at ETRI, stated, "Moving beyond the current level of merely adopting technologies developed in advanced nations, such as the Internet, securing homegrown source technologies that enable us to compete on equal footing with advanced countries in the next-generation network market holds great significance."

In addition, ETRI announced that it has secured intellectual property rights for the developed technology by publishing approximately 20 papers in SCI journals and filing around 30 domestic and international patent applications. Based on the secured source technology, ETRI is currently developing various scenarios for applying this technology.

First, we plan to develop IoT technology based on identifier-based networking technology for application in the Internet of Things. Kim Young-jin, Head of the Wired and Wireless Communication Infrastructure Research Division at ETRI, stated, "This effectively lays the foundation to lead technology in the next-generation network market, which is expected to fully materialize within the next 5 to 10 years." "We expect this to be of great help in strengthening the technological competitiveness of domestic companies," he explained.

This technology was developed as part of the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning's "Research on Identifier-based Networking Technology for High-Quality Future Internet" project.