EWDC: Integrating DECT-2020 With Wi-Fi for Enhanced Wireless Direct Connectivity

The rapid growth of smartphones, laptops, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices has created an increasing demand for seamless, secure, and energy-efficient wireless direct communication. Current popular solutions, such as AirDrop and Intel Unison, rely on bluetooth low energy (BLE) for device discovery and pairing, alongside IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi) for high-speed data transmission. However, research has identified significant vulnerabilities in BLE, including information leakage and profile manipulation. To address these challenges, we propose an enhanced wireless direct connectivity (EWDC) framework that integrates digital enhanced cordless telecommunications (DECT)-2020 new radio (NR) with Wi-Fi. In this framework, DECT replaces BLE to enable secure and efficient device discovery, while Wi-Fi supports high-bandwidth data transmission. Specifically, DECT utilizes its licensed spectrum to establish a secure communication channel for sharing Wi-Fi configuration information, enabling a secure and reliable setup of high-speed Wi-Fi data transmission links between devices. To validate this approach, we implemented the DECT medium access control layer on the Nordic nRF9161-DK platform and evaluated the end-to-end delay between two devices. Our results demonstrate an impressive transmission delay of less than $1~{\mu }$ s for EWDC communication, enabling rapid device discovery and highly efficient operation. Furthermore, to enhance the security of wireless direct connections, the WireGuard, a VPN tunnel, is employed to encrypt data transmission over Wi-Fi providing robust protection for data shared on public frequency bandwidths. The proposed hybrid DECT-2020 NR and Wi-Fi solution significantly improves reliability, security, and communication efficiency, positioning it as a robust candidate for next-generation IoT communication systems.