A critical review of mobile device-to-device communication

TL;DR

This paper critically reviews the development, deployment, and challenges of mobile device-to-device communication, highlighting its potential for local, privacy-preserving, and resilient services, and providing insights into user adoption and enabling technologies.

Contribution

It offers a comprehensive survey of D2D communication, including deployment status, user adoption, enabling technologies, and security models, aiming to facilitate future framework development.

Findings

Limited adoption of D2D beyond accessory pairing

User survey indicates low awareness and usage of D2D features

Security and privacy concerns hinder broader D2D deployment

Abstract

Since the advent of mobile devices, both end-users and the IT industry have been longing for direct device-to-device (D2D) communication capabilities, expecting new kinds of interactive, personalized, and collaborative services. Fifteen years later, many D2D solutions have been implemented and deployed, but their availability and functionality are underwhelming. Arguably, the most widely-adopted D2D use case covers the pairing of accessories with smartphones; however, many other use cases-such as mobile media sharing-did not progress. Pervasive computing and cyber-physical convergence need local communication paradigms to scale. For inherently local use cases, they are even more appealing than ever: eschewing third-parties simultaneously fosters environmental sustainability, privacy and network resiliency. This paper proposes a survey on D2D communication, investigates its deployment and adoption, with the objective of easing the creation and adoption of modern D2D frameworks. We present the results of an online poll that estimates end-users' utilisation of D2D processes, and review enabling technologies and security models.