This disclosure presents a technique to include a packet sequence number and an integrity check value (ICV) into a data frame while maintaining a total number of transmitted bytes. A transmitting device includes circuitry that generates the ICV, inserts a transmitter packet sequence number into the data frame that includes a data packet including a payload, the data packet following a preamble and an interpacket gap (IPG) following the data packet. The circuitry also inserts the ICV into the data frame, and transmits the data frame, wherein inserting the ICV into the data frame reduces a size of the IPG while maintaining a total number of bytes in the data frame. A receiving device includes circuitry that receives the data frame, compares a receiver packet sequence number to the transmitter packet sequence number, and determines whether the transmitter packet sequence number is valid based on the receiver packet sequence number.