Researched
Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11)
The first IEEE 802.11 standard (1997) made Ethernet wireless; the 'Wi-Fi' brand of 1999 put it in every laptop, router and phone.
Open in the interactive tree →The IEEE approved the first 802.11 wireless-LAN standard in 1997 at 2 Mbit/s; the faster 802.11b and the Wi-Fi Alliance followed in 1999. Later versions use OFDM modulation, a technique for which CSIRO researchers in Australia held patents from the early 1990s. Wi-Fi gave laptops and then smartphones cheap, fast wireless access to the internet at home and at work.
Prerequisites
- Radio (Wireless Telegraphy)1895
- Fast Fourier Transform1965Wi-Fi's OFDM modulation is computed with fast Fourier transforms
- ALOHAnet1971Wi-Fi's shared-channel random access descends from ALOHA via Ethernet
- Ethernet and local networks1973
Unlocks
- Smartphone2007Wi-Fi gives phones fast data at home and at work