When taking a walk back to memory lane, it can be significantly noted that the internet that we know today is not far from the age of our grandparents. This modern technology that we enjoy at present is quite young as its name suggests. Taking into consideration that the Internet Protocol Suite (TCP/IP) was only standardized by 1982, it was only in 1989 that the basic labels and figures of the World Wide Web became available under the light of Sir Tim Berners-Lee.
But to the surprise of many, wireless networks have existed even before the birth of a true internet. Dubbed as the very first wireless LAN (Local Area Network) in the world, the University of Hawaii’s ALOHNET paved the way to what is to become one of society’s greatest marvels. The 1971 innovation only had 7 computers working on it using radio signals based on early packets.
In the year 1985, a ruling was made by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission that led to the release of industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) radio bands to the public for unlicensed use. With this new hype, thousands of technology companies began constructing their own lines of gadgets and networks that allow wireless communication based on this frequency. However, it soon became obvious that allowing and maintaining compatibility among the new devices would be difficult, much more impossible, if no standards are released to usher this common use of the fairly new spectrum.
The answer to the prior problem was confirmed in 1997 and became known as the “Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ (IEEE) 802.11 definitions.” This is the new standard used by companies at the time to host their technological needs. 802.11 rings a bell? It should. This standard is what the current Wi-Fi is using as reference to products that employ this standards set. As you may have guessed, the original version of the 802.11 is now long gone and obsolete by today’s standards. What’s new? The 802.11n. This is the new standard used at the present and functions with antennas that is capable of working with multiple-input and –output series.
Following the creation of the 802.11 standard, cable modems and DSL soon became a popular trend. People were caught up with this new technology that being able to access the internet was short of a miraculous event. By then, Wi-Fi was introduced and started a new craze of itself.
Two years later of the release of 802.11, Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA) was created to help boost up the exposure of the new technology. To make the long story short, WECA is the birth place of what is Wi-Fi today. Not long after it created Wi-Fi, it decided to make a turn around and change its name to Wi-Fi Alliance in the year 2002. What does the Wi-Fi Alliance do? They are responsible for making sure that devices using the 802.11 standard are compliant of their terms so that interoperatability is guaranteed.
As we know it in the recent past, the evolution of wireless networks and internet accessibility had become a phenomenon in itself. It seems that people can no longer function without the internet as many vital economic and social modes run under its course. The generation of mobile broadband is among these advancements and had paved way to a more practical and enjoyable wireless lifestyle. A number of companies all over the world are continually introducing better gadgets and technologies to satisfy the needs of their growing consumers. An example is the WiMAX – a part of the IEEE 802.16 standard. This powerful novelty allows the use of wireless internet by operating signals over large distances similar to that of cellular phones.
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