Wi-Fi: the history of the emergence and development of wireless Internet

Each era has its own face with its inherent technological features. The third millennium, which started relatively recently, also has it, which is quite justifiably associated with the rapid development of information technology. In particular, with Wi-Fi.

As you know, Wi-Fi (short for Wireless Fidelity) is a popular technology for transferring data between electronic devices through their wireless connection to a network or Internet connection. The fundamental basis for such transmission is high-frequency radio waves.

§ 1. Wi-Fi: how it all began.

It is generally accepted that the history of Wi-Fi started in the early 90s of the last century, when the first wireless communication technology appeared in the Netherlands - a kind of progenitor of modern Wi-Fi. However, this point of view is slightly inconsistent with reality.

In fact, the roots of Wi-Fi can be traced back to 1985, when the US Federal Communications Commission gave the go-ahead for the unlicensed use of certain frequencies in the radio spectrum by anyone. This legislative initiative of American colleagues was supported by similar decisions of government agencies in other countries. As a result, companies around the world interested in commercializing the provided radio spectrum began to actively develop corresponding devices for establishing wireless networks.

And only 6 years later, the tandem of the Dutch companies NCR Corporation and AT&T was the first on the planet to introduce ready-to-use wireless data transmission technology. The joint product of the companies was called WaveLAN and was intended exclusively for optimizing the operation of cash register systems through wireless information transmission at speeds from 1 to 2 Mbit/s.

The most unexpected version

Perhaps the most interesting version of the creation of a wireless connection is associated with the name of the famous Hollywood actress of the 40s - Hedy Lamarr. Despite the actress's scandalous fame associated with roles of a sexual nature and numerous marriages, it is she who owns the right to the patent “Secret Message System”, issued by the US Patent Agency in 1940.

Hedy Lamarr's invention eliminated the risk of information interception due to the possibility of changing frequency. The number of frequencies of this system corresponded to a set of piano keys (88 radio frequencies). Until the early 60s, the patent for the secret invention was not made public. It was only in 1962 that the capabilities of the Hedy Lamarr device found application in US submarine conditions.

Thanks to research from interested users, the story of the creation of “Wi-Fi” has gained popularity. And in 1997, Hedy Lamarr received the Congressional Medal of Honor and an IEEE award.

§ 2. Period of uncertainty and the creation of a unified Wi-Fi standard.

As time has shown, the Dutch failed to properly take advantage of the palm to capture the market. As a result, other manufacturers began to enter it with their wireless technologies. It would seem that competition is a good thing. But not in this case.

The presence of many manufacturers and the lack of a single wireless standard meant that their products were rarely compatible. This, in turn, not only created serious inconvenience for end consumers, but also slowed down the development of the market for promising technology for a long time.

Another 6 years passed before the leading companies in the industry came to the long-awaited decision to switch to a single international standard for wireless data transmission. In 1997, it became the 802.11 standard, which was successfully approved by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. The latter is the main international body in the development of standards for electrical engineering and radio electronics.

Two years later, the same group of major IT developers (3Com, Cisco, Nokia, Symbol Technologies, etc.) initiated the creation of the non-profit organization Wi-Fi Alliance, and also officially registered the new technology under the Wi-Fi brand. The main goal of the mentioned alliance is to promote this technology through the development, testing, certification and support of Wi-Fi wireless communication formats.

Alternative version

According to the second version, the name of the engineer who came up with the invention of Wi-Fi is Vic Hayes. The Dutch engineer was an employee of the NCR and Agere corporations, but became famous for his diplomatic services. He chaired the IEEE 802.11 Working Group on Wireless Network Development. He contributed greatly to improving Wi-Fi standards.

Other researchers believe that the origins of the creation of a single Wi-Fi standard began in 1985. During this time, the FCC allowed unofficial use of certain frequencies. Following the announcement of this decision, other countries are also interested in developing and releasing network devices for radio frequency operation.

Due to the unavailability of using a single Wi-Fi standard, problems arose due to device compatibility. This circumstance has created difficulties in using network equipment and slowed down the process of technological development.

And only in 1997 (6 years after the first attempts to introduce Wi-Fi technologies) it was possible to develop a unified 802.11 standard, which corrected the situation with the incompatibility of network devices.

In 1999, a group of engineers from the Electronics Institute registered Wi-Fi technology with the Wi-Fi Alliance. The next time, a group of scientists actively participated in the development of wireless communication standards.

§ 3. This strange phrase - Wi-Fi...

Before moving on to the further chronology of events related to the development of the 802.11 family of standards, in my opinion, it is advisable to briefly recall where the abbreviated name “Wi-Fi” came from.

At the dawn of its activity, the Wi-Fi Alliance popularized the new technology with the advertising slogan “The Standard for Wireless Fidelity” (Russian - wireless precision standard). Over time, this phrase was shortened to the above-mentioned “Wireless Fidelity”, a shortened version of which subsequently became recognizable throughout the world. Last but not least, this turned out to be possible due to the consonance of this abbreviation with the already popular audio standard Hi-Fi at that time (short for High Fidelity - high precision). There is even a hypothesis that in the process of promoting a new product, the main emphasis was placed on such a striking similarity of the letter combination “Wi-Fi” with “Hi-Fi”.

By the way, the first commercial use of the term “Wi-Fi” took place in August 2000.

§ 4. Development of Wi-Fi technology: year after year.

The international wireless communication standard 802.11, proposed to the public in 1997, had very ordinary technical characteristics for those times. Let's say, it had a very low throughput - no more than 2 Mbit/s, and could also “boast” of a minimum range. In addition, the price of equipment to set up a wireless connection was simply exorbitant when compared with traditional cable networks.

All this could only mean one thing - the development companies had to put maximum effort into improving the technology. Otherwise, its prospects in the market would be very vague.

The results of such modernization were not long in coming then and continue to delight us today:

• 1999 - this year not only the Wi-Fi Alliance was created, but also prototypes of two new editions of the basic standard were presented: 802.11b and 802.11a.
• 2000 - the first devices supporting the 802.11b standard arrived on store shelves. Such Wi-Fi adapters (routers) provided data throughput of no more than 11 Mbit/s and operated in the 2.4 GHz band.
• 2002 - the number of Wi-Fi Alliance members increases to 100 companies. In addition, products supporting the 802.11a standard are coming to market this year. And this is wireless data transmission in the 5 GHz band at speeds of up to 54 Mbit/s.
• 2003 is the release date of the next version of the standard, namely 802.11g. It combined the advantages of the two previous specifications, since devices supporting it transmitted data at speeds of up to 54 Mbps, but now in the more affordable 2.4 GHz band. This year also saw the birth of a new wireless certification program - WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access). The main purpose of WPA is to provide increased data security and stricter access control to wireless networks. The previous security protocol WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) was highly vulnerable.
• 2004 - WPA is replaced by the more advanced wireless security protocol WPA2. Also at this time, the Wi-Fi Alliance continues to develop certification of Wi-Fi devices. From now on, the Wi-Fi Multimedia logo appears on some of them. Such a label ensures that such devices are capable of transmitting data with the highest quality picture and sound. In addition, that year the world learned what Wi-Fi television is.
• 2005 - Wi-Fi wireless technology began to be supported by select gaming platforms, as well as digital cameras. This year was also memorable for the fact that the phrase “Wi-Fi” was officially included in the world-famous Webster’s dictionary.
• 2007 - began testing a new version of the wireless data transfer standard. This time we were talking about the 802.11n edition, the imminent launch of which signaled the beginning of a new era in the development of popular technology.
• 2009 - devices based on 802.11n enter the market. The maximum data transfer speed they provide is 600 Mbit/s in the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands.
• 2010 - large-scale introduction of the Wi-Fi Direct function into devices - a set of software protocols that allow these devices to exchange data directly, without the mediation of routers and access points (hotspots).
• 2011 - the number of significant access points across the planet exceeded 1 million! The Wi-Fi Alliance already includes over 500 companies working in the field of wireless technologies.
• 2012 - the alliance continues to work towards simplifying the procedure for connecting Wi-Fi devices to access points. Also this year, he introduced the market to another useful innovation - Wi-Fi Miracast. This technology is responsible for the uninterrupted broadcasting of video in HD quality by devices connected directly.
• 2013 - This year, the Wi-Fi Alliance plans to complete the practical part of two years of work on the 802.11ac standard. It is expected that devices based on the latter will be capable of transmitting data at speeds in excess of 1 Gbit/s. Final approval of 802.11ac should occur shortly after the start of 2014. At the same time, the leading members of the alliance announced that their products are ready to switch to the new standard.

Basic Wi-Fi standards

For wireless data transmission using Wi-Fi technology, various variations of the 802.11 standard are used. Let's look at the features of each of them.

• 11 – the standard is basic, data exchange is carried out at low speed.
• 11a – 5 GHz radio frequency is used for data transmission at speeds up to 54 Mbit/s. This standard features a more efficient coding algorithm. The original signal is divided into subsignals on the side of the transmitting device, which minimizes the possibility of negative interference.
• 11b – not compatible with 802.11a frequency. It is the cheapest in cost, which briefly made it the most popular standard. Along with its low cost, it is also the slowest. This standard operates at a frequency of 2.4 GHz, and its throughput does not exceed 11 Mbit/s.
• 11g – operates at a radio frequency of 2.4 GHz with a throughput of 54 Mbit/s. Since the network is often overloaded, the speed in reality does not exceed 24 Mbit/sec. The OFDM coding algorithm has made it possible to increase the data transfer rate.
• 11n is the most common modern standard, operating in the 2.4 and 5 GHz frequency ranges. It is compatible with other standards and operates at speeds up to 300 Mbit/s.

The developers are constantly working to improve the standards. At the beginning of 2014, the 802.11ac standard was adopted, which operates at speeds of up to several Gbit/sec. In addition, there is the 802.22 standard, which is designed to work in rural areas and is capable of receiving and transmitting data within a radius of 100 kilometers. Its throughput is 22 Mbit/s.

§ 5. Range of wireless Wi-Fi networks.

In addition to the aspects mentioned, the development of wireless data transmission technology has always implied an increase in the range of Wi-Fi equipment. For example, devices based on the 802.11b, 802.11a and 802.11g standards provided wireless information transmission at a distance of up to 35 m indoors and 100 m outdoors.

The 802.11n standard that replaced it, on the basis of which, by the way, most modern devices with Wi-Fi operate, made it possible to increase the range by more than 2 times. So, indoors, the range of equipment that supports 802.11n can reach 75 m. In an open space, the distance can increase to 250 m.

It is not known exactly what the communication range of 802.11ac will be. The developers of the newest standard are keeping this secret for now. However, it is quite obvious that a step towards increasing it will certainly be made. This is mentioned in passing on the official Wi-Fi Alliance website.

Moreover, recent advances in the field of wireless data transmission over long distances do not allow us to doubt this. For example, the same Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers in 2011 approved the standard for wireless regional networks for rural areas 802.22. This standard can provide data transmission, albeit at a low speed (up to 22 Mbit/s), but within a radius of up to 100 (!!!) km from the nearest router.

§ 6. What are the prospects for Wi-Fi?

In my opinion, the most promising... The obvious advantages of wireless communications will continue to spur developers to work to improve this technology. And if so, then Wi-Fi will become faster, more reliable, more secure and less expensive. At the same time, the Wi-Fi equipment market will grow and expand. According to estimates from reputable analytical agencies, its volumes increase annually by 60-100%.

Another distinctive feature of the future development of Wi-Fi will certainly be the transition from commercial use of technology to free use. Commercial access to Wi-Fi-based services is traditionally associated with the ability to use the Internet in shopping centers, airports, restaurants, cafes, etc. In other words, if you spend money in these places, you can get access to the Internet as a bonus. Of course, if you have an appropriate Wi-Fi device: laptop, smartphone, etc.

At the same time, today you can increasingly find free Wi-Fi. Its initiators are both legal entities (city authorities, college campuses, libraries, etc.) and ordinary people, allowing everyone to use their access points to the World Wide Web completely free of charge. Moreover, there is a clear trend towards the growth of this kind of altruism around the world.

And if it continues, then the time is not far off when the territories of many cities, and then countries, will be completely covered with free Wi-Fi Internet. Jerusalem has already become a pioneer in this regard - the first city on the planet whose residents and guests can connect to the Internet for free using Wi-Fi devices.

Advantages and disadvantages of wi fi

It is impossible to give a definite answer to the question of whether to choose Wi-Fi or connect to the Internet using a cable. This depends not only on the devices, but also on what requirements the user puts forward.

Wi-Fi has the following advantages:

• Does not require cable laying.
• Ability to connect various mobile devices to the home Internet.
• The user becomes more mobile because he is not limited by the length of the cable. Access to the network is possible from any access point located in the coverage area.
• The ability to connect several users to the Internet at once within the coverage area.
• Full compatibility with each other of all network equipment certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance.
• Possibility to expand the coverage area if necessary.

The disadvantages of Wi-Fi include:

• Most routers operate exclusively at 2.4 GHz. Since this frequency is used to operate mobile gadgets, microwaves, Bluetooth and other routers, they can create interference by blocking signals coming from each other. Modern routers operate at different frequencies, which minimizes interference.
• The actual speed in most cases is lower than that stated by the manufacturer or the speed of the cable connection. This is explained by the fact that the speed of wireless Internet depends on many different factors.
• There are no difficulties connecting to Wi-Fi, even with password protection. It’s okay if some person uses someone else’s access point just to access the Internet for free. However, there are also hackers who hack the network in pursuit of their criminal goals. This mainly concerns Wi-Fi networks in public places.
• There are states in which restrictions on wireless access points are established at the legislative level. In the Russian Federation, Wi-Fi operating outside the premises must undergo a registration procedure.