Wireless networking has evolved into an essential element of our daily existence, with Wi-Fi technology embedded in a vast range of devices, including smartphones, laptops, and smartwatches, allowing internet access in nearly every location. The emergence of Wi-Fi signifies an extraordinary technological advancement in recent years.
Curiously, Australia asserts that it invented Wi-Fi, a claim that could lead to substantial financial benefits. However, a deeper inquiry uncovers a more intricate scenario.
Australia’s association with Wi-Fi can be traced to the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), a national institution that partook in extensive investigations, encompassing wireless networking technologies throughout the 1990s. The CSIRO takes pride in asserting that it is the entity that “Brought WiFi to the world,” a statement frequently celebrated within the nation.
Nevertheless, the narrative of Wi-Fi is multifaceted. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) established a working group for 802.11, which led to the public unveiling of the 802.11-1997 standard in 1997. Over the 1980s and 1990s, various organizations, including the CSIRO, were developing wireless networking technologies; however, the CSIRO did not participate in the creation of 802.11, which originated from NCR Corporation/AT&T in the Netherlands in 1991.
The original 802.11-1997 standard, proposed by Lucent and NTT, operated at 2.4GHz, achieving a maximum bitrate of 2 MBit/s while employing frequency-hopping or direct-sequence spread spectrum technology. Over time, this standard advanced into the faster 802.11b in 1999, which functioned at 11 Mbit/s. The subsequent 802.11a standard utilized a 5GHz frequency and employed a modulation approach based on orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM).
The CSIRO’s contribution emerged from its proprietary research in wireless networking. They submitted patents in 1993 and 1996 for a Wireless LAN using multicarrier modulation to mitigate multipath interference in indoor conditions. However, these patents focused on operations at frequencies exceeding 10 GHz, which significantly differed from standard IEEE Wi-Fi specifications. Although the CSIRO pursued collaborations, which included the startup Radiata, later acquired by Cisco, its technology did not gain widespread acceptance.
Steve Jobs demonstrated wireless networking on a well-known laptop in 1999 without acknowledging the contributions of the CSIRO. As a result of the disparities in frequency and methodology between the CSIRO’s patents and contemporary Wi-Fi technologies, their true impact on Wi-Fi’s inception remains a matter of contention. While the CSIRO contends it played a pivotal role in the development of Wi-Fi, it did not technically create the technology itself. The organization possessed patents for wireless LAN technology and maintained that its methods formed the foundation of Wi-Fi standards, which led to demands for remuneration from numerous companies, culminating in substantial settlements. Despite these legal conflicts, there continues to be disagreement about the originality of the CSIRO’s techniques in relation to existing modulation approaches.
While the CSIRO patented several wireless networking technologies, it did not develop Wi-Fi as is widely believed. The organization stated on its website that it invented Wireless LAN, not Wi-Fi. Nevertheless, the media keeps misrepresenting the CSIRO’s contributions to the evolution of Wi-Fi. The ongoing discourse regarding patent rights and compensation for standards the organization did not directly impact is expected to persist. The misconceptions surrounding the CSIRO’s involvement in Wi-Fi development will likely continue until a definitive historical record is made public.
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