In 1999 several technology companies formed the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA). On 30 September 1999, the 802.11b wireless LAN standard became available in commercial products.
This moment is considered as the beginning of wireless networks known today as WiFi.
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the inception of WiFi, Cisco outlines 20 significant dates and facts related to the evolution of WiFi and Cisco’s involvement in the technology:
* 1971: Early beginnings of WiFi: A network system called ALOHAnet is created at the University of Hawaii, which lays the foundation for further development of wireless communication and later also the emergence of WiFi networks.
* 1997: 802.11 arrives: The first version of the 802.11 standard is introduced, allowing speeds of up to 2Mbps.
* 1999: WECA is born: Half a dozen technology companies, including Aironet, which was later acquired by Cisco, form the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA). In 2002 WECA changed its name to WiFi Alliance.
* 1999: 802.11b – first ‘WiFi’ standard: Announcement of the 802.11b standard, the first standard to emerge under the name ‘WiFi’. Superior in speed and usability to 802.11, the release of 802.11b is considered by many to mark the true beginning of the WiFi revolution.
* 1999/2000: First commercial 802.11b devices start to appear: “WiFi” is designed-in and starts to appear in commercial devices, including popular laptops. From then on, your computer could travel with you. WiFi starts to gain significant commercial traction.
* 2002: Cisco pushes the industry forward: The Cisco Compatible eXtensions free license program is launched, allowing WiFi products offered by other vendors to work with Cisco wireless networks while maintaining a high level of security.
* 2004: WiFi reaches for the sky: First commercial flight offering passengers WiFi access.
* 2005: WiFi becomes the latest word: “WiFi” is added to the Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary.
* 2009: 802.11n revolutionises the industry: The new 802.11n (WiFi 4) standard is introduced. 802.11n allowed transmission speeds to be increased with MIMO technology, which allowed more antennas to create more data streams. The maximum transfer rate multiplied almost nine times (54 Mbps versus 450 Mbps).
* 2010: Cisco adds new technology: Cisco CleanAir technology is introduced in the Aironet 3500 Access Point series, allowing automatic identification of interference and directing users to other, less crowded, channels.
* 2011: Hotspots are a hot trend: Number of WiFi hotspots exceeds 1-million globally.
* 2012: WiFi in the home: A quarter of all households in the world are connected to WiFi.
* 2013: 802.11ac brings even greater speeds: 802.11ac standard is introduced, reaching over 1Gbps.
* 2015: WiFi a part of life: An IDC study finds that WiFi is the second most important thing people do not want to live without. 18% of respondents even ranked it first. Only food with 30% was placed above. For example, sex (10%), television (8%) and alcohol (4%) were behind WiFi.
* 2018: Wi-Fi as a major economic driver: Global economic value of WiFi technology reaches $2-trillion.
* 2018: 13 billion WiFi devices: Penetration reaches about 13 billion WiFi devices worldwide. This means almost two WiFi devices per person on the planet.
* 2019: WiFi 6 arrives: WiFi 6 is introduced, reaching speeds of up to 5Gbps. Technology is built on the same foundation as 5G networks, with the two technologies considered complementary. WiFi 6 is also easier on connected devices’ batteries and provides an overall more predictable user experience. Cisco announces the Cisco OpenRoaming project, aimed to make it easier to seamlessly and securely hop between WiFi and LTE networks and onboard public WiFi.
* 2021: Further growth predicted in hotspots: According to Cisco estimates, the number of global hotspots will exceed 500-million. This will be 500 times more than 10 years before.
* 2022: Average speeds continue to grow: It is predicted that by this year the average global WiFi connection speed will be 54,2Mbps, compared to 24,4Mbps in 2017.
* 2022: WiFi will be the driver of the Future Internet: By this point, WiFi will be the dominant source of Internet access. Cisco’s VNI study predicts that up to 59% of Internet traffic will flow through it.
“Today WiFi is one of the fastest growing networking technologies,” says says Garsen Naidoo, country manager of Cisco South Africa. “As a result, the Internet is now available in a much wider variety of places, often where it was previously impractical, offering a new level of mobility, convenience and productivity.
“WiFi networks have transformed the way we live, work, learn and play. Whether you use WiFi to connect to social networks, watch videos, play, work, or digitize your business, the new generation of WiFi 6, alongside 5G networks, will open up a whole world of new opportunities.”