rking Development of Wireless Networking Although the origins of radio frequency based wireless networking can be traced back to the University of Hawaii's ALOHANET research project in the 1970s, the key events that led to wireless networking becoming one of the fastest growing technologies of the early 21st century have been the ratification of the IEEE 802.11 standard in 1997, and the subsequent development of interoperability certification by the Wi-Fi Alliance (formerly WECA). From the 1970s through the early 1990s, the growing demand for wireless connectivity could only be met by a narrow range of expensive hardware, based on proprietary technologies, which offered no interoperability of equipment from different manufacturers, no security mechanisms and poor performance compared to the then standard 10 Mbps wired Ethernet. The 802.11 standard stands as a major milestone in the development of wireless networking, and the starting point for a strong and recognisable brand - Wi-Fi. This provides a focus for the work of equipment developers and service providers and is as much a contributor to the growth of wireless networking as the power of the underlying technologies. While the various Wi-Fi variants that have emerged from the original 802.11 standard have grabbed most of the headlines in the last decade, other wireless networking technologies have followed a similar timeline, with the first IrDA specification being published in 1994, the same year Chapter One 802.11n WUSB (Optional) WUSB (Mandatory) 802.16 (10-66 GHz) 802.16d 802.11g WiMax IrDA VFIR 802.11b WCDMA (3.5G) Bluetooth Bluetooth Bluetooth Class 1 Class 2 Class 3 IrDA SIR Zigbee Range (meters) Figure 1-1: Wireless Networking Landscape (rate vs. range) that Ericsson started research on connectivity between mobile phones and accessories that led to the adoption of Bluetooth by the IEEE 802.15.1 Working Group in 1999. During this period of rapid development, the variety of wireless networking technologies has expanded to fill the full range of require