A Brief History of WLANs

The value proposition of a network is that it ties together different entities and enables exchange of information. The network's value is also directly related to its size. The more entities that are connected and partake in the network, the higher the impact of the network is. For exchange and scaling to occur in a relevant and orderly manner, the connected entities must use the same language. As such, standards form an integral component of networks because they enforce order in a potentially very chaotic world.

A good understanding of the differences between WLAN standards requires some background in Internet standards as a whole. The Internet is the largest and most extensive network known today. Even though the Internet does not have an owner in the strict sense of the word, organizations do exist that govern standards for protocols, addressing, routing, and so on to ensure interoperability and the capability of end-to-end information exchange.

One of these organizationsand probably the best knownis the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). This independent group of individuals, backed by companies, administers standards for a myriad of technologies. For the sake of manageability, technology domains are broken into major family groups to delimit and facilitate the process of the standards' development by special-purpose working groups. A sample of technology domains and working groups is listed in Table 1-1.

Table 1-1. Sample of IEEE Working Groups

Technology Domain	Working Group
Broadcast Technology	Video Compression (Digital) Measurement (P1486)
	Video Distribution and Processing (P205)
Components and Materials	Organic and Molecular Transistors and Materials (P1620)
	Nanotechnology (P1650)
Information Technology	Learning Technology (P1484)
	Delay and Power Calculation (P1481)
	Floating-Point Arithmetic (P754)
	LAN/MAN (P802)
	Public-Key Cryptography (P1363)
	Software Engineering Standards
	Standard Test Interface Language (P1450)
	Storage Systems (P1244, P1563)
Power Electronics	Electronic Power Subsystems (P1515)
	Power Electronics Module Interface (P1461)

A widely known group in the internetworking community is the IEEE 802 working group for LAN/MAN technologies (P802). The P802 sets the standards for physical and data link layer protocols that are used on the Internet. Some well-known standards established by this group include 802.2 (LLC), 802.3 (Ethernet), and 802.5 (Token Ring). WLANs are covered in the 802.11 standard. As such, it is common to use the terms 802.11 and WLAN interchangeably when discussing the technology.

WLANs themselves date back to 1990 when the IEEE 802.11 working group first formed the standard. The standard eventually became ratified in 1997 and specified a communications rate of 1 or 2 Mbps. As this soon proved to offer insufficient throughput, 1999 saw the birth of a next-generation protocol that addressed this limitation. This led to the 802.11b standard, which defines throughput speeds of up to 11 Mbps.

Ever-increasing demand for throughput prompted the IEEE to extend the 802.11 family even further. In 1999, the IEEE ratified the 802.11a protocol, which provides up to 54 Mbps of throughput. Most recently, the 802.11g protocol, which also provides up to 54 Mbps of throughput, was ratified in 2003. As technology continues to mature and evolve, the process of setting new standards for WLANs remains an ongoing effort. Today, standards are being developed for WLANspecific components that cover security, global compliance, and efficiency.

As WLAN devices began to proliferate in the open market, potential interoperability problems arose. A group of companies formed the Wi-Fi Alliance in 1999 (originally called the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance [WECA]) to mitigate the risk of losing momentum on WLAN adoption because of these interoperability issues. This loose body of manufacturers brought together major industry players to form a collective standard while working in parallel to the IEEE. The Alliance's main charter was to define strict interoperability standards. This would enhance the user experience by guaranteeing the capability for WLAN devices to work together in a plug-and-play fashion.

Since the late 1990s, WLANs have become one of the leading mobility technologies, with cellular phone technologies being another. The ability to have access to digital information anytime and anywhere is acting as the catalyst for the highly accelerated adoption of WLAN mobility technology. The growth trend of WLANs' install-base is expected to continue well into the first decade of the twenty-first century with market research firms projecting double-digit compounded annual growth rates (CAGRs). Innovative and creative ways of leveraging WLAN mobility technology in both the business and personal arena will fuel continued advancements not only from a technology perspective, but also from an application and solution viewpoint. Mobility solutions and WLANs are here to stay.