What is Wi-Fi and Who Invented It?

Publication date: 08 Nov 2024

Do you have Wi-Fi? Perhaps one of the most common questions heard today in modern society. The use of Wi-Fi is now a necessity without which the user cannot imagine his comfortable stay in public places, at home, at work and even on an airplane. Easy connection, fast distribution and Internet access is a great way to be always connected, control advertising campaigns and direct gambling and betting traffic in any circumstances.   But we’re so used to being “always connected” that we rarely think about where it all started.  And it’s a very interesting story! On 3S.INFO we look at how and when this technology appeared!

How Wi-Fi appeared: A Hollywood-style invention

The history of Wi-Fi (and Bluetooth) looks like a script from a Hollywood movie. And its main star is the actress, Hedy Lamarr.

Her birth name was Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler. Like all girls from respectable families, she received a classical education: music, dance, languages.  But only mathematics was her passion.  At 16, the girl ran away from home and starred in “Ecstasy,” one of the most scandalous movies of the time.  After the scandal broke, her parents gave 19-year-old Hedwig to a millionaire Fritz Mandl, who owned military factories and was engaged in the development of weapons systems. For 4 years, the beautiful wife together with Fritz visits the factory and all work meetings.  The workers are not afraid to tell the young actress all their work secrets, and Hedwig herself begins to listen to them out of boredom. One of the questions is how to create and control torpedoes, and the main problem is the inability to use the classic radio signal.

In the summer of 1937, Hedwig Mandl makes her second escape and leaves for New York on the ship “Normandy”.  On the way she signs a contract for the movie and becomes Hedy Lamarr.  The actress becomes one of the most famous Hollywood stars and earns more than 30 million dollars during her career.

As World War II begins, Hedy approaches the U.S. National Inventors Council with her desire to help. She really does help, but in a different way: for every $25,000 invested in government bonds, you could get a kiss from Hedy Lamarr herself! By the way, this way the actress collected to help the front of 7 million dollars!

However, the actress has something else in mind. Civilian and military ships are killed every day by fascists at sea, and the use of torpedoes to destroy the enemy is ineffective.  In fact, the direct radio signal is still used to control the torpedoes, which means that they can easily be intercepted (and the ship taken away in time). In the end, Hedy arrives at the most important conclusion, which ultimately lies in the idea of the whole technology. The radio signal must vary over a wide range, while the receiver and transmitter must be synchronized.

Since 1940, Hedy and the composer George Antheil had been working on their idea, which was greatly helped by the “4 hands” on the piano.  The number of keys was based on a system of 88 radio frequencies (it was difficult for an opponent to suppress so many frequencies at once, which increased the time for this task). The idea was not immediately accepted, although it was patented.

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This is where the Hollywood story of Wi-Fi creation ends and the purely technical story begins. It all started in 1957, when the Caribbean crisis was in full swing. Then scientists of the company “Sylvania” decided to replace mechanical elements with semiconductors. After the successful implementation of the new technology, an invention called broadband signal was born. In the 1980s, the U.S. government released a certain number of patents in this industry, which became available to the people. After that, many scientists set out to modernize this knowledge. Only John O’Sullivan, an Australian scientist from the CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization), managed to make a breakthrough in this direction. Together with his team, they developed an important theoretical framework that solved the problem of information protection. In 1992, they were awarded a patent for a technology based on the dynamic spectrum principle. As a result, data could be exchanged over long distances without the use of cables.

As a result, they were able to create a device that allows a certain number of wireless connections to work simultaneously. They are in the same field but do not interfere with each other. This technology was the basis for CDMA radiotelephony and later for GSM, GPS, Bluetooth and the modern Wi-Fi system. The first system was created in the same lab in 1998. And in 2009 the world got acquainted with the first standard of wireless network designation – IEEE 802.11 (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers – the institute where all standards of computer systems are developed).

It is also worth noting that the work of Hedy Lamarr and John O’Sullivan has not gone unrecognized. In 1997 they received the Innovation Award of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Where did the name Wi-Fi come from?

The original term “IEEE 802.11” seemed too complicated to scientists for mass consumers. Therefore, it was decided to find an alternative name that would conquer the world market.

Wi-Fi is an abbreviation of “Wireless Fidelity”, which has nothing to do with the technical component of the product. The name “Wi-Fi” itself is just a brand name. It was invented in 1999 by Interbrand marketers on behalf of the Wi-Fi Alliance (responsible for certifying all devices that operate according to the IEEE 802.11 model). The name was based on the most important criteria – it should be easy to reproduce, quick to remember, and always in your ear. There is a theory that marketers were inspired by the abbreviation “Hi-Fi,” which means “high fidelity” and has its roots in the field of acoustics and quality sound reproduction. In addition, Interbrand designed and created the Wi-Fi logo (icon), which has been familiar to us for a long time.

Holidays about Wi-Fi

International Wi-Fi Day is celebrated every year on June 20.  This day was created to draw attention to the digital divide that exists and to take early steps to address it.

When is World Day Without Wi-Fi?

World Day Without Wi-Fi is celebrated on November 8th.  In 2016, a group of activists from the Alliance of Environmentalists International (FAI) initiated the annual celebration of this date. Initially, they wanted to draw attention to the unexplored impact of wireless networks on human health and their potential dangers.

• The World Health Organization (WHO) allayed all fears, stating that this form of Internet use is completely safe for humans.

Today, World Day Without Wi-Fi is an unofficial holiday that reminds people of the importance and necessity of taking a break from the Internet and being online all the time.

Currently, developers and engineers continue to improve the system and existing Wi-Fi devices to make them even faster, more secure, more stable, and more energy efficient. All updates are aimed at meeting the current needs of users, large and small businesses, and the requirements of modern technology.