First, let's take a look at the history of the 802.11 standards (radio frequency) used for broadcasting a WiFi signal. Secondly, we have to look at the electronic equipment involved in sending and receiving a WiFi signal. Not surprisingly, there are many patents connected with WiFi technology, though one important patent stands out.
Vic Hayes has been called the "father of Wi-Fi" because he chaired the IEEE committee that created the 802.11 standards in 1997. Before the public even heard of WiFi, Hayes established the standards that would make WiFi feasible. The 802.11 standard was established in 1997. Subsequently, improvements to the network bandwidth were added to the 802.11 standards. These include 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n and more. That's what the appended letters represent. As a consumer, the most important thing you should know is that the latest version is the best version in terms of performance and is the version you would want all your new equipment to be compatible with.
Who Owns the WLAN Patent?
One key patent for WiFi technology that has won patent litigation lawsuits and does deserve recognition belongs to the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) of Australia.
CSIRO invented a chip that greatly improved the signal quality of WiFi.
According to the tech news site PHYSORG, "The invention came out of CSIRO's pioneering work (during the 1990s) in radio astronomy, with a team of its scientists (led by Dr. John O'Sullivan) cracking the problem of radio waves bouncing off surfaces indoors, causing an echo that distorts the signal. They overcame it by building a fast chip that could transmit a signal while reducing the echo, beating many of the major communications companies around the world that were trying to solve the same issue."
CSIRO credits the following inventors for creating this technology: Dr. John O’Sullivan, Dr. Terry Percival, Mr. Diet Ostry, Mr. Graham Daniels and Mr. John Deane.
