Wi-Fi history

There are only two ways to avoid wires – to transmit information by infrared ray or by radio channel. Unfortunately, first way does not provide mobility – it “works” only in conditions of direct visibility of transmitter and reciever of information. Thus, only radio channel remains and in the middle of the 1990s the correspondent technology was researched and implemented – generally in local networks of big corporations and companies of Silicone Valley of the USA.
Connection with mobile subscriber (usually it was a worker of a company, equipped with a notebook with wireless network adaptor) was organized through “points of access”, switched to cable infrastructure of a company. For all this within radius of action of every such point (few dozens meters) there could be up to 20 subscribers, using network resources simulteneously.
Initially term 'Wi-Fi' was used only for designation of technology, providing connection in a range 2,4 GHz and working according to standard IEEE 802.11b (speed of information transmission – up to 11 Mbit/sec). But nowadays this term is more and more often used conformably to other technologies of wireless local networks. The most significant among them are defined by standards IEEE 802.11a and 802.11g (transmission speed – up to 54 Mbit/sec, frequency ranges, correspondently, 5 GHz и 2,4 GHz).
Prospective is a family of standards IEEE 802.16 being developed at present time (standard 802.16a was already accepted), providing data transmission at speed not lower then 70 Mbit/sec.
Maximal speed of data transmission, provided by this technology, initially came up to 1 Mbit/sec, and by the end had grown up to  11 Mbit/sec. Parallel to speed growth equipment for wireless connection was getting cheaper. As the result private person could afford it and by the end of the 1990s territory of big cities of the USA and Europe had started to be covered with zones, being inside of which it was possible to enter Internet free of charge using notebook with wireless adaptor. Such zones recieved a slang name “hot spot”.
Of course, to use hot-spot services it was necessary to know “the name” of appropriate wireless network, but it also could be defined by ordinary traffic “listening”. Enthusiasts of new technology use in the nothern part of London had started marking “hot-spots” with chalks, having worked out their system of signs.
Commercial attractiveness of such hot-spots showed up very soon and they were started to be organized in airports, hotels, restaurants. At the same time technologies of traffic enciphering in wireless networks and authorization systems which let “close” hot-spot from access of “alien” users appeared. Such link of wireless data transmission with its protection was called Wi-Fi. As the result, wireless office has become mobile, meeting needs of up-to-date person in “place changing” and businessmen could use Internet services while traveling and work in a hotel just like in their office.