Wi-Fi

Wireless networking existed long before Wi-Fi. IBM's Token Ring and early proprietary systems connected devices without cables in the 1980s, but each manufacturer's equipment spoke a different protocol. Hotels installed one vendor's system; offices another; they couldn't interoperate. The adjacent possible for ubiquitous wireless connectivity required not just technical capability but standardization—a common language for radio-based networking.

The IEEE 802.11 working group began drafting a standard in 1990, but progress was painfully slow. Technical debates consumed years. When the first 802.11 standard finally arrived in 1997, it offered a modest 2 Mbps—slower than wired Ethernet and requiring expensive equipment. The standard existed, but consumer adoption seemed distant. Then NCR Corporation and AT&T (later Lucent) developed WaveLAN products that could actually work in real-world conditions. Vic Hayes, who chaired the 802.11 working group from 1990 to 2002, became known as the 'father of Wi-Fi' for shepherding the standard through its contentious development.

The breakthrough came from marketing as much as engineering. In 1999, the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (later the Wi-Fi Alliance) formed to certify interoperability between manufacturers. They coined 'Wi-Fi'—a catchy name that meant nothing but sounded like 'hi-fi.' The same year, 802.11b arrived, offering 11 Mbps at the 2.4 GHz band—fast enough for web browsing and cheap enough for consumer hardware. Apple's iBook became the first mainstream laptop with built-in Wi-Fi, and the AirPort base station brought wireless networking to homes.

The cascade was exponential. Coffee shops installed hotspots to attract customers. Hotels added Wi-Fi to room amenities. By 2003, Intel's Centrino platform integrated Wi-Fi into laptop chipsets, eliminating the need for external cards. Subsequent standards—802.11g, n, ac, ax (Wi-Fi 6)—pushed speeds higher while maintaining backward compatibility. The 5 GHz band added capacity; MIMO antennas improved range; mesh networks extended coverage throughout buildings.

Wi-Fi's success exemplifies network effects and path-dependence. Early adoption created incentives for device manufacturers to include Wi-Fi radios; more devices made installing access points more valuable; more access points drove more device adoption. By 2025, over 20 billion Wi-Fi devices were in use worldwide. The technology had become so ubiquitous that its absence—a dead zone, a hotel without free Wi-Fi—felt like infrastructure failure. What began as a way to avoid Ethernet cables had become essential utility, as expected as electricity or running water.