By most accounts, Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) first began in 1971 when a wireless computer network was implemented (dubbed the AlohaNet) at the University of Hawaii. In 1990 AT&T, developed WaveLAN, a Direct Sequence Spread-Spectrum (DSSS) that exhibited superior interference immunity. After many versions of designs using discrete components, in 1996, Harris (now Intersil) introduced their PRISM WLAN chipset. Needing a standard to guarantee interoperability, in 1997, the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers published the first specification for IEEE 802.11 - 2.4 GHz, 2 Mbps, using Frequency Hopping (FH) and DSSS. In 1998, the ETSI HomeRF standard was developed for 2.4 GHz, 1.6 Mbps, Wideband Frequency Hopping. 1999 saw the publication of the IEEE 802.11b standard - 2.4 GHz, 11 Mbps, DSSS. With the unlicensed 2.4 GHz ISM band being crowded with existing WLAN, Bluetooth, ZigBee and microwave ovens, and with a need for higher data rates, in 1999 the IEEE released its 802.11a standard, which moved up into the 5 GHz ISM band, and provided 54 Mbps, OFDM data. In 2000, the ETSI HiperLAN2 emerged - 5 GHz, 54 Mbps, OFDM, connection-oriented QoS. Alas, the difficulty with mass-producing high yielding, inexpensive systems at 5 GHz forced, combined with revolutionary modulation methods, drove the IEEE in 2003 to provide a new high data rate “g” spec for operation back in the 2.4 GHz band, but offering the same data rate as the “a” spec 802.11g - 2.4 GHz, 54 Mbps, OFDM, compatible with 802.11b. Now, 802.11n is in the works for 2.4 GHz operation yielding greater than 100 MHz data rates.

WLAN Spectral Masks (802.11a/b/g)
Wireless LAN (WLAN) Resources

AirDefense, Inc 877-220-8301 / Alpharetta, GA Provides protection for all protocols (802.11 a/b/g and Bluetooth), and enterprises and their mobile users. As a key element of wireless LAN security, AirDefense complements wireless VPNs, encryption and authentication. www.airdefense.net ANADIGICS 908-791-6000 / Warren, NJ WiMAX 802.16 power amplifiers, WLAN 802.11 front-end integrated circuits, WLAN 802.11 power amplifiers. www.anadigics.com/products/group.jsp?id=4 Berkeley Varitronics Systems, Inc 732-548-3737 / Metuchen, NJ Specializing in CDMA, WISP and WLAN solutions as well as CW and TDMA used for drive-studies, antenna alignment, wardriving, survey sweeping, indoor & outdoor walk-about RF studies. www.bvsystems.com Broadcom Corp 949-926-5000 / Irvine, CA Manufacturer of semiconductors for wired and wireless communications including Bluetooth, cable, cellular, consumer electronics, data/telecom networks, DSL, enterprise networking, mobile multimedia, satellite, voice over IP (VoIP), and wireless LAN. www.broadcom.com Cisco Systems 800-553-6387 / San Jose, CA Mobile wireless, wireless integrated switches and routers, wireless IP telephony, LAN Access, LAN controllers, network management, security servers. www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/wireless CWNP Program 770-433-9339 / Smyrna, GA CWNP is the industry standard for vendor neutral, enterprise wireless LAN certifications, offering four levels of enterprise WLAN certification, from novice to expert. Our focus is to educate IT professionals in the technology behind all enterprise WLAN products, enabling the ability for these professionals to enter an enterprise and manage its wireless LAN infrastructure regardless of the vendor solution utilized. www.cwnp.com/community Linuxant Bringing the very latest Wireless LAN technology to the Linux community. www.linuxant.com/driverloader Meetinghouse 603-430-7710 / Portsmouth, NH 802.1X and WPA solutions from Meetinghouse help organizations secure their wired and wireless LANs with interoperable Layer 2 standards-based software. www.mtghouse.com/index_home.asp Orban Microwave (OMP) 915-590-0825 / El Paso, TX Frequency converters, power amplifiers, low noise amplifiers, local oscillators, patch antennas, parabolic antennas & antenna arrays for WLAN, GPS, cellular, point to point, satellite and other applications. www.orbanmicrowave.com Proxim Corp 800-229-1630 / Sunnyvale, CA Wireless networking equipment for Wi-Fi & broadband wireless networks, provides enterprise & service provider customers with wireless solutions for the mobile enterprise, security and surveillance, last mile access, voice and data backhaul, public hot spots, and metropolitan area networks. www.proxim.com Sagrad 800-779-7139 / West Melbourne, FL Wireless audio, 802.11, IC design, WiFi modules, prototype builds, engineering services. Sagrad is actively seeking contracts with the U.S. government and employs only US citizens. www.sagrad.com

Telnova Technology 0086-755-26947077 / Shenzhen City, China Product lines servicing the WLAN, CDMA, WCDMA, TD-SCDMA, and GSM bands. Custom solutions available on request. Active Products: Power amplifiers, selected frequency components, transceiver modules. Passive Products: Filters, combiners, diplexers, power splitters/dividers, couplers, bridges. Consumer Electronics: IP camera, digital cameras, iPod accessories. telnova.cn Ubiquiti Networks 408-942-3085 / Milpitas, CA Broadband wireless solutions for WISP, WiFi, WLAN, and other applications in the 900 MHz and 2.4/5 GHz ISM bands. Base stations, PC cards, embedded systems (plug-in cards), AirView™ spectrum analyzers, Bullet™ antenna-mounted transponders. www.ubnt.com VisiWave 269-806-9056 / Kalamazoo, MI Specializing in wireless networking and Internet applications including the VisiWave Site Survey product - lets you visualize the radio waves and demonstrate the effectiveness of your coverage. www.visiwave.com Wireless LAN resources for Linux Linux Wireless LAN Howtos, wireless LAN drivers web pages, wireless Linux software on the Internet, security software for your wireless LAN, public wireless Linux networks, wireless LAN hardware (surveys and reviews). www.hpl.hp.com/personal/Jean_Tourrilhes/Linux Wireless LAN Shop Germany WLAN products. www.wirelesslan-shop.de Wireless Projects +353 1 878 3377 / Ireland At Wireless Projects our goal is to bring wireless technologies to the residential and business user. Whether you already have a WLAN installed or are considering installing one, Wireless Projects will help you get the best out of your wireless investment. www.wirelessprojects.ie