WI-FI: A REMARKABLE INNOVATION JOURNEY
What are the policy lessons from an industry success story?
In this contribution we discuss the genesis and development of Wi-Fi as a combined result of (1) a change in the US communications radio spectrum policy in the 1980s, (2) the industry leadership provided by NCR, its corporate successors and collaborators, to create a global standard and to deliver compatible products under the Wi-Fi label, and (3) the influence of the users that moved the application of Wireless-LANs from the enterprise to the home, from indoor to outdoor use, from a communications product to a communications service, and from operators to end-users as the provider of that service. In concluding, we assess the implications of this case for the formation of government policy.
- Intermedia Issue:
- Vol 37, Issue 1
- Issue Date:
- March 2009
- Theme:
- Infrastructure and Spectrum: 5G and next generation networks
