Computer Science (SC15) KMPH 16/17
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Wi-Fi
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Computer Science (SC15) KMPH 16/17
Contents
What is WI-FI?....................................................................................................... 3
Wikipedia.................................................................................................................. 3
History..................................................................................................................... 5
Wi-Fi Founders:...................................................................................................... 7
What is a Home Router?......................................................................................... 15
HOTSPOTS?.................................................................................................. 17
Bibliography............................................................................................................... 22
Index......................................................................................................................... 23
Equation Editor........................................................................................................... 25
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WI-FI
What is WI-FI?
"Wireless Fidelity, wireless internet"
A facility allowing computers, smartphones, or other devices to connect to the Internet or
communicate with one another wirelessly within a particular area.
Wikipedia
IFI is a technology that allows electronic devices to connect to a wireless LAN (WLAN) network,
mainly using the 2.4 gigahertz (12 cm) UHF and 5 gigahertz (6 cm) SHF ISM radio bands. A
WLAN is usually password protected, but may be open, which allows any device within its range
to access the resources of the WLAN network.
The Wi-Fi Alliance defines Wi-Fi as any "wireless local area network" (WLAN) product based on
the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' (IEEE) 802.11 standards. However, the term
"Wi-Fi" is used in general English as a synonym for "WLAN" since most modern WLANs are
based on these standards. "Wi-Fi" is a trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance. The "Wi-Fi Certified"
trademark can only be used by Wi-Fi products that successfully complete Wi-Fi
Alliance interoperability certification testing.
Devices which can use Wi-Fi technology include personal computers, video-game
consoles, smartphones, digital cameras, tablet computers digital audio players and modern
printers. Wi-Fi compatible devices can connect to the Internet via a WLAN network and
a wireless access point.
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Such an access point (or hotspot) has a range of about 20 meters (66 feet) indoors and a
greater range outdoors. Hotspot coverage can be as small as a single room with walls that block
radio waves, or as large as many square kilometers achieved by using multiple overlapping
access points.
Wi-Fi is less secure than wired connections, such as Ethernet, precisely because an intruder
does not need a physical connection. Web pages that use TLS are secure, but unencrypted
Internet access can easily be detected by intruders. Because of this, Wi-Fi has adopted
various encryption technologies. The early encryption WEP proved easy to break.
Higher quality protocols (WPA, WPA2) were added later. An optional feature added in 2007,
called Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS), and had a serious flaw that allowed an attacker to recover
the router's password. The Wi-Fi Alliance has since updated its test plan and certification
program to ensure all newly certified devices resist attacks.
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History
In 1971, ALOHA net connected the Hawaiian Islands with a UHF wireless packet
network. ALOHA net and the ALOHA protocol were early forerunners to Ethernet, and
later the IEEE 802.11 protocols, respectively.
A 1985 ruling by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission released the ISM
band for unlicensed use. These frequency bands are the same ones used by equipment
such as microwave ovens and are subject to interference.
In 1991, NCR Corporation with AT&T Corporation invented the precursor to 802.11,
intended for use in cashier systems. The first wireless products were under the name
Wave LAN.
The Australian radio-astronomer Dr. John O'Sullivan 1with his colleagues Dr. Terrence
Percival AM, Mr. Graham Daniels, Mr Diet Ostry2, Mr. John Deane developed a key
patent used in Wi-Fi as a by-product of a Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial
Research Organization (CSIRO) research project, "a failed experiment to detect
exploding mini black holes the size of an atomic particle". In 1992 and 1996, CSIRO3
obtained patents for a method later used in Wi-Fi to "unsmear" the signal.
1 Is an Australian electrical engineer that made wireless LAN fast and reliable.
2 Is a physicist with a specialist interest and expertise in optical networks and wireless sensor technology.
3 The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is the federal government agency for
scientific research in Australia
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The first version of the 802.11 protocol was released in 1997, and provided up to
2 Mbit/s link speeds. This was updated in 1999 with 802.11b to permit 11 Mbit/s link
speeds, and this proved to be popular.
In 1999, the Wi-Fi Alliance formed as a trade association to hold the Wi-Fi trademark
under which most products are sold.
Wi-Fi uses a large number of patents held by many different organizations. In April 2009,
14 technology companies agreed to pay CSIRO $250 million for infringements on
CSIRO patents. This led to Australians labeling Wi-Fi as a Canberra invention though
this has been the subject of some controversy.
CSIRO won a further $220 million settlement for Wi-Fi patent-infringements in 2012 with
global firms in the United States required to pay the CSIRO licensing rights estimated to
be worth an additional $1 billion in royalties.
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So Who Invented Wi-Fi?
Wi-Fi Founders:
Figure 3: John Deane
Figure 1: Diethelm
Figure
Ostry
4: TerenceFigure
Percival
2: John O'Sullivan
Figure 5: Graham Daniels
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Figure 6: Wi-Fi Alliance
Figure 7: Symbol of Wi-Fi
connected
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THE PEOPLE BEHIND A WI-FI
COMMUNITY
The creation of Wi-Fi communities needs leaders. There must be one or more persons
who are willing to take the lead. As found in this research the lead users take this task
upon them. They are driven by a strong need for communication which can be fulfilled by
creating Wi-Fi community networks.
Therefore they decide to engage in Wi-Fi community networking and establish a
network. What characterizes these founders is a very strong commitment to achieving a
goal that they define at the beginning. They obtain enough energy from this goal to
continue their undertakings during difficult moments. And these moments occur very
often in the beginning.
They are people driven by a strong intrinsic motivation to set up a Wi-Fi network that
meets their needs. They can have different underlying motives to do so. Some of them
may focus on the opportunities offered by Wi-Fi technology. Others see a higher
purpose for Wi-Fi networks, and are more driven by strong ideological reasons, such as
free networking.
Also very important for community success is that the lead users are capable of
convincing others to join the initiative who have the necessary knowledge and skills that
founders themselves do not possess. These are often people, who similar to the lead
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users, are driven by technical or ideological motives. Important in the initial phase of the
initiative is the involvement of the techies.
These are generally very creative members who know a lot of Wi-Fi technology. Without
their knowledge of technology (hardware, software), it is impossible to lay the foundation
for a network. Furthermore the input of the idealists is very essential.
They provide their contacts, organizational strength and long-term thinking to the
initiative and keep it moving in the right direction. Ultimately, the resident users are of
vital importance for the success of a Wi-Fi network.
Because of their size, this user group is of great importance for the sustainable growth
of a Wi-Fi initiative. Next to the techies4 the resident users can also assume part of the
maintenance work to provide for a sustainable Wi-Fi network. One must therefore do
everything to make the initiative as interesting and accessible to the ordinary user as
possible.
External funding can play an important role in the success of a Wi-Fi initiative. One has
to consider whether this financial support outweighs the disadvantages. It may be that
with external financing restrictions will be imposed on the conduct of members in a Wi-Fi
community. Even associating a Wi-Fi initiative with commercial external parties can be
enough reason for some (potential) members not to be (anymore) involved in the Wi-Fi
initiative.
Hence, what we see in Wi-Fi communities is a mix of individuals who each in their own
way make a contribution in a collective setting and can provide for a strong push in the
development of a successful community. At the same time conflicts in these kind of
communities are very often present. Most of these conflicts are needed to take the
community to a next level.
Sometimes these conflicts run out of control and potentially create factions in a
community. The challenge, especially for the idealists in the community, is to get the
best out of these conflicts and maintain the cohesion.
4 A person who is expert in or enthusiastic about technology, especially computing.
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Like mobile phones, a Wi-Fi network makes use of radio waves to transmit information across a network. The comp
As the wireless network works as a two-way traffic, the data received from the internet will also pass through the ro
The termhotspotis used to define an area where Wi-Fi access is available. It can either be through a closed wireles
The termhotspotis used to define an area where Wi-Fi access is available. It can either be through a closed wireles
In order to access hotspots, your computer should include awireless adapter. If you are using an advanced laptop m
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Figure 8: Wi-Fi radiation in a room.
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Figure 9: How Wi-Fi works in a room
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Figure 10: Wi-Fi usage
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Table 1: Types Of Wi-Fi networks
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This is the central device of
a home network into which you can plug
What is a Home Router?
one end of a network cable. The other
end of the cable goes into a networking
device that has a network port. If you
want to add more network devices to
a router, you'll need more cables and
more ports on the router.
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Figure 12: Belkin Wi-Fi
Figure 13: VERIZON Wi-Fi
Router
Router
Figure 11: Linksys Wi-Fi Router Figure 14: Netgear Wi-Fi Router
HOTSPOTS?
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Todays Wi-Fi is perhaps best known through the hotspots exploited by many telecom operators
to provide internet access at places with large public gatherings like airports and shopping
centers and by the use of it for home networking to gain wireless access to the internet. Before
this private use Wi-Fi started as a technology used within corporations by employees to benefit
from the advantages of indoor wireless communication.
No licenses was needed for using the spectrum band for communication and together with low
network deployment and expansion costs in comparison with alternative communication
infrastructures Wi-Fi networking emerged within corporations. The most recent development in
the Wi-Fi environment and central to this research is the increasing use of Wi-Fi technology in
local community networks both in developing and developed countries.
What we see in general and also in the case of Wi-Fi community networking is that the role end-
users seem to see for themselves has changed from a passive role as consumer to an active
role in which the end-user participates in the innovation processes.
This idea is defined by Von Hippel 5as democratizing innovation, meaning that (2005):
Stated differently by Van Oost, Verhaegh et al (2009):
Users ability to innovate is improving radically
and rapidly as a result of the steadily improving
quality of computer software and hardware,
improved access to easy-to-use tools and
components for innovation, and access to a
steadily richer innovation commons.
End-users are increasingly able to develop what
they want themselves, instead of depending on
what producers offer them.
5 is an American economist and a professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management,
specializing in the nature and economics of distributed and open innovation.
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Looking to these communities it seems that end-users are not motivated by commercial
interests to collaborate in these community networks. In fact, for most end-users it will cost
much money and effort to get involved in these initiatives.
Bina and Giaglis6 state that these networks are characterized by (2006: 2):
It appears that end-users are willing to invest time and effort in such networks due to the fact
that they are given the chance to explore new technologies and improve their communications
environment by not only acting as a passive user but also as an infrastructure and service
[] the creation and operation of a wireless
communications infrastructure through the
voluntary contributions of their members private
resources (such as knowledge, expertise,
equipment, and time).
provider.
Wi-Fi Users
6 Is Professor of eBusiness at the Athens University of Economics and Business, Greece.
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Wi-Fi has steadily emerged as the most favorite technology for wireless access to the
internet. This development is strongly facilitated due to changes in government policy around
the world regarding public access to the radio frequency spectrum.
Wi-Fi is using the 2.4 and 5.15-5.35 GHz frequency bands. In many countries around
the world this spectrum is unlicensed thereby stimulating the private use of Wi-Fi
technology.
The figure below shows the Wi-Fi usage by region and indicates a strong growth
worldwide in the deployment of Wi-Fi.
Table 2: Usage by world region
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Figure 15: The important of free Wi-Fi
Bibliography
Bellis, M. (2016). How important are the claims in a patent application? Retrieved
from http://inventors.about.com/od/inventing101patents/f/cliams.htm
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation. (2016). Retrieved
from wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_Scientific_and_Industrial_Resear
ch_Organisation
Eric von Hippel. (2016). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_von_Hippel
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Computer Science (SC15) KMPH 16/17
Ethernet. (2016). Retrieved from wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethernet
How Wireless Networks Work? (2011). Retrieved from webopedia:
http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Computer_Science/wireless_networks
_explained.asp
John O'Sullivan. (n.d.). Retrieved from google images:
https://www.google.com/search?q=John+O
%27Sullivan&stick=H4sIAAAAAAAAAONgFuLQz9U3yDBJsVTiArEs0y0tstK0pLKT
rfRzEsv1M_PKUvNKMvPzrCCs_KJHjIHcAi9_3BOW8pi05uQ1RicuPIqFVLjYXIFCJZV
CUlw8UnDLNBikuLjgPB4A_z_dWYgAAAA&biw=1366&bih=681&source=lnms&
tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahU
John O'Sullivan (engineer). (n.d.). Retrieved from wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_O%27Sullivan_(engineer)
Port (computer networking). (2016). Retrieved from wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_(computer_networking)
What is a patent? (2016). Retrieved from
http://inventors.about.com/od/inventing101patents/f/What_patent.htm
Wi-Fi. (2016). Retrieved from wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wi-Fi
Index:
A C
achieving, 7 capable, 7
association, 4 collective, 8
atomic particle, 3 communication, 7, 15
communities, 7, 8, 16
community, 7, 8, 15, 16
companies, 4
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compatible, 1 O
computing, 8
conflicts, 8 organizations, 4
consoles, 1 outweighs, 8
contribution, 8 overlapping, 2
controversy, 4
development, 8, 15, 17
different, 4, 7
driven, 7
encryption, 2
energy, 7
essential, 8
external, 8
patent-infringements, 4
permit, 3
possess, 7
precursor, 3
products, 1, 3, 4
protocol, 3
protocols, 2, 3
F
facilitated, 17 R
forerunners, 3
frequency bands, 3, 17 range, 1, 2
router, 2
royalties., 4
I
idealists, 8 S
ideological, 7
initiative, 7, 8 spectrum, 15, 17
intrinsic, 7 strong, 7, 8, 17
invention, 4 sustainable, 8
L T
lead, 7 techies, 7, 8
leaders, 7 technology, 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 15, 17
licensing, 4 trade, 4
trademark, 1, 4
N
U
networks, 3, 7, 15, 16, 21
underlying, 7
unsmear, 3
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