John O’Sullivan, a CSIRO Electrical Engineer from Australia, is thought to be the inventor of Wifi. CSIRO, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation in Canberra, have the original patents for Wifi technology which were filed in 1996. Despite having these patents in place, there were lengthy legal battles between the CSIRO and major IT corporations such as Microsoft, Nintendo, Hewlett Packard, Dell, Toshiba and Belkin who were among the many companies who had not been paying royalties for this great invention. In 2009, Hewlett Packard were the first company who opted to pay the CSIRO rather than take the case to court and a further 12 companies soon followed suit. All companies opted for confidential settlements so the final amount is unknown but it is thought to be up to $1 billion. This was a fantastic outcome for the CSIRO as they not only have plenty of funding for future research but it is also undeniable recognition that it is their invention. There is still some debate over the inventor of WiFi and other possibilities include the American military who claim to have invented it during the war as a way for soldiers to keep in contact without their enemies intercepting. Vic Hayes, a Norwegian working for NCR Corporation/AT&T also developed a wireless network in 1991 as a way of connecting cashier systems. WiFi, or Wireless Fidelity, gives millions of people around the world the ability to connect and transfer data. A wireless enabled device can connect to the internet using WiFi providing the device is within range of a wireless network called a ‘hotspot’. Wireless devices include personal computers and laptops, video consoles, smart phones and digital audio players. WiFi hotspots are commonly found in coffee shops and a multitude of public establishments are enabling wireless hotspots to encourage customers.
