CSIRO scientists Graham Daniels, Terry Percival, and John O’Sullivan with their test equipment 2018.
Courtesy National Museum, Photographer Elesa Kurz.
Page 1 of the patent application.
Page 30 of the patent application.
This record shows pages from a 1993 patent application for a wireless local access network (WLAN). WLAN, or wi-fi, is technology that enables high-speed, wireless internet connectivity.
In 1993 wireless local access network (WLAN) was invented and patented by scientists at CSIRO, Australia's national science agency.
A patent is a legal protection granted by the government to inventors, offering them exclusive rights to their invention for a specified period. Patents encourage innovation by allowing inventors to benefit from their creations, including financially.
Before the invention of wi-fi, computers needed fixed wires to connect to the internet. The key breakthrough made by CSIRO scientists was discovering how computers could talk to one another without cables, and without signals becoming distorted by bouncing off walls and furniture.
This discovery revolutionised the way we communicate and has been recognised internationally as one of Australia's greatest scientific achievements.
Wi-fi technology can be found today in smartphones, tablets, laptops, and other devices.
It affects how we live, work, play, travel, and even how we imagine and create solutions to new problems faced by humanity.
The complete patent is available for download: Patent No - 1993051806 - A wireless LAN (PDF, 1.37 MB)
Learning resource text © Education Services Australia Limited and the National Archives of Australia 2010.
