We have mentioned previously that this is the 25th anniversary year of the Docket 81-413 Report and Order that created the 3 unlicensed ISM bands that are the home of Wi-Fi and a myriad of other unlicensed products. It is also the 20th anniversary of IEEE 802.11, the standards group that created the specification for the ubiquitous Wi-Fi products.

802.11 is meeting in Hawaii this week to continue their handiwork in new and exciting areas and are having a modest celebration of the anniversary. The above Facebook page has anniversary messages from the past and present leaders of the group and they were gracious enough to invite your blogger to contribute also.

So congratulations 802.11 for your success that went beyond anyone’s imagination two decades ago when you began. It certainly is way beyond anything we imagined at FCC when we started down this path in 1979.

UPDATE

Some links on the IEEE 802.11 anniversary meeting:

September 2010, 802.11 20th Anniversary Celebration Photographs
Press release with milestones
“Happy 20th Birthday To The IEEE 802.11 WLAN Working Group” from Electronic Design