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8 - The Dutch connection to US-based NCR, AT&T, Lucent Technologies and Agere Systems
- Wolter Lemstra, Technische Universiteit Delft, The Netherlands, Vic Hayes, Technische Universiteit Delft, The Netherlands, John Groenewegen, Technische Universiteit Delft, The Netherlands
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- Book:
- The Innovation Journey of Wi-Fi
- Published online:
- 05 June 2012
- Print publication:
- 18 November 2010, pp 230-262
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Summary
Introduction
In Chapters 2 to 6 the innovation journey of Wi-Fi has been explored and explained as a longitudinal case study, from its genesis in 1985 and subsequent developments until 2008. In Chapters 7 to 11 we take the Wi-Fi journey as a given, and investigate five dimensions of the journey that are of particular interest. In this chapter we look at the ‘Dutch connection’. In acknowledgement of the fact that the Systems Engineering Centre in Utrecht has played such an important role in the development of Wi-Fi, we survey the relationship between the Wi-Fi journey and the Dutch national innovation system (NIS).
From the innovation journey we learned that the development of Wi-Fi was triggered by a policy change towards radio spectrum usage by the US Federal Communications Commission. This new opportunity to use RF spectrum without the need for a licence was taken up by a number of companies, including NCR, to start the development of wireless LANs. The account of the Wi-Fi journey also revealed that NCR's decision to allocate the feasibility study, and later product development, to the Utrecht Systems Engineering Centre was driven by the availability there of the knowledge required to create a wireless LAN. The Dutch connection we explore in this chapter concerns the role played by the Dutch national innovation system in the development of Wi-Fi. In order to do this, we first provide an overview of the Dutch innovation system in terms of its main institutions, and a historical account of RF technology and its applications in the Netherlands. Subsequently we look into the role of the various economic actors and their knowledge interactions that were instrumental in the development of Wi-Fi, and assess how the knowledge that had been acquired in the process migrated to other firms when the Utrecht Engineering Centre was closed.
Chapter 8 - The 802.11n Standard
- from Part IV - High Throughput 802.11
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- By Richard van Nee, Qualcomm, Inc
- Edited by Benny Bing, Georgia Institute of Technology
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- Book:
- Emerging Technologies in Wireless LANs
- Published online:
- 10 December 2009
- Print publication:
- 05 November 2007, pp 179-192
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Summary
The IEEE 802.11n standard is the first wireless LAN standard based on MIMO-OFDM, a technique that significant range and rate relative to conventional wireless LAN. This chapter describes the main features of the 802.11n standard including packet structures, preamble formats, and coding aspects. Performance results show that net user throughputs over 100 Mbps are achievable, which is about four times larger than the maximum achievable throughput using IEEE 802.11a/g. For the same throughput, MIMO-OFDM achieves a range that is about 3 times larger than non-MIMO systems.
Introduction
The appetite for higher data rate continues as consumer demand for bandwidth hungry applications like gaming, streaming audio and video grows. Advancement in handset processors and further integration of technologies like higher mega-pixel cameras into handsets, create a never ending need for more bandwidth consuming applications at longer ranges and more efficient utilization of the limited spectrum available to Network Operators. 3G technology falls short in meeting this demand, while coverage is often worse than what customers are used to from 2.5G networks.
On the other hand, wireless LAN, the technology initially expected to provide only limited range and bandwidth has come a long way. Since the introduction of proprietary WLAN products in 1990 and the adoption of the first IEEE 802.11 standard in 1997, maximum data rates have made an impressive growth that is depicted in Figure 8.1.