Tech History: How a Hollywood Actress Paved the Way for Wi-Fi

New Delhi: Today, Wi-Fi is an indispensable part of our daily lives, powering work, communication, and entertainment. But few know that the roots of this revolutionary technology trace back to a Hollywood actress and decades of scientific innovation.

Hedy Lamarr: The Hollywood Pioneer

In 1942, famous actress Hedy Lamarr, along with composer George Antheil, patented a “Secret Communication System”. Their invention used frequency-hopping technology to send radio signals across multiple frequencies, preventing enemy torpedoes from being jammed during World War II.

While this technology wasn’t called Wi-Fi, it laid the foundation for modern wireless communication, and its principles continue to secure today’s wireless systems.

Dr. John O’Sullivan and Modern Wi-Fi

In the 1970s, Dr. John O’Sullivan and his team at Australia’s CSIRO were studying radio astronomy to detect signals from black holes. By the early 1990s, they developed a special circuit that could filter weak signals from background noise. This breakthrough inspired their 1991 Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) prototype, patented in 1992, which became a cornerstone of modern Wi-Fi.

How Wi-Fi Got Its Name

In 1999, the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA) introduced the name “Wi-Fi” to make the technology user-friendly and recognizable. Since then, Wi-Fi has seen continuous improvements in speed, range, and reliability, enabling the fast internet we rely on today across phones, laptops, and tablets.

Bottom line: From a Hollywood actress’s wartime invention to black hole research in Australia, Wi-Fi’s journey is a remarkable story of innovation, collaboration, and scientific curiosity.