1901 - The first signals are sent across the Atlantic Ocean.
1905 - The first wireless distress signal is sent using Morse Code.
1950s - The first radio telephone network for commercial use is made available to consumers by the Bell Telephone Company.
1971 - Researchers at the University of Hawaii develop the world's first WLAN, named ALOHAnet.
1982 - AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone Service) system specification becomes the radio telephony standard of the United States.
1982 - European Posts and Telegraphs creates the Groupe Sp'ecial Mobile (GSM) with the objective of developing a standard for a mobile telephone system.
1982 - Nordic Telecom and Netherlands PTT propose the development of a new digital cellular standard that would cope with ever-burgeoning demands on European mobile networks.
1986 - The main GSM radio transmission techniques are chosen.
1987 - Thirteen operators and administrators from 12 areas in the GSM advisory group sign the charter GSM MoU 'Club' agreement.
1988 - The GSM digital standard is proven to work.
1989 - GSM responsibility is transferred to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI).
1989 - ETSI defines GSM as the internationally accepted digital cellular telephony standard.
1989 - GSM becomes an ETSI technical committee.
1990s - Industry-specific solutions and proprietary protocols are replaced by standards, primarily the various versions of IEEE 802.11 (WiFi).
1990 - Phase I of the GSM specifications is published.
1990 - Phase I GSM 900 specifications are frozen.
1990 - Validation systems are implemented.
1990 - The first GSM World congress is held in Rome, with 650 participants attending.
1990 - The North American cellular network incorporates the IS-54B standard, the first North American dual mode digital cellular standard.
1991 - The original French name is changed to Global System for Mobile Communications, but the original GSM acronym sticks.
1991 - The GSM specification is drafted.
1991 - The GSM World Congress in Nice has 690 participants.
1992 - The first GSM network is launched by Radiolinja in Finland.
1992 - Thirteen networks are on air in seven areas.
1992 - The first roaming agreement is signed between Telecom Finland and Vodafone in the UK.
1993 - GSM is demonstrated for the first time in Africa at Telkom '93 in Cape Town.
1993 - Roaming agreements between several operators are established.
1993 - GSM World Congress in Lisbon has 760 participants.
1993 - Over a million subscribers are using GSM phone networks being operated by 70 carriers across 48 countries.
1994 - The first GSM networks in Africa are launched in South Africa.
1994 - Phase 2 data/fax bearer services are launched.
1994 - Vodacom becomes the first GSM network in the world to implement data/fax.
1994 - The US Federal Communications Commission auctions large blocks of spectrum in the 1 900MHz band.
1995 - The GSM World Congress in Madrid has 1 400 participants.
1995 - Fax, data and SMS roaming start.
1995 -GSM phase 2 standardisation is completed, including adaptation for PCS 1900, the 1900MHz radio band used for digital mobile phone services in Canada and the United States.
1995 - The first PCS 1900 network is live 'on air' in the US.
1995 - At Telecom '95 in Geneva, Nokia shows 33.6kbps of multimedia data transfer via GSM.
1996 - The 8K SIM is launched.
1996 - Prepaid GSM SIM cards are launched.
1996 - Option International launches the world's first GSM/fixed-line modem.
1997 - The first dual-band GSM 900-1900 phone is launched by Bosch.
1997 - The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) finalises the initial standard for wireless LANs, IEEE 802.11.
1998 - The first GSM Africa Conference is held.
1998 - There are 125 million GSM 900/1800/1900 users worldwide.
1999 - The 802.11a and 802.11b amendment to the original WiFi standard is ratified.
1999 - WAP trials take place in France and Italy.
1999 - GPRS trials begin in the US and Scandinavia.
1999 - The first GPRS networks go live.
1999 - Bluetooth specification v1.0 is released.
1999 - Apple Computer becomes the first operating system maker to include support for WiFi, which it calls AirPort.
1999 - The IEEE 802.16 Working Group on Broadband Wireless Access Standards is established.
2000 - The first GPRS terminals are seen.
2000 - Nokia releases the SmartMessaging specification.
2001 - Sixteen billion SMS message are sent in April.
2001 - Broadband2 wireless coverage allowing wireless access from cars is introduced.
2001 - Nokia launches 11Mbps gear.
2001 - The WiMax Forum is formed to promote conformance and interoperability of the IEEE 802.16 standard, officially known as WirelessMAN.
2001 - The first 802.16 standard is approved.
2001 - A team of researchers from Berkeley publish the first serious paper about problems with Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP), a security protocol for wireless local area networks.
2001 - The world is stunned by the finding of a flaw in the RC4 algorithm that leads to a devastating attack against WEP. The research is published by Fluhrer, Mantin and Shamir as "Weaknesses in the Key Scheduling Algorithm of RC4" and is presented to the 8th Annual Workshop on Selected Areas in Cryptography.
2002 - The WiFi Alliance announces WPA (WiFi Protected Access) as an interim solution for link-layer security based on the work in progress at the IEEE 802.11i task group.
2002 - The Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance changes its name to The WiFi Alliance.
2002 - William Arbaugh releases "An Initial Security Analysis of the 802.1x Security Standard," the first paper to seriously question 802.1x's integrity.
2002 - The WiFi Alliance changes the WiFi trademark to serve as an overall symbol of interoperability.
2003 - A third modulation WiFi standard is ratified: 802.11g, working in the 2.4GHz band like 802.11b but operating at a maximum raw data rate of 54Mbps or about 24.7Mbps net throughputs like 802.11a.
2004 - The IEEE announces that it has formed a new 802.11 (802.11n) amendment to the 802.11 standard for wireless local-area networks. The real data throughput is 100Mbps, up to 10 times faster than 802.11a or 802.11g. With the release of 802.16-2004, the earlier 802.16 documents are withdrawn.
2005 - The current 802.16 standard is approved.
2005 - An amendment to the standard, IEEE 802.16e-2005 (formerly known as IEEE 802.16e), addressing mobility, is concluded for mobile WiMax.
Compiled by Mia Andric. Sources: The History and Development of the Internet: a Timeline, Rhonda Davila. A Brief History of the Internet, Barry M Leiner, Vinton G Cerf, David D Clark, Robert E Kahn, Leonard Kleinrock, Daniel C Lynch, Jon Postel, Larry G Roberts, Stephen Wolff. Wikipedia. Keith Lynch's timeline of net-related terms and concepts. Computer History. Hobbes' Internet Timeline. A history of the computer. GSM Association.
* Article first published on brainstorm.itweb.co.za
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