From Dutch Minds to Global Connections: How the Netherlands Gave Us Wi-Fi

When you think of the Netherlands, chances are you imagine tulips, canals, windmills, or perhaps even football. But did you know that one of the most transformative technologies of our time – Wi-Fi – has its roots in Dutch innovation? That’s right. The very same country that brought us the microscope, the stock exchange, and the cassette tape is also where the foundation of Wi-Fi was shaped.

The Birth of Wi-Fi Technology

Wi-Fi as we know it is based on the IEEE 802.11 standards, first released in 1997. But the story of how wireless connectivity reached our laptops, smartphones, and even refrigerators today starts earlier. A key player in this breakthrough was Dutch electrical engineer Cees Links, who in the early 1990s worked at NCR (later acquired by AT&T and Lucent Technologies).

Links had a vision: enabling computers to connect wirelessly. At the time, the idea seemed futuristic. He and his team were instrumental in developing the first wireless LAN products and pushing for a universal standard. His relentless work helped convince major tech players like Apple, Dell, and Intel to adopt this wireless standard — paving the way for Wi-Fi to explode worldwide.

Why It Matters

Think about it: Wi-Fi is the invisible glue holding modern life together. Remote work, video calls, streaming, gaming, IoT devices — all rely on it. And at the heart of this revolution stands Dutch ingenuity. Without Cees Links and his pioneering team, we might still be tethered to Ethernet cables, living in a far less connected world.

Dutch Spirit of Innovation

The Netherlands has always been a country of innovators. From creating the first multinational company (the Dutch East India Company) to engineering dikes and canals that hold back the sea, Dutch inventors have consistently found practical solutions to big challenges. Wi-Fi fits into this long tradition: taking an idea that seemed almost impossible and making it accessible to everyone.

Next Time You Log On…

Every time you join a Wi-Fi network — whether at home, in a café, or on a plane — you’re benefiting from Dutch innovation. It’s one of those invisible inventions that has become so ingrained in our daily lives we often forget it’s even there. Yet it remains one of the most important contributions the Netherlands has made to modern technology.

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Do you enjoy learning about the hidden Dutch roots of everyday technologies? Wi-Fi is just one of the many inventions you probably didn’t know came from the Netherlands. You can read more about these Dutch inventions here: Five inventions and objects you didn’t know came from the Netherlands.