In IEEE 802 networks, the physical layer, or PHY, is responsible for taking bits and turning them into a physical representation for transmission on the network medium. Every 802.11 physical layer has come with its own “big idea” that is the core driver for development. In the 1990s, the driver was just providing connectivity. Once that was established, 802.11b used Complementary Code Keying (CCK) to push the original 2 Mbps speed up to 11 Mbps. Simultaneous development on 802.11a used Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) to establish the blazing speed of 54 Mbps. 802.11a required the use of a new spectrum, and the big idea in 802.11g was to bring the OFDM technology into t....