Before most people had heard of Wi-Fi, Aironet was already putting warehouse scanners on radio. Aironet, a unit of the Akron barcode-scanner maker Telxon, built wireless local area networks for factories, stores and hospitals. Its radios let handheld computers and laptops talk to a company network without a cable. In July 1999 it went public, and within months Cisco Systems decided it wanted wireless networking for itself.

Born Inside Telxon

Aironet was incorporated in 1993 under the name Spider, Inc., and grew up as a subsidiary of Telxon, which sold handheld computers and scanners. It leased its Akron headquarters and assembly plant from its parent. Aironet sold access points, client cards and bridges that carried data by radio. Many early customers were in retail, logistics and health care, where workers moved around all day. Telxon remained its controlling shareholder.

Eleven Dollars to Cisco

Aironet priced its IPO at $11 a share on July 30, 1999. In late 1999 Cisco agreed to buy Aironet in an all-stock deal, giving 0.63734 of a Cisco share for each Aironet share. On February 4, 2000, Cisco stock closed at $121.13. Shareholders approved the merger, and Aironet deregistered in April 2000. Cisco kept the Aironet name on its wireless products.

Cover: Kites of Fukuroi and Distant View of Akiba in Totomi Province, from the series "One Hundred Famous Views in the Various Provinces", Utagawa Hiroshige II (Shigenobu). Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for kites in the air (wireless).