Phil Belanger is an independent consultant who bridges the gap between technology and marketing for different industries. He was a founder of Novarum, a consulting firm specializing in wireless broadband that has evaluated, designed and built networks for cities, hotels and schools. Phil also worked on bringing standards based wireless technology to the Smart Grid as a consultant with Oaktree Wireless.
Phil played an instrumental role in creating and promoting the IEEE 802.11 standard for wireless LANs. Phil was a significant contributor to 802.11 and is the co-author of the DFWMAC, the Medium Access Control protocol that is still the basis of the IEEE 802.11 MAC today. Phil was one of the founders of the Wi-Fi Alliance and served as Chairman from its inception in 1999 through March of 2001.
Phil has a background in software engineering and network protocols. He transitioned from engineering to marketing and business development; and has held executive marketing positions at several companies including Xircom, Aironet, Wayport, Vivato, Belair Networks, Extricom, and later mimik. Phil defined the market position and product requirements for wireless LANs with Xircom. With Aironet, he chaired the Wi-Fi Alliance, which created the Wi-Fi brand and accelerated Wi-Fi’s success. Phil helped create the business model for Wi-Fi service providers and hotspots with Wayport. He further expanded Wi-Fi into large scale outdoor and municipal wireless networks with Vivato and BelAir Networks.
