ETSI adopted the first standard for controlling remote data transfers as early as 1996 under the name of Hiperlan (High Performance Radio Local Area Networks). The first version (Hiperlan Type 1) was intended for use in the frequency range of 5.15 to 5.30 GHz with a transmission rate of 20 Mbps. As no manufacturers took up this standard, Hiperlan initially had no practical significance.
With the new version in 2000, Hiperlan Type 2, ETSI introduced a WLAN solution that operates in the 5 GHz band similar to IEEE 802.11a, and also provides a gross data rate of 54 Mbps. However, as the frequencies and the OFMD modulation method that was also used for 802.11a overlapped, it was necessary to adapt the standards between IEEE and ETSI to avoid disruptions to the systems.