The CSIRO says no decision has been made about whether it will keep the commercial capabilities of its Sydney lab credited with inventing Wi-Fi. At a Senate committee hearing in Canberra, CSIRO executives confirmed about 70 staff would go from the Data 61 digital research team, which now includes the Wi-Fi lab.
The technology that allows phones and computers to wirelessly connect to networks was invented in the 1990s at CSIRO’s Marsfield lab in Sydney’s north-west.
Pressed by senators to guarantee that the commercial capabilities from that lab would be kept, deputy chief executive Craig Roy said simply: “No decision has been made.”
He added: “Decisions haven’t been made around redundancies in Data 61 or changes there – they’re being considered by [Data 61 chief] Adrian Turner.”
Roy did say that the CSIRO lab at Marsfield may close but would not comment on which staff or teams would be affected.
