Happy 2020! This year marks a special year for us at Rokland Technologies. Our company is turning 20 years old. We originally formed on a college campus in New York City, offering networking products like hubs, routers, and switches, as well as web hosting and e-commerce service solutions. This was way back before Facebook and Shopify, back when Amazon and eBay were in their infancy.
We started under a different name, OEB Auctions, and changed to Rokland Technologies in 2002. We began partnering with Alfa Network, Inc., a leading manufacturer of networking and WiFi equipment, in 2007. Back then, WiFi signals could barely reach the next room of a house and were mostly a novelty. In our early days, most homes still used dial-up Internet access so computers had to be hooked up to phone lines. Going on the Internet was a thing you had to do- it wasn’t just there when your device was powered on, and it was not uncommon to lose your connection and have to dial back in. The first WiFi products we offered allowed you to get Internet access without any Ethernet or phone cables.
As we entered the 2010 decade, WiFi speeds and range were increasing, and our Alfa WiFi range extenders and speed boosters became ever popular. The last 10 years were spent moving out of single-device range extension into multi-device extension. Kits like the Alfa WiFi Camp Pro and Camp Pro 2 became our flagship products, offering WiFi range extension in RV parks and on large properties.
What is coming in the next 20 years? In 2000, many scientists and other experts weighed in with predictions, some right and many wrong. We aren’t flying at the top of cities in flying cars, and while robotics have had an impact on society, that haven’t replaced humans in most situations. While we aren’t in the business of making fantastic predictions, we can tell you what we are working on.
In the years ahead, as WiFi becomes more common, we- partnered with Alfa Network- are expanding into smart home and IoT technology, so that data reception, speed, and performance is not improved just to standard devices like your PC and tablet, but to everything in your home and business that could ever possibly need portable data. This includes your thermostat, refrigerator, and believe it or not- even your home WiFi network will be smarter. Imagine a WiFi network that can monitor your home and alert you to movement WITHOUT cameras- without that Orwellian concept of cameras having to be installed all over your home. We are working on it.
Perhaps the most exciting thing about looking forward is the unknown- we can imagine what we want to do, but what is coming is probably far beyond any of our imaginations. We are excited to be a part of the tech landscape 20 years after our founding, and we look forward to the next 20. Thank you for being a part of our family, and we wish you a happy 2020!
Above: Rokland Technologies began as "OEB Auctions" in June of 2000. A look back at our original web site, courtesy of Archive.org's Wayback Machine, though an image and the navigation buttons were never captured.
Military and First Responder 
