Wireless Fidelity ( Wi-Fi ) (pronounced /ˈwaɪfaɪ/ ) is a trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance that may be used with certified products that belong to a class of wireless local area network (WLAN) devices based on the IEEE 802.11 standards. Because of the close relationship with its underlying standard, the term Wi-Fi is often used as a synonym for IEEE 802.11 technology.
The Wi-Fi Alliance is a global, non-profit association of companies that promotes WLAN technology and certifies products if they conform to certain standards of interoperability. Not every IEEE 802.11-compliant device is submitted for certification to the Wi-Fi Alliance, sometimes because of costs associated with the certification process, and the lack of the Wi-Fi logo does not necessarily imply a device is incompatible with Wi-Fi devices.
Today, an IEEE 802.11 device is installed in many personal computers, video game consoles, smartphones, printers, and other peripherals, and virtually all laptop or palm-sized computers.
Uses
Internet access
A Wi-Fi enabled device such as a personal computer, video game console, mobile phone, MP3 player or personal digital assistant can connect to the Internet when within range of a wireless network connected to the Internet. The coverage of one or more interconnected access points — called a hotspot — can comprise an area as small as a few rooms or as large as many square miles covered by a group of access points with overlapping coverage. Wi-Fi technology has been used in wireless mesh networks, for example, in London.
In addition to private use in homes and offices, Wi-Fi can provide public access at Wi-Fi hotspots provided either free of charge or to subscribers to various commercial services. Organizations and businesses such as airports, hotels and restaurants often provide free hotspots to attract or assist clients. Enthusiasts or authorities who wish to provide services or even to promote business in selected areas sometimes provide free Wi-Fi access. As of 2008 there are more than 300 metropolitan-wide Wi-Fi (Muni-Fi) projects in progress. There were 879 Wi-Fi based Wireless Internet service providers in the Czech Republic as of May 2008.
Routers that incorporate a digital subscriber line modem or a cable modem and a Wi-Fi access point, often set up in homes and other premises, provide Internet-access and internetworking to all devices connected (wirelessly or by cable) to them. One can also connect Wi-Fi devices in ad hoc mode for client-to-client connections without a router. Wi-Fi also enables places that would traditionally not have network to be connected, for example bathrooms, kitchens and garden sheds.
City-wide Wi-Fi
Further information: Municipal wireless networkIn the early 2000s, many cities around the world announced plans for a city wide Wi-Fi network. This proved to be much more difficult than their promoters initially envisioned with the result that most of these projects were either canceled or placed on indefinite hold. A few were doc_id=85119&WT.svl=wire1_1|publisher=unstrung.com|accessdate=2008-07-16}}</ref> Few of Municipal Wi-Fi firms have now entered into the field of Smart grid networks.
Campus-wide Wi-Fi
Carnegie Mellon University built the first wireless Internet network in the world at their Pittsburgh campus in 1994, long before the Wi-Fi standard was adopted.
Direct computer-to-computer communications
Wi-Fi also allows communications directly from one computer to another without the involvement of an access point. This is called the ad-hoc mode of Wi-Fi transmission. This wireless ad-hoc network mode has proven popular with multiplayer handheld game consoles, such as the Nintendo DS, digital cameras, and other consumer electronics devices. A similar method is a new specification called Wi-Fi Direct which is promoted by the Wi-Fi Alliance for file transfers and media sharing through a new discovery and security methodology.
Future directions
As of 2010 Wi-Fi technology had spread widely within business and industrial sites. In business environments, just like other environments, increasing the number of Wi-Fi access-points provides redundancy, support for fast roaming and increased overall network-capacity by using more channels or by defining smaller cells. Wi-Fi enables wireless voice-applications (VoWLAN or WVOIP). Over the years, Wi-Fi implementations have moved toward "thin" access-points, with more of the network intelligence housed in a centralized network appliance, relegating individual access-points to the role of mere "dumb" radios. Outdoor applications may utilize true mesh topologies. As of 2007 Wi-Fi installations can provide a secure computer networking gateway, firewall, DHCP server, intrusion detection system, and other functions.
History
Wi-Fi uses both single-carrier direct-sequence spread spectrum radio technology (part of the larger family of spread spectrum systems) and multi-carrier orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) radio technology. The deregulation of certain radio-frequencies for unlicensed spread spectrum deployment enabled the development of Wi-Fi products, its onetime competitor HomeRF, Bluetooth, and many other products such as some types of cordless telephones.
Unlicensed spread spectrum was first made available in the US by the FCC in rules adopted on May 9, 1985 and these FCC regulations were later copied with some changes in many other countries enabling use of this technology in all major countries. The FCC action was proposed by Michael Marcus of the FCC staff in 1980 and the subsequent regulatory action took 5 more years. It was part of a broader proposal to allow civil use of spread spectrum technology and was opposed at the time by mainstream equipment manufacturers and many radio system operators.
Wi-Fi technology has its origins in a 1985 ruling by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission that released several bands of the radio spectrum for unlicensed use. The precursor to the common Wi-Fi system was invented in 1991 by NCR Corporation/AT&T (later Lucent Technologies & Agere Systems) in Nieuwegein, the Netherlands. It was initially intended for cashier systems; the first wireless products were brought on the market under the name WaveLAN with speeds of 1 Mbit/s to 2 Mbit/s. Vic Hayes, who held the chair of IEEE 802.11 for 10 years and has been named the "father of Wi-Fi," was involved in designing standards such as IEEE 802.11b, and 802.11a.
Key portions of the IEEE 802.11 technology underlying Wi-Fi (in its a, g, and n varieties) were determined to be infringing on U.S. Patent 5,487,069 , which was filed in 1993 by CSIRO, an Australian research body. The patent has been the subject of protracted and ongoing legal battles between CSIRO and major IT corporations. In 2009, the CSIRO settled with 14 companies, including Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Dell, Toshiba, ASUS, Microsoft and Nintendo, under confidential terms. The revenue arising from these settlements to October 2009 is approximately AU$200 million.
Europe leads overall in uptake of wireless-phone technology but the US leads in Wi-Fi systems partly because they lead in laptop usage. As of July 2005, there were at least 68,643 Wi-Fi locations worldwide, a majority in the US, then the UK and Germany. The US and Western Europe make up about 80% of the worldwide Wi-Fi users. Plans are underway in areas of the US to provide public Wi-Fi coverage as a public free service. Even with these large numbers and more expansion, the extent of actual Wi-Fi usage is lower than expected. Jupiter Research found that only 15% of people have used Wi-Fi and only 6% in a public place.
Wi-Fi certification
Main article: Wi-Fi AllianceWi-Fi technology is based on IEEE 802.11 standards. The IEEE develops and publishes these standards, but does not test equipment for compliance with them. The non-profit Wi-Fi Alliance was formed in 1999 to fill this void — to establish and enforce standards for interoperability and backward compatibility, and to promote wireless local area network technology. Today the Wi-Fi Alliance consists of more than 300 companies from around the world. Manufacturers with membership in the Wi-Fi Alliance, whose products pass the certification process, are permitted to mark those products with the Wi-Fi logo.
Specifically, the certification process requires conformance to the IEEE 802.11 radio standards, the WPA and WPA2 security standards, and the EAP authentication standard. Certification may optionally include tests of IEEE 802.11 draft standards, interaction with cellular phone technology in converged devices, and features relating to security set-up, multimedia, and po
Internet/Wireless
Resources for Connecting to and using the Texas A&M network and the Internet
How to Connect Wii to Wireless Internet | eHow.com
How to Connect Wii to Wireless Internet. With Video! Connect Nintendo Wii to wireless Internet and you'll be able to play Wii games against friends online. The setup for Wii ...
ICDC Wireless - Internet Connect Wireless
Welcome to ICDC Wireless! ICDC Wireless is a High Speed Wireless Broadband Internet Service Provider currently serving businesses in Delaware County and parts of Chester and ...
Clarity Connect, Inc. - Internet Access
Clarity Connect offers secure and reliable wireless Internet services in selected locations throughout its territory. Clarity Connect utilizes industry standard 802.11 microwave ...
home [www.connectwireless.us]
High Speed Wireless . Internet Access (Grangeville, ID and Vicinity)
Help!!! - how to connect ps3 to wireless internet ...
Sponsored Links Thanks to some people on here, I had a problem fixed. but now i have one more problem that i need to fix and was hoping some of you
How do I connect my desktop to the nearby wireless ...
Wireless internet in WiFi hotspots makes for a convenient connection. To connect to the wireless internet you need proximity and a little hardware.
How to Connect Wireless Internet to a Playstation 3 ...
How to Connect Wireless Internet to a Playstation 3. Just purchased a Playstation 3 game console or had one for a while and have never set it up for wireless Internet? Well, doing ...
Can't connect to wireless internet - Connecting Your ...
It probably is incompatible with the Wii or firewalls are getting in the way.
Connect Samsung ln52b750 to Wireless Internet - Help ...
Samsung: Connect Samsung ln52b750 to Wireless Internet - Help? - Get tips and advice on this topic, or read other Samsung discussions on CNET Forums.