What is Wi-Fi?

Short for wireless fidelity and is meant to be used generically when referring of any type of 802.11 network, whether 802.11b, 802.11a, 802.11g, dual-band, etc. The term is created by the Wi-Fi Alliance, an organization made up of leading wireless equipment and software providers with the missions of certifying all 802.11-based products for interoperability and promoting the term Wi-Fi as the global brand name across all markets for any 802.11-based wireless LAN products.

While all 802.11a/b/g products are called Wi-Fi, only products that have passed the Wi-Fi Alliance testing are allowed to refer to their products as Wi-Fi Certified (a registered trademark). Products that pass are required to carry an identifying seal on their packaging that states Wi-Fi Certified and indicates the radio frequency band used (2.5GHz for 802.11b or 11g, 5GHz for 802.11a) This group was formerly known as the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA) but changed its name in October 2002 to better reflect the Wi-Fi brand it wants to build.