What is Wi-fi-What is wi-fi network: Defining The Popular IT Term

Jul 30, 2011
Pedro Whyte

What is Wi-Fi? - A Word Definition From the Webopedia Computer - Nero67

The search engines continuously show that millions of people from around the world are searching for the definition of wi-fi, here's a cursory definition.

Wireless fidelity otherwise called wi-fi, refers to any system that uses the 802.11 standard. In short , " wi-fi is a way for wireless devices to communicate. This standard was developed by the institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers IEEE and was released in 1997.

The acronym wi-fi is a trademark owned by the wi-fi alliance, a non-profit organization which certifies the interoperability of wireless devices which are built based on the 802.11 standard.

Wi-fi the popular term

The term wi-fi is being used more and more in modern-day vernacular. Many people wonder what it means. To prove this fact the search phrase "what is wi-fi" receives more than four million monthly searches on the internet from the United States alone, compared to the more than thirty million total global monthly searches .

What wi-fi can do

Computers which possess network cards are able to connect to a wi-fi network through a wireless router; this router is then connected to the internet via a modem. "Wi-fi uses a 2.4 GHz frequency range for transmission, about the same range used by typical cordless telephones."

Essentially, " this signal may penetrate walls, ceilings and floors with a maximum range of about 200 ft. As a result, users within the range covered by the signals can pick up the internet on their wi-fi enabled devices. This range may be also extended by procuring and using signal boosters.

In settings such as gated-communities, college campuses or corporate offices, wi-fi networks often called hot-spots are widely used. These networks may be open, in that, you can log-on without having a password; or they may be closed or password protected. The technology has even invaded and fully covered large public domains such as cities, inclusive of "San Francisco, Portland and Philadelphia in the United States.

Additionally, the wi-fi industry has attracted large-scale business interest, to the end that it is projected to become one of the fastest growing areas within the IT industry for several years to come.