About WiFi

What is WiFi?

WiFi (or Wi-Fi) is short for Wireless Fidelity. WiFi is a wireless networking technology that allows computers, some mobile phones, ipads, game consoles, and other devices to communicate over a wireless signal. The same way a radio can tune into a radio station signal over the airwaves, your device can pick up a signal that connects it to the internet, thru the air. As a matter of fact, a WiFi signal is a high-frequency radio signal. And just the same way that the frequency of a radio station is regulated, the standards for WiFi are regulated. All the electronic components that make up a wireless network (your device, the router, etc) are based on one of the 802.11 standards, that were set by the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) and the WiFi Alliance. The WiFi alliance were the people who trademarked the name Wi-Fi and promoted the technology. The technology is also referred to as WLAN short for wireless local area network, however, WiFi has definitely become the more popular expression.

How Does WiFi Work?

The router is the key piece of equipment in a wireless network. Only the router is physically connected to the internet by an ethernet cable. The router then broadcasts the high-frequency radio signal which carries data to and from the internet. The adapter in whatever device you are using both picks up and reads the signal from the router, and also sends data back to your router and on to the internet, an upstream and downstream activity.

So Who Invented WiFi?

After explaining how there are several components that make WiFi, you can see how naming a single inventor would be difficult. First, let's take a look at the history of the 802.11 standard (the radio frequency) used for broadcasting a WiFi signal. Secondly, we have to look at the electronic equipment involved in sending and receiving a WiFi signal, and not surprisingly there are many patents connected with WiFi technology, however, one important patent stands out.

Vic Hayes & The 802.11 Standard

Vic Hayes has been called the "father of Wi-Fi" because he chaired the IEEE committee that created the 802.11 standard in 1997. Before the public even heard of WiFi, Vic Hayes established the standards that would make WiFi feasible. The 802.11 standard was established in 1997. Subsequently, improvements to the network bandwidth were added to the 802.11 standard. That's what the appended letters represent: 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, and more. As a consumer, you should know that the latest version is the best version in terms of performance and is the version you would want all your new equipment to be compatible with.