Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi is a trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance that manufacturers may use to brand certified products that belong to a class of wireless local area network (WLAN) devices based on the IEEE 802.11 standards, which is by far the most widespread WLAN class today. 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, a global association of companies, 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. The lack of the Wi-Fi logo does not necessarily imply a device is incompatible with Wi-Fi devices.

As of 2010^[update], IEEE 802.11 devices are installed in many personal computers, video game consoles, smartphones, printers, and other peripherals, and virtually all laptop or palm-sized computers.

In the US, the FCC first made unlicensed spread spectrum available in rules adopted on May 9, 1985.

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. In 1991 NCR Corporation/AT&T (later Lucent Technologies and Agere Systems) invented the precursor to 802.11 / Wi-Fi in Nieuwegein, The Netherlands. The inventors initially intended to use the technology for cashier systems; the first wireless products were brought on the market under the name WaveLAN with raw data rates of 1 Mbit/s and 2 Mbit/s. Vic Hayes, who held the chair of IEEE 802.11 for 10 years and has been called the "father of Wi-Fi" was involved in designing the initial 802.11b and 802.11a standards within the IEEE.

In April 2009, 14 tech companies including Intel, Microsoft, HP, Dell, agreed to pay CSIRO $250 million for their Wi-Fi patent infringements.

-Thanks to Wikipedia.