WIFI: Wireless Fidelity

The full form of WIFI is “Wireless Fidelity“. It is a wireless local area technology that provides a standard way to connect to wireless networks. Wireless Fidelity (WIFI) is a family of wireless network technologies, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards. Wi-Fi is a trademark of the non-profit Wi-Fi Alliance, which restricts the use of the term Wi-Fi Certified to products that successfully complete interoperability certification tests. This article is not just about the full form of WIFI, but much more than that.

In fact, Wi-Fi is not an acronym its a trademarked brand name for products using the IEEE 802.11 standards. A common misconception is that the term Wi-Fi is short for “wireless fidelity.” This is not the case. This false notion has spread to such an extent that even industry leaders have included the phrase wireless fidelity in a press release. The current confusion seems to stem from a brief period early in the days of the Wi-Fi Alliance when a regrettable tag line was added that stated, ‘The Standard for Wireless Fidelity.’

To connect to a Wi-Fi network, a user usually needs the network name (the SSID) and a password. The password is used to encrypt Wi-Fi packets to block interceptors. Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) is designed to protect information that moves through Wi-Fi networks. You can use Wi-Fi to create an access point within the range of 20 meters (66 feet). It is potentially more vulnerable to attacks than wired networks because anyone within range of a network can try to access it with a wireless network interface controller.

Other full forms of WIFI