Wi-Fi Does Not Stand For Anything

Wi-Fi Does Not Stand For AnythingAs a professional who focuses on Wi-Fi communication I am asked from time to time what does Wi-Fi mean?

The conversation usually goes something like this: What does Wi-Fi stand for? Is Wi-Fi an acronym? Is the correct spelling WiFi or Wi-Fi?”

When I respond that it is a marketing term that has no technical definition, I get the stare, usually followed by, “really?”

I think the biggest misunderstanding is that many people think Wi-Fi means “Wireless Fidelity”. This is almost always the response I get when I ask, “what do you think it means?”

Another point of interest is the proper term is Wi-Fi with the hyphen. While many of us, I have been guilty of this myself, use the term WiFi, that is not the registered trademark. Wi-Fi is a registered trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance.


The Wi-Fi Alliance

Below is an excerpt from Phil Belanger, a founding member of the Wi-Fi Alliance who presided over the selection of the name “Wi-Fi”:

“Wi-Fi doesn’t stand for anything. It is not an acronym. There is no meaning.”


Interbrand created “Prozac”, “Compaq” “oneworld”, “Imation” and many other brand names that you have heard of. They even created the company name “Vivato”.

The only reason that you hear anything about “Wireless Fidelity” is some of my colleagues in the group were afraid. They didn’t understand branding or marketing. They could not imagine using the name “Wi-Fi” without having some sort of literal explanation. So we compromised and agreed to include the tag line “The Standard for Wireless Fidelity” along with the name.


This tag line was invented after the fact. After we chose the name Wi-Fi from a list of 10 names that Interbrand proposed. The tag line was invented by the initial six member board and it does not mean anything either. If you decompose the tag line, it falls apart very quickly. “The Standard”? The Alliance has always been very careful to stay out of inventing standards. The standard of interest is IEEE 802.11.

The Wi-Fi Alliance focuses on interoperability certification and branding. It does not invent standards. It does not compete with IEEE. It complements their efforts. So Wi-Fi could never be a standard. And “Wireless Fidelity” – what does that mean? Nothing. It was a clumsy attempt to come up with two words that matched Wi and Fi. That’s it.


Source: http://boingboing.net/2005/11/08/wifi-isnt-short-for.html


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