The Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) Alliance is a non-profit international
association formed in 1999. Wi-Fi was formed to certify interoperability of
WLAN products based on the IEEE 802.11 specification. The Wi-Fi Alliance
currently has 202 member companies from around the world. Over 580 products
have received Wi-Fi certification since certification began in March of 2000.
The goal of the Wi-Fi Alliance is to enhance the user experience through
product interoperability. To ensure interoperability among brands, the Wi-Fi
Alliance works with technical-standards groups like the IEEE and with companies
that are developing future generations of wireless networking gear.
The
Wi-Fi Alliance was originally named the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility
Alliance (WECA). However, the term wireless Ethernet never became as popular as
the terms WLANs and Wi-Fi. Therefore, the organization changed its name.
Wi-Fi CERTIFIED is the logo given to wireless networking equipment that
passes the stringent functionality and interoperability tests administered by
the Wi-Fi Alliance. Wi-Fi CERTIFIED equipment will work with any other piece of
wireless networking gear that also has the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED logo.
There
are also Wi-Fi ZONEs. Wi-Fi ZONEs are wireless hot spot networks that users can
access when they are away from their homes or offices. Like Wi-Fi products,
only service providers that meet the Wi-Fi ZONE deployment and service
standards can display the logo, which is shown in Figure
. Users can look
for the logo to make sure that a hot spot is a Wi-Fi ZONE.
There is an
online database of Wi-Fi ZONE locations from around the world on the Wi-Fi
Alliance website. This is to help users locate the most convenient Wi-Fi ZONE,
whether it is in a coffee shop, hotel, airport, convention center, or other
public venue.