"Wi-Fi" is not a technology, but a trademark owned by the Wi-Fi alliance used to certify wireless devices that meet the IEEE 802.11 standards for wireless land area network (WLAN) operation.  A device that is enabled for Wi-Fi can connect to the internet as long as it is located inside what is called a "hotspot", which is an area that is covered by an active wireless network. The Wi-Fi Alliance is promoting Wi-Fi certification to ensure wireless interoperability among the different wireless devices produced by various companies.

Depending on the set-up, a Wi-Fi hot spot can be as small as a room or as vast as a city.  A basic network, however, typically has a limited range. For instance, an off-the-shelf Wi-Fi home router with a stock antenna can only reach 120 feet indoors or 300 feet outdoors. Devices that use Wi-Fi connectivity include PC's, gaming consoles, cellular phones, PDA's, and MP3 players.  Wi-Fi is also sometimes used to refer to a Wireless LAN (W-LAN). 

Not every product that complies with the IEEE 802.11 standard is submitted to the Wi-Fi Alliance for Wi-Fi certification.  As such, it doesn't always mean that a W-LAN that doesn't have a Wi-Fi logo is incompatible with Wi-Fi devices.  However, any gadget that is certified as a Wi-Fi device will be interoperable with any Wi-Fi device  or system anywhere in the world since Wi-Fi is a global standard.

The term 'Wi-Fi' is sometimes interpreted as 'Wireless Fidelity', with reference to the sound recording term 'High Fidelity' that is more popularly called 'Hi-Fi.'   Although 'wireless fidelity' is now being widely used to mean 'Wi-Fi', people who know the coinage history of 'Wi-Fi' say that 'Wi-Fi' does not officially stand for 'Wireless Fidelity'.  In fact, it is said that Wi-Fi is just a trademark as it is and does not translate to anything.

    

Figure 1.  Example of a Wi-Fi router

            

The limited range of a Wi-Fi system prevents it from being used in business applications that require long-distance mobility. As such, their typical business applications are generally confined within the walls of a warehouse, a retail shop, or a receiving/shipping station.

  

Perhaps the most familiar application of Wi-Fi to people is wireless internet access.  Routers (see Fig. 1) that can be attached to an ordinary DSL or cable modem but have Wi-Fi access capabilities are often used at home and at the office so that several internet users can share a single broadband connection wirelessly.  Wi-Fi internet access has likewise been adopted by coffee shops as a 'come-on' service for customers.

   

    

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