Wi-Fi Alliance® is a global non-profit industry association of hundreds of leading companies devoted to seamless connectivity. With technology development, market building, and regulatory programs, Wi-Fi Alliance has enabled widespread adoption of Wi-Fi® worldwide. The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ program was launched in March 2000. It provides a widely-recognized designation of interoperability and quality, and it helps to ensure that Wi-Fi-enabled products deliver the best user experience. Wi-Fi Alliance has certified more than 15,000 products, encouraging the expanded use of Wi-Fi products and services in new and established markets.
FAQ
Background
Wi-Fi and WiMAX will coexist and become increasingly complementary technologies for their respective applications. Wi-Fi technology was designed and optimized for Local Area Networks (LAN), whereas WiMAX was designed and optimized for Metropolitan Area Networks (MAN). WiMAX typically is not thought of as a replacement for Wi-Fi. Rather, WiMAX complements Wi-Fi by extending its reach and providing a "Wi-Fi like" user experience on a larger geographical scale.
Yes; if the component is Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ for the same frequency band (e.g. 2.4GHz) you can mix and match products produced by different manufacturers. The Wi-Fi Alliance tests all products independently to help ensure they are interoperable with all other Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ products of the same frequency band and features, regardless of manufacturer.
Wireless security is important, and Wi-Fi wireless networks can enable WPA2, a sophisticated encryption technology that protects data flowing between Wi-Fi radios and access points. Make sure you enable it on your network.
Wi-Fi CERTIFIED n devices typically have a range of up to 200 meters and can cover an entire home with a strong Wi-Fi signal. Another benefit of 802.11n technology is much better coverage. Wi-Fi CERTIFIED n devices use "reflections" of the signal (from walls, etc.) to strengthen it and eliminate cold or weak spots in the signal.
The power conservation achieved depends on the particular application in use, as well as how effectively the application uses WMM Power Save. The Wi-Fi Alliance has produced a white paper which offers guidance to application developers.