The widespread adoption of Wi-Fi® in hospitals in recent years has transformed healthcare – for the greater good. As a result of Wi-Fi, entirely new waves of medical devices are being created to take advantage of the mobile connectivity that Wi-Fi provides in healthcare facilities – wireless EKGs, infusion pumps, and blood pressure cuffs to name a few.

Kevin Fitchard, Gigaom tech reporter, gave a keynote address at the Wi-Fi Alliance® member meeting in Chicago in June. The following content is Part 2 of an abridged version of that speech. Part 1 can be read here.

Kevin Fitchard, Gigaom tech reporter, gave a keynote address at the Wi-Fi Alliance® member meeting in Chicago in June. The following content is an abridged version of that speech, delivered in a two-part series.

At the launch of the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ ac program, we looked at the mobile revolution, its role in changing Wi-Fi® adoption, and the future.

Recently we’ve seen growing enthusiasm and industry movement around the Internet of Everything (IoE) and the Internet of Things (or IoT), with several industry announcements and a fair amount of speculation about technology choices and fragmentation in this market.

One thing worth celebrating this month—in the high-tech industry, that is—is the one-year anniversary of  Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ ac, the latest generation of Wi-Fi®, based on the 802.11ac standard.

You might have seen Wi-Fi Alliance’s announcement about the launch of Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Wi-Fi Protected Setup™ with Near Field Communication (NFC) “tap-to-connect”. I think this announcement is a big deal, and here is why.Tap-to-connect:  Wi-Fi® and NFC make a great pair

With products based on the 802.11ac standard now appearing in great numbers in the marketplace, the debate over when to deploy this exciting advance in Wi-Fi® capabilities is also well underway. Note that I say when here – it’s not a question of if, but rather how to schedule 802.11ac rollouts.

Although Wi-Fi® was initially focused on consumer markets, it quickly proved beneficial for industrial and enterprise settings. The finalization of the 802.11n standard in 2009 brought MIMO (multiple-input multiple-output) and improved range. 802.11n also was the first standard to use both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequency bands.

It’s clear the Internet of Everything is happening, and Wi-Fi is a fundamental enabler. Consumers are coming to understand that the Wi-Fi technology they already know and love is making their lives even better by connecting them to thousands of Internet of Everything products.