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12.4 | |
Wireless Organizations and Certifications | |
| 12.4.1 | |
The Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) Alliance |
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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
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.
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. Users can look for
the logo to make sure that a hot spot is a Wi-Fi ZONE. 
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