What is Wi-Fi? Here’s Everything you Need to Know

Wi-Fi is one of the most significant technological developments of the modern era. This is the standard wireless network that helps us enjoy all the comforts of modern media and connectivity. But what is really Wi-Fi?

The term Wi-Fi means wireless fidelity. Like other wireless connections, such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi is a radio broadcast technology. Wireless accuracy is based on a set of standards that enable secure, high-speed communications between a wide variety of digital devices, access points, and hardware. It allows Wi-Fi enabled devices to access the Internet without the need for real cables.

Wi-Fi can run on short and long distances, locked and secure, or open and free. It is incredibly versatile and easy to use. That's why it is found on many popular devices. Wi-Fi is ubiquitous and extremely important to the way we operate our modern connected world.

For Best Home Wi-Fi  to work, the modem converts the Internet signal provider (ISP) and the wireless router distributes the connection to Wi-Fi enabled devices.

How does Wi-Fi work –

Although Wi-Fi is generally used to access the Internet on portable devices such as smartphones, tablets, or laptops, in reality, Wi-Fi is used to connect to a router. Wi-Fi is a wireless connection to this device, not the Internet itself. It also gives you access to a local area network of connected devices, so you can print photos wirelessly or watch a video stream from cameras connected by Wi-Fi.

Instead of using wired connections like Ethernet, most of the time, Wi-Fi is used. Each frequency range has multiple channels that can be used to help you make the most of your traffic.

The typical range of a standard Wi-Fi network can be up to 100 meters outdoors. Buildings and other materials reflect the signal, which makes most Wi-Fi networks much narrower than that. 10 to 35 meters are generally more common. The strength of the antenna and the diffuser can also affect the effective range of the network. Higher frequencies, such as 5 GHz and 60 GHz, have effective ranges much lower than 2.4 GHz.

Anyone within the range of a Wi-Fi network and the compatible device can detect the system and try to connect to it. That's what the job does, and it doesn't work. That is why there are standards such as WPA, WPA2 and WPA3 and it is essential to change your password if you think someone is accessing your network without permission.

What is 802.11 –

Frequently spoken in conjunction with Wi-Fi, 802.11, or IEEE 802.11, this is a set of protocols that specifies the type of communication that can occur over a Wi-Fi network with multiple wireless frequencies.

Before the recent amendment of the naming convention, 802.11 was also an essential part of the name for each successive generation of Wi-Fi connectivity. As a rule, followed by a letter or series of letters, it is still part of the naming convention — the scientific name of each generation of Wi-Fi connectivity. Wi-Fi, although simpler naming schemes are now used, labeled for ages.

What devices use Wi-Fi –

For 2019, Wi-Fi devices are everywhere. Most routers offer Wi-Fi connectivity and almost all smart products on the Internet. Nearly all modern smartphones are compatible, as are tablets, laptops, and some desktops. It can also be added to computers that use flash drives.

What are the different versions of Wi-Fi –

The first wireless network was created in 1971. Known as ALOHAnet, it was the forerunner of modern standards such as 802.11 and served as proof of concept for the next decades of wireless networking.

However, it was not until 1997 that the first version of the 802.11 protocol was released, offering speeds of up to 2Mbit per second. This was improved two years later to 11 Mbit per second and ratified as 802.11b. The same year, the Wi-Fi Alliance was created as a non-profit organization to maintain the Wi-Fi brand, monitor technology development, and provide a certification process for companies wishing to sell Wi-Fi enabled products. Today, it includes hundreds of companies, including industry giants like Apple, Dell, and Facebook.

Many generations of Wi-Fi connectivity have been launched over the past two decades. Most modern devices take advantage of 802.11n, 802.11ac, and more recently 802.11ax. These technologies have opened a wide range of potential frequencies to facilitate overcrowding of the network as well as higher data rates. Today, the fastest ones offer up to 15 Gbit per second, although slower speeds are more common.

In late 2018, the Wi-Fi Alliance announced its intention to use a new naming convention for generations of Wi-Fi. Starting with Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), I would start referring to them with this schema. A simple name to make it easier for the public to understand the features of the new standards when they are published.