Wi-Fi question...

[Sair33]

Is "Wi-Fi" a trade name?
Wireless internet access is so often described as Wifi, I wondered whether it can legitimately be called that, or whether it has fallen into the realms of "Sellotape" and "Hoover" where trade names become household names!

The term is being used more and more here at work, but when it comes to publishing any literature etc, I'm really not sure what we are allowed to use.... anyone know?!

[theonlycarmire]

if it is a trademark name, i think that so many people have used it that it doesnt really matter anymore. i think you're safe to use it without documentation, and i think that no one would really know the difference anyway

[Flibb]

http://www.xs4all.nl/~jrme/wifi.htm
The IEEE 802.11 wireless LAN standard is usually referred to as Wi-Fi. It is a trade term promulgated by the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA).

"Wi-Fi" is used in place of 802.11 in the same way that "Ethernet" is used in place of IEEE 802.3.

Products certified as Wi-Fi by WECA are interoperable with each other even if they are from different manufacturers. A user with a Wi-Fi product can use any brand of access point with any other brand of client hardware that is built to the Wi-Fi standard.


The 802.11 standard has evolved into a number of sub-standards, each of which operates in a different GHz range and/or offers a different speed.
Currently the following sub-standards are distinguished

[Twigman]

Its short for "Wireless Fidelity" incase you were wondering.

[Howard]

It's the name of the technologies. It's trademarked.

[Zak33]

so...it IS trademarked and therefore permission is required to use the logo "WiFI" or must you use the term "Wireless Interface Access" or similar.?


blinding question

[Xaneden]

'Wireless internet' is not trademarked as far as I am aware, but yes, WiFi is.

It amazes me how many people don't understand it. Constantly, I get people ask me 'do you have wireless internet on that'. The advertisments really don't make it clear at all

[Howard]

so...it IS trademarked and therefore permission is required to use the logo "WiFI"

Indeed.


"Wireless internet" is just a misnomer for wireless networking. Because someone has a wireless-enabled router for example, the average noob will call it wireless internet