WI_FI

9/14/2008

Wi-Fi -- Apparently pronounced "Wife-Eye" -- is a marketing contraction of "Wireless Fidelity", a more or less meaningless term that has been applied to the extant 802.11b Wireless networking technology. 802.11b provides wireless communication between devices at a nominal 11 megabits per second. It allows 10 Mbps Ethernet to be extended over radio links for short distances. The range of an 802.11b access point varies from a few rooms to several kilometers if directional antennae are used. Reasonable expectations are coverage of a small office building and adjacent outdoor spaces. Roaming between multiple access points is permitted.

Wi-Fi devices are certified for interoperability.