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Wi-Fi

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in full wireless fidelity

Wi-Fi router. [Credit: Tharkhold]wireless networking technology that uses radio waves to allow high-speed data transfer over short distances.

Wi-Fi technology has its origins in a 1985 ruling by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission that released several bands of the radio spectrum for unlicensed use. Technology firms began building wireless networks and devices to take advantage of the newly available radio spectrum, but without a common wireless standard the movement remained fragmented, as devices from different manufacturers were rarely compatible. Eventually a committee of industry leaders came up with a common standard, which was approved by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers ... (100 of 240 words)

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"Wi-Fi." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2010. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 27 Jun. 2010 <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1473553/Wi-Fi>.

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Wi-Fi. (2010). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved June 27, 2010, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1473553/Wi-Fi

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