Wi-Fi is a trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance, founded in 1999 as WECA (Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance). The organisation comprises more than 300 companies, whose products are certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance, based on the IEEE 802.11 standards (also called WLAN (Wireless LAN) and Wi-Fi). This certification warrants interoperability between different wireless devices. The alliance was founded because many products did not correctly implement IEEE 802.11, and some included proprietary extensions. This led to incompatibilities between products from different manufacturers. The Wi-Fi Alliance tests the wireless components to their own terms of reference. Products that pass become Wi-Fi certified and may carry the Wi-Fi logo. Only products of Wi-Fi Members are tested, as they pay membership and per-item-fees. A missing Wi-Fi logo does not necessarily mean non-compliance with the standard. In some countries (USA, France, Poland...) the term "Wi-Fi" is often used by the public as a synonym for wireless Internet (W-LAN), although not every wireless Internet product has a Wi-Fi certification. This may be due to certification costs that must be paid for each certified device type. Wi-Fi certification is provided for technology used in home networks, mobile phones, video games and other devices that require wireless networking. It covers IEEE 802.11 standards including 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11n. Wi-Fi technologies are supported by most personal computer operating systems, many game consoles, laptops, smartphones, printers and other peripherals. The purpose of Wi-Fi is to provide inter-operable wireless access between devices. Wi-Fi generally makes access to information between devices from different manufacturers easier, as it can eliminate some of the physical restraints of wiring which can be especially true for mobile devices.

A Wi-Fi enabled device such as a PC, game console, mobile phone, MP3 player or PDA can connect to the Internet when within range of a wireless network connected to the Internet. The coverage of one or more interconnected access points - called a hotspot - can comprise an area as small as a single room with wireless-opaque walls or as large as many square miles covered by overlapping access points. Wi-Fi technology has served to set up mesh networks, for example, in London.[1] Both architectures can operate in community networks. In addition to restricted use in homes and offices, Wi-Fi can make access publicly available at Wi-Fi hotspots provided either free of charge or to subscribers to various providers. Organizations and businesses such as airports, hotels and restaurants often provide free hotspots to attract or assist clients. Enthusiasts or authorities who wish to provide services or even to promote business in a given area sometimes provide free Wi-Fi access. Metropolitan-wide Wi-Fi (Muni-Fi) already[update] has more than 300 projects in process.[2] There were 879 Wi-Fi based Wireless Internet service providers in the Czech Republic as of May 2008.[3][4] Wi-Fi also allows connectivity in peer-to-peer (wireless ad-hoc network) mode, which enables devices to connect directly with each other. This connectivity mode can prove useful in consumer electronics and gaming applications. When wireless networking technology first entered the market many problems ensued for consumers who could not rely on products from different vendors working together. The Wi-Fi Alliance began as a community to solve this issue - aiming to address the needs of the end-user and to allow the technology to mature. The Alliance created the branding Wi-Fi CERTIFIED to reassure consumers that products will interoperate with other products displaying the same branding. Many consumer devices use Wi-Fi. Amongst others, personal computers can network to each other and connect to the Internet, mobile computers can connect to the Internet from any Wi-Fi hotspot, and digital cameras can transfer images wirelessly. Routers which incorporate a DSL-modem or a cable-modem and a Wi-Fi access point, often set up in homes and other premises, provide Internet-access and internetworking to all devices connected (wirelessly or by cable) to them. One can also connect Wi-Fi devices in ad-hoc mode for client-to-client connections without a router. Wi-Fi also enables places which would traditionally not have network to be connected, for example bathrooms, kitchens and garden sheds. The 'father of Wi-Fi', Vic Hayes, stated that being able to access the internet whilst answering a call of nature was 'one of life's most liberating experiences'. As of 2007 Wi-Fi technology had spread widely within business and industrial sites. In business environments, just like other environments, increasing the number of Wi-Fi access-points provides redundancy, support for fast roaming and increased overall network-capacity by using more channels or by defining smaller cells. Wi-Fi enables wireless voice-applications (VoWLAN or WVOIP). Over the years, Wi-Fi implementations have moved toward "thin" access-points, with more of the network intelligence housed in a centralized network appliance, relegating individual access-points to the role of mere "dumb" radios. Outdoor applications may utilize true mesh topologies. As of 2007 Wi-Fi installations can provide a secure computer networking gateway, firewall, DHCP server, intrusion detection system, and other functions. Wi-Fi allows local area networks (LANs) to be deployed without cabling for client devices, typically reducing the costs of network deployment and expansion. Spaces where cables cannot be run, such as outdoor areas and historical buildings, can host wireless LANs. Wireless network adapters are now built into most laptops. The price of chipsets for Wi-Fi continues to drop, making it an economical networking option included in even more devices. Wi-Fi has become widespread in corporate infrastructures. Different competitive brands of access points and client network interfaces are inter-operable at a basic level of service. Products designated as "Wi-Fi Certified" by the Wi-Fi Alliance are backwards compatible. Wi-Fi is a global set of standards. Unlike mobile telephones, any standard Wi-Fi device will work anywhere in the world. Wi-Fi is widely available in more than 220,000 public hotspots and tens of millions of homes and corporate and university campuses worldwide.[5] Wi-Fi Protected Access encryption (WPA and WPA2) is not easily cracked if strong passwords are used. New protocols for Quality of Service (WMM) make Wi-Fi more suitable for latency-sensitive applications (such as voice and video), and power saving mechanisms (WMM Power Save) improve battery operation.

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