Who amongst us doesn’t know the  importance of this technology!? In the modern world where Internet is ubiquitous and connectivity to social media is an all important ritual, WiFi is the one connecting medium that has ensured this.

From bringing internet connectivity to our devices as small as iPods and as large as laptops, WiFi is the pioneer in the concept of Internet of Things(IoT). It has integrated so much into our lives that we actually don’t even realise that we use a technology called WiFi. We just take it for granted. With seamless transition from GPRS internet to WiFi internet as soon as we enter the threshold of our homes, it’s become harder to recognize WiFi and it’s magic around us. We only realise its true value when the connections are down or there’s a power outage. Such is the impact WiFi has had on our lives, that we actually don’t even know what the word WiFi stands for.

For the uninitiated, WiFi stands for Wireless Fidelity. WiFi, as a technology has been developed and regulated by a consortium of companies called the Wi-Fi Alliance®. 

History of Wifi

The history of WiFi can be traced back to the 802.11 technology which has its origins in a 1985 ruling by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission that released the ISM band for unlicensed use. This technology which then saw a precursor being developed in 1991 by the NCR Corporation (now Nokia Labs and LSI Corporation) in Nieuwegein, the Netherlands. The inventors initially intended to use the technology for cashier systems. The first wireless products were brought to the market under the name WaveLAN with raw data rates of 1 Mbit/s and 2 Mbit/s. However, Vic Hayes, who held the chair of IEEE 802.11 was involved in the designing of the 802.11b and 802.11a standards on which all modern WiFi communication is based. He has been called the "father of Wi-Fi" In 1999, the Wi-Fi Alliance was formed as a trade association to hold the Wi-Fi trademark under which most products are sold.

How does it Work?

Radio Signals are the key to understanding how WiFi works. Like mobile phones, a WiFi network makes use of radio waves to transmit information across a network. 

Computers which are to be connected usually include a wireless adapter that will translate data sent into a radio signal. This same signal will be transmitted, via an antenna, to a decoder known as the router. Once decoded, the data will be sent to the Internet through a wired Ethernet connection. 

As the wireless network works as a two-way traffic, the data received from the internet will also pass through the router to be coded into a radio signal that will be received by the computer's wireless adapter.  

Whenever a computer receives any of the signals within the range of a WiFi network, which is usually 300 — 500 feet for antennas, the WiFi card reads the signals and thus creates an internet connection between the user and the network without the use of a cord.

WiFi Frequencies

A wireless network will transmit at a frequency level of 2.4 GHz or 5GHz to adapt to the amount of data that is being sent by the user. These frequencies are decided by the WiFi alliance consortium who decide upon the standard transmission frequencies for all WiFi communications. This standard is then adopted by hardware manufacturers across the globe who build wifi transmitters which transmit only in the standardised frequencies 

The 802.11 networking standards will somewhat vary depending mostly on the user's needs. 

The 802.11a will transmit data at a frequency level of 5GHz. The Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) used enhances reception by dividing the radio signals into smaller signals before reaching the router. You can transmit a maximum of 54 megabits of data per second. 

The 802.11b will transmit data at a frequency level of 2.4GHz, which is a relatively slow speed. You can transmit a maximum of 11 megabits of data per second. 

The 802.11g will transmit data at 2.4GHz but can transmit a maximum of 54 megabits of data per second as it also uses an OFDM coding. 

The more advanced 802.11n can transmit a maximum of 140 megabits of data per second and uses a frequency level of 5GHz. 

Significance of WiFi

TheWi-Fi® has accomplished more in 16 years than many technologies do in their lifespan – including enabling the rise of mobile internet by carrying a significant portion of the world’s data traffic, advancing data rates from 11 Mbps to more than 1,100 Mbps, connecting users in more than 450 million households worldwide and more than 47 million global public hotspots, and contributing more than $222 billion in economic value.

The number of connected devices will reach 38.5 billion in 2020. This growth is due in part to manufacturers adding intelligence and connectivity to products not typically thought of as “high-tech,” like your Wi-Fi connected vacuum, coffee maker, door locks, or slow cooker. The average home has more than eight devices on the network, and that number will continue to grow. 

References: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5