WI-FI has become a core part of our lives over the past decade, with most people relying on it everyday.
But what does the word Wi-Fi actually mean?
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Many think Wi-Fi stands for “wireless fidelity”.
Much like how Hi-Fi stands for “high fidelity”.
It would make sense but it’s not correct.
Phil Belanger, one of the founding members of the Wi-Fi Alliance – the trade association which holds the Wi-Fi trademark – has already debunked the decades-long myth over the word’s meaning.
In short: Wi-Fi doesn’t stand for anything.
It is not an acronym. There is no meaning.
Belanger was one of the people who gave internet connection a name.
He was part of hiring a company called Interbrand to come up with a name that sounded far less technical than what its developers were calling it at the time, which was IEEE 802.11b Direct Sequence.
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Not very catchy right?
“Wi-Fi and the yin yang style logo were invented by Interbrand,” he wrote in a statement nearly 10 years ago.
“We needed something that was a little catchier than ‘IEEE 802.11b Direct Sequence’.”
Belinger’s colleagues could not imagine using the name Wi-Fi without having some sort of literal explanation.
So, the team compromised and agreed to include the tag line “The Standard for Wireless Fidelity” along with the name – which has seemingly confused people to this day.
“This was a mistake and only served to confuse people and dilute the brand,” said Belinger.
“‘Wireless Fidelity’ – what does that mean? Nothing. It was a clumsy attempt to come up with two words that matched Wi and Fi. That’s it.”
Trouble is, Wi-Fi became so popular people simply assumed Wireless Fidelity is what it stood for.
But it turns out, it was just a poor marketing choice.
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