Why is it called Wi-Fi?

It’s definitely not wireless fidelity

Image Source: DALL·E

Ever look at a Wi-Fi connection and ask, “Why is it called Wi-Fi?” We use it every day. It’s around us at home, in coffee shops, airports, hotels, and even on planes! However, most people do not know the meaning of the term. Many people think that Wi-Fi stands for “Wireless Fidelity”. Similar to Hi-Fi for High fidelity in an audio system.

But that’s not true. The genesis of Wi-Fi is a tale as much of technology, marketing, and a little clever branding magic that forever transformed the way we connect.

Let’s take a step back to the late 1990s. Wireless networking was still a fledgling idea at the time. Talking computer-to-computer, without cables, was a future possibility, yet also complicated. Companies were creating their own mutually incompatible wireless communications, so that devices from various manufacturers could not communicate with one another.

The tech industry was in disarray. So a bunch of big companies, such as Lucent Technologies, Nokia Corp, and Symbol Technologies, formed a not-for-profit called the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA). They were simply looking for a wireless networking standard that all devices could adhere to so they would be compatible regardless of who built them.

This new standard was based on a technology developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and referred to as IEEE 802.11. That sounds a lot like a jumble, doesn’t it? IEEE 802.11 is a technical term that refers to a collection of rules that establish how wireless networks operate, such as how data can be transmitted over the air, how devices communicate with one another, etc.

But, as you can imagine, IEEE 802.11 doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. It’s a name that an engineer would love. So the alliance realized that they had a problem. They wanted a name that the public would be able to remember and trust. Catchy, easy to say, and at the same time friendly enough to be marketed to the average consumer.

Which is where the branding experts stepped in. WECA brought in a marketing consultancy firm, namely Interbrand, one of the world’s most renowned naming companies, that helps create iconic names for companies and products.

Interbrand had to find a name that would make wireless networking sound interesting, accessible, and new. They brainstormed some options and came up with a two-syllable word that seemed just right — Wi-Fi. It didn’t actually stand for anything. It was not an acronym, nor did it have any technical significance.

It was just meant to have a sound a little like hi-fi, which people already knew as good audio equipment. The premise was to take some of that positive familiarity. If hi-fi means high-quality sound, maybe Wi-Fi would come to mean high-quality wireless.

In fact, Interbrand’s team initially suggested the tag line: The standard for wireless fidelity. Originally created to explain what Wi-Fi was, but, sadly, that created decades of confusion. Many started to think that Wi-Fi is really wireless fidelity. The reality, however, is that it didn’t. It was simply a marketing gimmick; a clever but deceptive slogan that was used to simplify a complex technology.

Later, even the co-founder of the Wi-Fi Alliance, Phil Belanger, acknowledged that the name was picked up simply for its “catchiness,” more than any technical significance. He even condemned the tagline as “misinformation. When the truth did come out, however, the world already had Wi-Fi as part of its daily vocabulary.

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