Wi-Fi is the industry name for wireless local area network (WLAN) communication technology related to the IEEE 802.11 family of wireless networking standards. Wi-Fi technology first became popular with 802.11b, introduced in 1999 and the first standard in that family to enjoy mainstream adoption. Today, Wi-Fi refers to any of the established standards:
- 802.11a
- 802.11b
- 802.11g
- 802.11n
- 802.11ac
The Wi-Fi Alliance certifies vendor equipment to ensure 802.11 products on the market follow the various 802.11 specifications. Consumer versions of Wi-Fi products have additionally maintained backward compatibility. For example, 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11n equipment all can communicate with each other, and mixed Wi-Fi networks with devices running multiple of these standards are commonly referred to as "802.11b/g/n" networks. 802.11ac equipment also communicates with each of these others. The old 802.11a technology is not compatible with these others and has fallen out of mainstream usage as a result.
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