People are just realising meaning behind WiFi - as company dispels popular myth

15 August 2023 , 15:35

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An expert who was involved in the naming process has spoken out (stock image) (Image: Getty Images)

It's something the majority of us will use on a daily basis, whether that be for work or just for browsing TikTok, but many may well have completely the wrong end of the stick when it comes to what Wi-Fi actually means. As a matter of fact, despite popular opinion, Wi-Fi doesn't really stand for anything at all, as revealed by an expert who was involved in the naming process back in the 1990s.

Phil Belanger, who is among the founding members of the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance, now best known as the Wi-Fi Alliance, has explained that "Wi-Fi" was just one of 10 names proposed by Interbrand, the world-leading brand agency hired by the alliance to think up a name and logo.

Despite what many believe, Wi-Fi is 'not an acronym' (Stock Photo) (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A number of people believe Wi-Fi stands for "wireless fidelity" - much like how Hi-Fi stands for "high fidelity", but this couldn't be further from the truth at all, with the name actually having "no meaning" whatsoever. In an interview with Boing Boing, Belanger stated that Wi-Fi is "not an acronym", delving into the marketing-related reasons it was actually chosen.

Belanger explained: "We needed something that was a little catchier than 'IEEE 802.11b Direct Sequence'. Interbrand created 'Prozac', 'Compaq', 'oneworld', 'Imation', and many other brand names that you have heard of. They even created the company name 'Vivato'."

He added: "The only reason that you hear anything about "Wireless Fidelity' is some of my colleagues in the group were afraid. They didn't understand branding or marketing. They could not imagine using the name 'Wi-Fi' without having some sort of literal explanation. So we compromised and agreed to include the tagline 'The Standard for Wireless Fidelity' along with the name. This was a mistake and only served to confuse people and dilute the brand."

'I want to cut my neighbor off our WiFi - they've been using it for months'

Once Wi-Fi boomed in popularity, the by-then very successful alliance dropped the tagline, which Belanger regards as "a clumsy attempt to find two words that could go with 'Wi-Fi'." He added that Wi-Fi could "never be a standard", rendering the tagline meaningless.

Belanger reflected: "So we were smart to hire Interbrand to come up with the name and logo. We were dumb to confuse and water down their efforts by adding the meaningless tagline. Please help reinforce the good work that we did and forget the tagline."

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Julia Banim