Wi-FI was born on 30 September 1999. In fact, the first wireless Internet connection dates back to June 1971, on the Hawaiian Islands where AlohaNet created a wireless connection with a protocol considered a precursor of the one then known as IEEE.802.11.
Twenty years later, in 1991, the NCR Corporation, under the leadership of Vic Hayes (considered by many to be “the father of Wi-Fi”) took another step forward with a technology at the time called WaveLAN. There were a couple of patents in between until 1977 when the first version of the famous 802.11 protocol was released which allowed 2Mbit / s wireless data exchange. In 1999 a new version, 802.11b, allowed surfing up to 11 Mbit / s and this made it more popular.
But the first products were not interoperable, each following their own standards. Then, in the summer of 1999, in Austin, Texas, all the manufacturers of these devices came together for the first time to connect. One of the first things to decide was the name: what name to give this new technology? The task was entrusted to the Interbrand agency which invented the name Wi-Fi.
On the Interbrand website this is remembered as follows: “The Wi-Fi name does not mean Wireless Fidelity, in reality it does not mean anything… at the time the technical name was IEEE.802.11 but it could not work. We searched for a memorable name – something universal that you could find in your home, office, coffee shop, or on public transport, something that would immediately help users understand what it was all about. So we proposed Wi-Fi, as consumers were already used to the expression hi-fi, high fidelity. The name told you that even without wires, Wi-Fi gives you high-quality connectivity wherever you are. Since its launch, Wi-Fi has become synonymous with wireless connectivity… ”.
Interbrand also immediately made the logo: the association of producers, meeting in Austin, approved the proposal and three years later also changed its name, from WECA to Wi-Fi Alliance.
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