6 Things You Didn’t Know About Wi-Fi

There was a time when the needs of Food, Clothing, and Shelter were touted as the most basic. Fast forward to 2020, and Wi-Fi has been added to this very basic of needs. From Baby boomers to Gen Z, everyone uses an excellent healthy Wi-Fi connection function in society and keeps it secure via 192.168.10.1 Admin Login, User, Password & IP. For service so widespread, there is a fair bit of mystery to its actual functioning and many obscure facts that you would be amazed to know about.

Number ONE.

Wi-Fi is not an abbreviation for anything. Yes! Some of you will surely have heard that Wireless Fidelity was the actual term which was then shortened to Wi-Fi but that my friends, is an urban legend. It is merely a trademarked name for the IEEE 802.11, which for obvious reasons, could not be branded as such.

Wi-Fi has had many names in the past, DragonFly being one of them. After having floated along on several titles for years, Interbrand Corporation, a global consultancy, finally came up with the name Wi-Fi and the now world-famous logo for it. The rest, as they say, is history.

Number TWO.

I am sure many of us have closed our eyes and imagined how the signals from Wi-Fi occupy space, traveling, and connecting devices. You don’t have to wonder anymore. Concentric, omnidirectional waves that are spherical or elliptical is what a typical Wi-Fi signal field would look like.

Maybe a more accessible reference point would be a donut. Or more accurately, Donuts embedded in donuts. It sounds just as funny as intriguing. Wi-Fi usually extends up to twenty to thirty meters. Now the signals lose their strength as and when they face obstacles like Concrete walls, trees, etc. They will be able to penetrate them or move around them, but energy will be lost. It’s basically like talking to someone while separated by walls.

Not only solid objects, but other signals can also impact Wi-Fi. Microwave ovens can interfere with the messages, and so can other Wi-Fi signals in the vicinity. So the next time you are setting up your router, be sure to keep it away from appliances that emit signals of their own to enjoy uninterrupted Wi-Fi.

Number THREE.

More than 70% of the world is connected by Wireless internet as of 2017. It was also predicted that almost 64 million public Wi-Fi hotspots would be established all over the world by this year.

While the United States had the highest Wi-Fi connection concentration, it doesn’t even come within the top twenty list of countries with the best public Wi-Fi.

Surprisingly, Lithuania is the country that tops the list with the highest average downloading speed, according to a survey of 184 countries conducted by Rotten Wi-Fi and published on the World Economic Forum Website. Europe has the most dominating presence on this list.

Number FOUR.

There is a World Wi-Fi Day in the works. Around 100 companies, including Cisco and AT&T, have supported the declaration of June 20th as World Wi-Fi Day, an initiative spearheaded by the Wireless Broadband Alliance. In the hopes of connecting the world and making wireless connections more accessible to the world, the WBA came up with a “HOPE for Connectivity charter”. I hope that breaks down into Help, Offer, Promote, and Engage is the schedule that WBA wants to follow through. 

Virtually a step to recognize the importance of Wi-Fi in the global development scenario, WBA has urged the billions of Wi-Fi users worldwide to take part in this day and come up with suggestions to celebrate it.

Number FIVE.

The debate on whether Wi-Fi signals can make you sick continues. Electromagnetic hypersensitivity has been around for a while, and even terms like Wi-Fi allergies are gaining traction among netizens. While several experiments have claimed that it is all in the head and that Wi-Fi signals are much safer than mobile signals, many continue to tout Wi-Fi as the cause of constant headaches and other ailments.

Conspiracy theorists would love to play around with this idea, but scientists assure that the radiofrequency signals from any device, no matter how powerful it is, would be too low to cause any damage to the human system. Unless the person is sitting in a place with dangerously high-powered radio-frequency source, no harm would be inflicted. 

All we can say is that it is not healthy to be glued to your screens powered by Wi-Fi 24×7. Your eyes and your body, in general, will thank you for getting out in the fresh air sooner rather than later. If it helps you escape the “supposed” noose of Wi-Fi signals, then that is an added advantage.

Number SIX.

According to a survey conducted by a US hotel chain on almost 800 travelers, Wi-Fi services were more important to them than other amenities like complimentary breakfast. Nearly 80% of the respondents agreed that their overall impression of the Hotel would take a turn for the better if there were complimentary Wi-Fi.  

This might not come across as a surprise anymore, since Wi-Fi gives a tough competition to cellular data. It has always been a cheaper option than the latter. Additionally, if you are travelling outside your region, you would be bombarded with extra charges and perhaps even low quality. Wi-Fi on the other hand, only needs a location and access. It is a given that people would seek out Wi-Fi mandatorily, wherever they would go. 

If there were a dream in the making about owning a hospitality chain, it would do you good to remember this finding won’t it? Invest in a useful network provider instead of Gourmet Chefs and Voila! You could be the next big thing in this industry!

Conclusion

I hope these facts give you some much-needed insight into a service that is almost as vital as clean, fresh air to breathe in today’s time. The Pandemic has only increased the massive demand for Wi-Fi, connecting loved ones separated by oceans and viruses and murderous hornets.

 

About Author:-

Ellie Bennington can usually be found reading a book, and that book will more likely than not be a romantic fantasy. Writing a novel was always on her bucket list, and soon, it will became a reality. When not absorbed in the latest heart warming page-turner, Ellie loves cooking, knits very badly, enjoys riding her Vespa around town, and otherwise spends far too much time at the computer. She lives in the States, with her sister and cute little kitten named Zazzles.