This is a paper that I wrote for my Wireless Networking Class in February 2020.
Wi-Fi is one of the best technology success stories within the technology era. By 2023, the worldwide economic value of Wi-Fi is estimated to increase to $3.5 trillion. Billions of Wi-Fi devices are shipped worldwide every year. This has all become a reality due to the Wi-Fi Alliance and their diligent efforts. The Wi-Fi Alliance is worldwide and consists of a network of organizations. These organizations collaborate to provide the World with Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi is a communication technology that is highly valued worldwide. The main goal and vision of the Wi-Fi Alliance is to provide Wi-Fi everywhere, so that everyone and everything will be connected. The Wi-Fi Alliance is celebrating over twenty years of Wi-Fi implementation and usage. It has an excellent mission, supports using WPA2 security in Wi-Fi networks, and has a certification process for organizations to become Wi-Fi certified (Wi-Fi Alliance, 2020c).
Several organizations banded together and formed a group in 1999. They created a worldwide non-profit group. This group’s goal was to support, create, and promote the most excellent user experiences, no matter what brand was being used. This goal would be accomplished using a new wireless networking technology. This group created the name “Wi-Fi.” The “Wi-Fi” name was introduced in 2000 as the official name it would use for all their technical work. Also, in 2000, they announced that the group’s official name would be the Wi-Fi Alliance (Wi-Fi Alliance, 2020a).
The Wi-Fi Alliance is the leader in worldwide Wi-Fi implementation and advancement. This goal is being achieved by utilizing thought leadership, spectrum advocacy, and industry collaboration. The leadership component ensures that Wi-Fi will remain secure, efficient, and user-friendly. The spectrum advocacy component supports the continuous growth of Wi-Fi. The industry collaboration component helps to guarantee that Wi-Fi will have a high-performance rate and users will have excellent Wi-Fi experiences. The Wi-Fi Alliance wants to help guarantee that Wi-Fi will deliver all users with interoperability, security, and reliability. This guarantee is accomplished through the creation of innovative technologies, requirements, and test programs (Wi-Fi Alliance, 2020c).
The Wi-Fi Alliance has an excellent mission to continue to expand Wi-Fi uses and availability. The worldwide collaboration among its members is promoted so that this collaboration can become even more effective to further advance its Wi-Fi initiatives. Reliable and high-quality connection experiences are being delivered through interoperability. Current and new technologies are embraced and utilized, which is furthering innovation. Worldwide technology adoption is actively promoted. Fair worldwide spectrum rules are actively promoted. Industry standards are promoted, lead, created, and embraced (Wi-Fi Alliance, 2020c).
The Wi-Fi Alliance believes that it is very important to use WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access 2) security to secure Wi-Fi network connections. Wi-Fi is highly used and has become a part of daily life for individuals and organizations. Wi-Fi is used to for shopping, banking, research, communication, and much more. There is a plethora of sensitive data that passes through Wi-Fi connections. This makes Wi-Fi security an extremely important issue. The Wi-Fi Alliance allows individuals and organizations to increase the protection of their sensitive data, credentials, and files that are transmitted across Wi-Fi networks by securing those networks with WPA2 security (Wi-Fi Alliance, 2020b).
WPA2 provides security and privacy for Wi-Fi networks and devices. All Wi-Fi certified devices have used WPA2 since 2006. The Wi-Fi Alliance’s WPA2 certification program constantly evolves and adapts in order to meet security needs as the security environment continues to evolve. Beginning in 2018, the Wi-Fi Alliance enhanced network security protection by implementing and improving configuration, authentication, and encryption. The improved validation of the vendor security implementations decreases vulnerabilities due to network misconfigurations. It also increases the security for managed networks that have centralized authentication services. The Wi-Fi Alliance will continue to evolve and improve its standards for interoperability and security in all Wi-Fi certified devices (Wi-Fi Alliance, 2020b).
The Wi-Fi Alliance allows organizations to become Wi-Fi certified. Their certification program is called Wi-Fi CERTIFIED. This certification program and its product seal of approval are recognized internationally. The seal of approval for products shows that the products met the industry-agreed standards for interoperability, security, and protocols. All products that are labeled Wi-Fi CERTIFIED have gone through thorough tests by one of the independent Authorized Test Laboratories. When a product passes all the tests, the manufacturer or vendor will be given the right to use the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED logo. When a product goes through the certification tests, it will be tested in various configurations, along with a diverse sampling of other devices. This will validate interoperability with other Wi-Fi CERTIFIED equipment that operate within the same frequency band (Wi-Fi Alliance, 2020).
The Wi-Fi Alliance’s certification is available for consumer, enterprise, and operator-specific products. The certification covers products, such as smartphones, appliances, computers, peripherals, networking infrastructure, and electronic devices. The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED logo provides consumers with the knowledge and confidence that the product they have purchased will deliver an excellent user experience. The certification is used by service providers and enterprise IT managers to specify that devices are Wi-Fi CERTIFIED. This assists them with decreasing support costs and guaranteeing that a product has met all industry-agreed requirements (Wi-Fi Alliance, 2020).
For an organization to have its products tested for certification and use the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED logo and trademarks, it must be a member of the Wi-Fi Alliance (Wi-Fi Alliance, 2020). When an organization becomes a member of the Wi-Fi Alliance, it shows that it is engaged in the most current Wi-Fi technology advancements. Once an organization joins, it will have access to expert knowledge and networking opportunities in a cooperative environment. This environment includes hundreds of worldwide experts. An organization can also participate in leadership roles, which will assist with enhancing wireless technology advancements. There are three membership levels, which are Contributor, Implementer, and Small Business Introductory Membership (Wi-Fi Alliance 2020d).
The Contributor level membership is for organizations who would like to improve the direction of the Wi-Fi industry and create Wi-Fi CERTIFIED products. An organization would have the opportunity to create, test, and certify products. The organization can participate and vote in Marketing, Technical, and Regulatory groups. It can monitor new programs. It will also be able to extend benefits to other organizations that it is associated with. The Implementer level membership is for organizations who would like to carry out and use certified solutions in products, along with using the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED brand. An organization will be able to employ unmodified Wi-Fi modules that are certified by another member. It can use the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED logo and brands. It can also access final documents. It will be unable to vote (Wi-Fi Alliance 2020d). The Small Business Introductory Membership has two levels. The Small Business Introductory Participant level membership has the benefits of the Contributor level membership. However, the main difference is that the organization would be unable to vote. The Small Business Introductory Implementer level membership has the benefits of the Implementer level membership. Both membership levels are available to small organizations that have annual revenues less than $10 million (Wi-Fi Alliance, 2020e).
Once an organization has selected their membership level, they can begin the process to join the Wi-Fi Alliance. The organization must show that its dedicated to the mission of the Wi-Fi Alliance. They must display their legitimate business interests publicly. The organization must show that they publicly support the Wi-Fi Alliance. This can be done through a press release, by shipping products, and / or enabling technology, such as, chip sets or software for Wi-Fi products. Another option would be to implement services that are based upon Wi-Fi specifications for wireless solutions. Once this is complete, the organization must complete a Membership Application, review and sign their Membership Agreement, and pay their membership dues (Wi-Fi Alliance, 2020d).
An organization that is a service provider can obtain many benefits by becoming a member of the Wi-Fi Alliance and obtaining their certification. Since the first Wi-Fi CERTIFIED product was revealed in 2000, there have been thousands of products that have been certified. There have also been many certification programs that were initiated. These certification programs preserve interoperability for an excellent user experience. Current Wi-Fi CERTIFIED products still connect with products that were certified back in 2000. Wi-Fi CERTIFIED products can provide benefits to everyone who is involved in the product value chain. Certified interoperability provides support for lower return rates, which decrease support costs. Consumer satisfaction and sales volumes will both increase. Certification will bring interoperability to large-scale deployments. All support for Wi-Fi devices will be streamlined. This streamlining includes multi-vendor deployments. It assists with containing costs. Consumers and subscribers recognize the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED brand, which will assist with increasing the marketing impact of new products (Wi-Fi Alliance, 2020f).
In 2020, there are hundreds of Wi-Fi Alliance member organizations. These member organizations are situated in dozens of countries. The Wi-Fi Alliance promotes and innovates new technology and new applications for Wi-Fi use. They certify thousands of Wi-Fi products every year. This guarantees that consumers are buying a high-quality product that will provide them with a high-quality user experience. The Wi-Fi Alliance continuously works on new Wi-Fi applications, products, and emerging technologies (Wi-Fi Alliance, 2020a). They have an unwavering dedication to increasing the Wi-Fi’s uses and availability. They are focused on providing an excellent user experience that supports and surpasses the current success of Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi Alliance, 2020c).
References
Wi-Fi Alliance. (2020f). Benefits. Retrieved from The Wi-Fi Alliance:
https://www.wi-fi.org/certification/benefits
Wi-Fi Alliance. (2020). Certification. Retrieved from The Wi-Fi Alliance:
https://www.wi-fi.org/certification
Wi-Fi Alliance. (2020a). History. Retrieved from The Wi-Fi Alliance:
https://www.wi-fi.org/who-we-are/history
Wi-Fi Alliance. (2020d). Membership. Retrieved from The Wi-Fi Alliance:
https://www.wi-fi.org/membership
Wi-Fi Alliance. (2020b). Security. Retrieved from The Wi-Fi Alliance:
https://www.wi-fi.org/discover-wi-fi/security
Wi-Fi Alliance. (2020e). Small Business Introductory Membership. Retrieved from The Wi-Fi Alliance:
https://www.wi-fi.org/small-business-introductory-membership
Wi-Fi Alliance. (2020c). Who We Are. Retrieved from The Wi-Fi Alliance:
