The Wi-Fi Alliance is an organization that is intended to improve the interoperability of wireless local area network products based on the IEEE 802.11 standards. The Wi-Fi Alliance coined the term Wi-Fi (pronounced wye-fye, and rhymes with Hi-Fi). The term Wi-Fi has become synonymous with Wireless Ethernet (IEEE 802.11); however, this is technically incorrect because Wi-Fi is a brand name and not a generic technology name.

Like the OPC Foundation (www.opcfoundation.org) does for OPC, the Wi-Fi Alliance (www.wi-fi.org) certifies IEEE 802.11 products via a set of established test procedures to establish interoperability. Manufacturers that are members of Wi-Fi Alliance and whose products pass these interoperability tests can mark their products and product packaging with the Wi-Fi logo. However, unlike the OPC Foundation, the Wi-Fi Alliance does not define the IEEE 802.11 standard, which is left to the IEEE - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (www.ieee.org) organization.

The Wi-Fi Alliance was formed in 1999 when various companies gathered to form a non-profit organization with the goal of driving the adoption of a single worldwide-accepted standard for high-speed wireless local area networking (LAN). The Wi-Fi Alliance has over 300 members from more than 20 countries.

See also: IEEE 802.11, Wi-Fi, Wireless Ethernet

The Wi-Fi Alliance is a non-profit organization that promotes Wi-Fi technology and certifies Wi-Fi products for conformity to certain standards of interoperability. Not every IEEE 802.11-compliant device is submitted for certification to the Wi-Fi Alliance, sometimes because of costs associated with the certification process. The lack of the Wi-Fi logo does not necessarily imply a device is incompatible with Wi-Fi devices.

The Wi-Fi Alliance owns the Wi-Fi trademark. Manufacturers may use the trademark to brand certified products that have been tested for interoperability.