19 Awesome Facts About Wifi That Most People Don't Know
We take wifi connection for granted. It's the first thing that comes to mind when we think of wireless connections. But how much does the average person know about wifi? It's the most commonly used wireless technology compared to others such as infrared and bluetooth. Here are 19 amazing facts about wifi that you might not have known before:
1 Wifi has been around for quite some time
Those of us old enough to remember dial-up internet may think that wifi is a new technology. In fact, wifi has been around since September 1990! It will be 30 years old in a few years time. Feel old yet?
2 It is powering a whopping 71% of all mobile communications
71% of mobile communications flowing over wireless internet. This makes it the undisputed king of communications transmission the world over.
3 It wasn't always called Wifi
Previous names for Wi-Fi were WaveLAN, FlankSpeed, DragonFly, WECA and IEEE 802.11b Direct Sequence, before the more consumer friendly name of Wi-Fi was adopted. Imagine asking your neighbor for their Dragonfly password.. Thank goodness wifi was popularised instead.
4 The word Wifi doesn't actually mean anything
Interbrand invented the term “Wi-Fi” as a play on words
of the term “Hi-Fi” or “High Fidelity”. However, Wi-Fi doesn’t actually
stand for anything. What added to the confusion was the Wi-Fi
Alliance’s use of a nonsense advertising slogan, “The Standard for
Wireless Fidelity,” which lead many people to think that Wi-Fi was an
abbreviation of “Wireless Fidelity”.
5 South Korea has the fastest wifi speeds
With the global average internet speed sitting at 5.6Mbps, South Korea is storming ahead as the fastest country in the world with an average internet speed of 26.7Mbps!
6 Wifi travels in donut form
Wi-Fi signals generally emit from your router in a doughnut shape. What a tasty thought.
7 5GHz Wifi actually starts slow and gets faster
5GHz Wi-Fi actually starts at around 4.9GHz and goes all the
way to 5.7GHz -- this can vary widely between different regions due to
what frequencies are allowed.
8 The most common form of Wired Technology was invented 50 years ago
Ethernet – the most commonly used wired network standard – was invented almost half a century ago in the early 1970’s, by Bob Metcalfe.
9 They used TV cables for computers back in the day
In the early days of computer networking, coaxial cables
were used, the same type of cabling that is commonly used for cable or
satellite TV today.
10 The inventor of the internet wore a t-shirt predicting how the internet would spread
In 1992, Vinton G. Cerf, VP, known as the “Father of the
Internet,” first predicted that IP would appear on everything. He also
wore a controversial T-shirt with the phrase, which apparently caused quite the stir at the time!
11 The term "Internet of Things" is also not new
You may have only heard it recently, but the term Internet of Things (IoT) has actually been around for almost 20 years! It was first coined in 1999 by Kevin Ashton, a British visionary and engineer
12 Each person on earth owns three devices on average
In 2016 there was approximately 7 billion people living on the planet, and over 23 billion devices connected to the Internet – that’s an average of 3 devices per person.
13 By 2020 there will be double the amount of devices per person
By 2020 it is estimated there will be over 50 billion Wi-Fi connected devices worldwide being used by 7.8 billion people – over doubling the amount of average devices per person!
14 15 Billion wifi devices were shipped in 2016
In 2016 over 15 billion Wi-Fi connected devices were shipped across the globe! That’s a lot of tech!
15 Some walking sticks are also connected to the network
Some of the strangest Wi-Fi connected devices
now include Walking Sticks, Umbrellas, Shirts, Water Bottles, Tails
(for festival goers) and Cutlery. We’ve left the really odd items off
this list!
16 Smart Homes are catching on as a trend
90% of consumers are being driven towards the connected smart home trend by better security for their homes and families.
17 There are 150 million Smart Homes in the world
There are currently around 150 million smart homes worldwide – it won’t be long before Wi-Fi connected homes are the norm.
18 Demand for Wifi Thermostats is rising
Wi-Fi connected thermostats, with their money-saving and environmentally-conscious features, top the consumer wish list of Smart Home desires
19 3.7 Billion people are connected to the interwebs
Right now 3.7 billion people are using the Internet – that’s over half the world’s population connected to the world wide web just like you are.
Hope you enjoyed this article and learned some new things. Check out our wifi rental service if you plan to go on an overseas trip anytime soon!
