Austin, TX and Washington, D.C – October 2, 2018 – Wi-Fi Alliance® applauds the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Pai on taking the first steps towards making necessary unlicensed spectrum available for Wi-Fi® through the Facilitate America’s Superiority in 5G Technology (the 5G FAST Plan). With Wi-Fi enabling the majority of today’s broadband connections, the future of Wi-Fi will require significantly more spectrum capacity. 

Chairman Pai accurately observed that, “As Wi-Fi has become more popular, so has the demand for more unlicensed spectrum to accommodate this traffic.” This observation and the NPRM proposal for up to 1.2 GHz of unlicensed spectrum are consistent with the findings of recently completed Wi-Fi Spectrum Needs Study. 

The 6 GHz NPRM is timely given the urgent need for additional mid-band spectrum for Wi-Fi. Technical studies on the record clearly demonstrate there is low risk to existing operations in 6 GHz. Wi-Fi Alliance looks forward to working with the FCC on the Unlicensed Use of the 6 GHz Band NPRM to meet this vital spectrum need while protecting incumbents from interference.  

About Wi-Fi Alliance®
www.wi-fi.org
Wi-Fi Alliance® is the worldwide network of companies that brings you Wi-Fi®. Members of our collaboration forum come together from across the Wi-Fi ecosystem with the shared vision to connect everyone and everything, everywhere, while providing the best possible user experience. Since 2000, Wi-Fi Alliance has completed more than 40,000 Wi-Fi certifications. The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED seal of approval designates products with proven interoperability, backward compatibility, and the highest industry-standard security protections in place. Today, Wi-Fi carries more than half of the internet’s traffic in an ever-expanding variety of applications. Wi-Fi Alliance continues to drive the adoption and evolution of Wi-Fi, which billions of people rely on every day.

Media contacts:
Stephanie Burke
Highwire PR for Wi-Fi Alliance
wi-fi@highwirepr.com
+1-646-838-1190 ext. 48

New generational approach enables users to easily differentiate between Wi-Fi® technologies

Austin, TX, - October 3, 2018 – Wi-Fi Alliance® introduces Wi-Fi 6 as the industry designation for products and networks that support the next generation of Wi-Fi®, based on 802.11ax technology. Wi-Fi 6 is part of a new naming approach by Wi-Fi Alliance that provides users with an easy-to-understand designation for both the Wi-Fi technology supported by their device and used in a connection the device makes with a Wi-Fi network.

The new naming system identifies Wi-Fi generations by a numerical sequence which correspond to major advancements in Wi-Fi. The generation names can be used by product vendors to identify the latest Wi-Fi technology a device supports, by OS vendors to identify the generation of Wi-Fi connection between a device and network, and by service providers to identify the capabilities of a Wi-Fi network to their customers. The generational terminology may also be used to designate previous Wi-Fi generations, such as 802.11n or 802.11ac. The numerical sequence includes:

• Wi-Fi 6 to identify devices that support 802.11ax technology
• Wi-Fi 5 to identify devices that support 802.11ac technology
• Wi-Fi 4 to identify devices that support 802.11n technology

Each generation of Wi-Fi offers new features – faster speeds, increased throughput, and better experiences. Industry adoption of the new terminology will help users better understand the experience they can expect. Wi-Fi 6 will deliver an improved experience to address device and application needs in a range of consumer and enterprise environments. The generational terminology is expected to be widely adopted by the Wi-Fi ecosystem.

“For nearly two decades, Wi-Fi users have had to sort through technical naming conventions to determine if their devices support the latest Wi-Fi,” said Edgar Figueroa, president and CEO of Wi-Fi Alliance. “Wi-Fi Alliance is excited to introduce Wi-Fi 6, and present a new naming scheme to help industry and Wi-Fi users easily understand the Wi-Fi generation supported by their device or connection.”

In addition to describing the capabilities of the device, device manufacturers or OS vendors can incorporate the generational terminology in User Interface (UI) visuals to indicate the current type of Wi-Fi connection. The UI visual will adjust as a device moves between Wi-Fi networks so users have real-time awareness of their device connection. Beginning with Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi Alliance certification programs based on major IEEE 802.11 releases will use a generational Wi-Fi name; Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6™ certification is coming in 2019.

Please visit https://www.wi-fi.org/wi-fi-6 and download the Wi-Fi 6 white paper and/or Generational Wi-Fi User Guide for more information.

Industry support for Wi-Fi 6

“Aerohive enthusiastically supports Wi-Fi Alliance’s new consumer-friendly Wi-Fi 6 naming convention in support of the emergence of IEEE’s new 802.11ax technology. Wi-Fi Alliance is now providing consumers the same type of generational Wi-Fi naming conventions to match what cellular technology has done since the beginning. Wi-Fi technology has evolved and improved over the last 21 years – from only a few megabits to several Gigabit speeds – yet this information is currently not provided. With Wi-Fi 6, consumers can easily identify the level of Wi-Fi provided and demand superior services. Additionally, we look forward to Wi-Fi Alliance’s launch of their Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6™ certification program next year, and will submit our latest generation of Aerohive devices for certification at the first opportunity.” – Perry Correll, product management director, Aerohive Networks

“AirTies commends Wi-Fi Alliance for simplifying Wi-Fi naming conventions and making them more consumer friendly. We look forward to using the term Wi-Fi 6, instead of 802.11ax, and educating our customers about the next-generation of Wi-Fi services and capabilities." – Metin Taskin, CTO of AirTies 

“Wi-Fi has evolved significantly since Aruba was founded 16 years ago – from its initial role as a secondary network within the enterprise enabling mobility to the mission-critical role it plays today as the primary connectivity method for billions of devices, users, and things. We applaud this effort by Wi-Fi Alliance to simplify the terminology used to differentiate between the different generations of technologies as it will help users more quickly and easily discern the technology their particular device or network supports.” – Lissa Hollinger, Vice President of Portfolio Marketing for Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company

 “Wi-Fi has revolutionized nearly every aspect of the last two decades, fueling significant social and economic development. As we enter a new generation of connectivity, Wi-Fi isn’t resting on its laurels. We’re packing in new capabilities that deliver blazing fast speeds, high throughput, ultra-low latency, enhanced security and new features like target wake time for a seamless connected experience across a wide range of use cases. Boingo is proud to be part of this generational Wi-Fi launch and work alongside Wi-Fi Alliance to establish programs that further evolve the wireless ecosystem.” – Dr. Derek Peterson, chief technology officer, Boingo Wireless

“Consumers love Wi-Fi – nearly every Internet connected device has it and over 80% of all wireless traffic goes over it. The sixth generation of Wi-Fi - 802.11ax - is the most advanced ever, bringing faster speeds, greater capacity and coverage, and will make the user experience even more enjoyable.  This simple, generational representation will let consumers differentiate phones and wireless routers based on their Wi-Fi capabilities, helping them pick the device that suits their needs best. When they see that their device contains Wi-Fi 6, they will know that they have the best wireless connectivity on the market.”
– Vijay Nagarajan, senior director of marketing for Wireless Communications and Connectivity at Broadcom  

 “CEVA welcomes the introduction of the clear terminology. We have been licensing MAC and Modem IP for many years and across many generations of the technology spanning 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax. The new naming structure gives a simple and consistent framework to boost user awareness, which is especially important now at the dawn of Wi-Fi 6.” – Aviv Malinovitch, GM of the Connectivity BU at CEVA

“Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) is a major advancement that keeps Wi-Fi as the technology of choice for local wireless connectivity for consumers and enterprises. Intel will deliver Wi-Fi 6 solutions for both clients and home infrastructure as part of our continued commitment to improve connectivity and security for the best possible user experiences.” – Eric McLaughlin, General Manager of Wireless Solutions, Client Computing Group at Intel Corp

“Wi-Fi 6, based on 802.11ax technology, will greatly improve the user experience. Real world, dense environments require reliable, secure and consistently excellent download and upload experience. Marvell has worked closely with Wi-Fi Alliance in bringing this technology to market and offers a broad array of products that fully implement Wi-Fi 6, including the technologically and superior upload capabilities.”  - Mark Montierth, vice president and general manager, Wireless Connectivity Business Unit at Marvell Semiconductor

“Wi-Fi Alliance’s mission to connect everyone and everything aligns with MediaTek’s vision to make great technology accessible to everyone. As consumers depend on fast, reliable connectivity to support the growing number of connected devices in their homes, this new terminology will help consumers better understand the latest Wi-Fi technology advancements and make more informed buying decisions for their connectivity needs.” – Finbarr Moynihan, VP of Corporate Sales & Business Development (Americas & Europe) at MediaTek

“NETGEAR welcomes an easy way to highlight for customers what level of Wi-Fi technology they are using. We believe this will help customers better understand and appreciate the generational differences in Wi-Fi technology and usher in the latest 802.11ax standard.” – David Henry, senior vice president of Connected Home Products for NETGEAR

 “Given the central role Wi-Fi plays in delivering connected experiences to hundreds of millions of people every day, and with next generation technologies like 802.11ax emerging, the Wi-Fi Alliance generational naming scheme for Wi-Fi is an intuitive and necessary approach to defining Wi-Fi’s value for our industry and consumers alike. We support this initiative as a global leader in Wi-Fi shipments and deployment of Wi-Fi 6, based on 802.11ax technology, along with customers like Ruckus, Huawei, NewH3C, KDDI Corporation/NEC Platforms, Charter Communications, KT Corp, and many more spanning enterprise, venue, home, mobile and computing segments.” – Rahul Patel, senior vice president and general manager, connectivity and networking, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

“As one of the first Wi-Fi Alliance members, Ruckus Networks supports the new Wi-Fi Alliance naming scheme. This campaign will help the networking ecosystem better identify the different generations of Wi-Fi technologies in future releases.” – Greg Beach, Vice President of Wireless Products, Ruckus Networks, an ARRIS company

About Wi-Fi Alliance®
www.wi-fi.org
Wi-Fi Alliance® is the worldwide network of companies that brings you Wi-Fi®. Members of our collaboration forum come together from across the Wi-Fi ecosystem with the shared vision to connect everyone and everything, everywhere, while providing the best possible user experience. Since 2000, Wi-Fi Alliance has completed more than 40,000 Wi-Fi certifications. The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ seal of approval designates products with proven interoperability, backward compatibility, and the highest industry-standard security protections in place. Today, Wi-Fi carries more than half of the internet’s traffic in an ever-expanding variety of applications. Wi-Fi Alliance continues to drive the adoption and evolution of Wi-Fi, which billions of people rely on every day.

Media contacts: 
Stephanie Burke
Highwire PR for Wi-Fi Alliance
wi-fi@highwirepr.com
+1-646-838-1190 ext. 48

Earlier this week, Chairman Pai previewed the FCC agenda for the remainder of the year in a blog posting, indicating he would move forward with a rulemaking on the 6 GHz band this fall.

Austin, TX and Washington, DC – June 22, 2018 – Wi-Fi Alliance® applauds Federal Communications Commission (the Commission) Chairman Ajit Pai for maintaining momentum in the effort to expand use of the mid-band spectrum.  Unlicensed access to the 5.925 – 7.125 GHz band – referred to as the 6 GHz band – is particularly important to the future of Wi-Fi® innovation.  This spectrum is uniquely suitable for deployment of the next generation of Wi-Fi because it offers sufficient bandwidth to alleviate data traffic congestion and provides for commonality of equipment with existing Wi-Fi networks already utilizing adjacent frequency band.

Wi-Fi Alliance looks forward to the Commission’s adoption of Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) as the next step in that process.

About Wi-Fi Alliance®
www.wi-fi.org
Wi-Fi Alliance® is the worldwide network of companies that brings you Wi-Fi®. Members of our collaboration forum come together from across the Wi-Fi ecosystem with the shared vision to connect everyone and everything, everywhere, while providing the best possible user experience. Since 2000, Wi-Fi Alliance has completed more than 40,000 Wi-Fi certifications. The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED seal of approval designates products with proven interoperability, backward compatibility, and the highest industry-standard security protections in place. Today, Wi-Fi carries more than half of the internet’s traffic in an ever-expanding variety of applications. Wi-Fi Alliance continues to drive the adoption and evolution of Wi-Fi, which billions of people rely on every day.

Media contacts:
Stephanie Burke
Highwire PR for Wi-Fi Alliance
wi-fi@highwirepr.com
+1-646-838-1190 ext. 48

Austin, TX – June 20, 2018 – Today, Wi-Fi Alliance® celebrates #WorldWiFiDay, recognizing Wi-Fi®’s broad impact on bridging the digital divide and delivering connectivity around the world. Wi-Fi has become synonymous with connecting people because of the industry’s commitment to maintaining interoperability, ubiquity, and value of Wi-Fi.

Wi-Fi maintains its position as one of technology’s greatest success stories by providing a good user experience in a variety of connectivity scenarios and meeting new demands as the wireless landscape evolves. Beyond its critical role of connecting users at home, at work, and on-the go, Wi-Fi is recognized for its broader social and economic benefits and its essential role in business operations around the world. These benefits underscore the value of unlicensed spectrum in supporting the best user experience and enabling Wi-Fi innovation.

As we reach nearly two decades of Wi-Fi, we reflect on how far the technology has come, and on the exciting advancements ahead. Wi-Fi Alliance congratulates its 800+ member companies and the entire Wi-Fi industry on its success!

About Wi-Fi Alliance®
www.wi-fi.org
Wi-Fi Alliance® is the worldwide network of companies that brings you Wi-Fi®. Members of our collaboration forum come together from across the Wi-Fi ecosystem with the shared vision to connect everyone and everything, everywhere, while providing the best possible user experience. Since 2000, Wi-Fi Alliance has completed more than 40,000 Wi-Fi certifications. The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED seal of approval designates products with proven interoperability, backward compatibility, and the highest industry-standard security protections in place. Today, Wi-Fi carries more than half of the internet’s traffic in an ever-expanding variety of applications. Wi-Fi Alliance continues to drive the adoption and evolution of Wi-Fi, which billions of people rely on every day.

Media contacts:
Stephanie Burke
Highwire PR for Wi-Fi Alliance
wi-fi@highwirepr.com
+1-646-838-1190 ext. 48

Next generation Wi-Fi® security for personal and enterprise networks

Austin, TX – June 25, 2018 – Wi-Fi Alliance® introduces Wi-Fi CERTIFIED WPA3™, the next generation of Wi-Fi® security, bringing new capabilities to enhance Wi-Fi protections in personal and enterprise networks. Building on the widespread adoption of WPA2™ over more than a decade, WPA3™ adds new features to simplify Wi-Fi security, enable more robust authentication, and deliver increased cryptographic strength for highly sensitive data markets. As the Wi-Fi industry transitions to WPA3 security, WPA2 devices will continue to interoperate and provide recognized security.

WPA3 security continues to support the market through two distinct modes of operation: WPA3-Personal and WPA3-Enterprise. All WPA3 networks use the latest security methods, disallow outdated legacy protocols, and require use of Protected Management Frames (PMF) to maintain resiliency of mission critical networks. Key capabilities of WPA3 include:

• WPA3-Personal: more resilient, password-based authentication even when users choose passwords that fall short of typical complexity recommendations. WPA3 leverages Simultaneous Authentication of Equals (SAE), a secure key establishment protocol between devices, to provide stronger protections for users against password guessing attempts by third parties.
• WPA3-Enterprise: offers the equivalent of 192-bit cryptographic strength, providing additional protections for networks transmitting sensitive data, such as government or finance. The 192-bit security suite ensures a consistent combination of cryptographic tools are deployed across WPA3 networks.

Wi-Fi Alliance introduced enhancements and new features earlier this year for Wi-Fi Protected Access®, the essential family of Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ security technologies, to ensure WPA2 maintains strong security protections as the wireless landscape evolves. WPA2 continues to be mandatory for all Wi-Fi CERTIFIED devices. As market adoption of WPA3 grows, the new generation of Wi-Fi security will become required for all Wi-Fi CERTIFIED devices. WPA3 maintains interoperability with WPA2 devices through a transitional mode of operation, and Wi-Fi users can remain confident they are protected when connected to secured Wi-Fi CERTIFIED networks.

“WPA3 takes the lead in providing the industry’s strongest protections in the ever-changing security landscape,” said Edgar Figueroa, President and CEO, Wi-Fi Alliance. “WPA3 continues the evolution of Wi-Fi security and maintains the brand promise of Wi-Fi Protected Access.”

Wi-Fi Alliance is also introducing Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Easy Connect™, a new program that reduces the complexity of onboarding Wi-Fi devices with limited or no display interface – such as devices coming to market for Internet of Things (IoT) – while still maintaining high security standards. Wi-Fi Easy Connect™ enables users to securely add any device to a Wi-Fi network using another device with a more robust interface, such as a smartphone, by simply scanning a product quick response (QR) code. Wi-Fi Easy Connect and WPA3 represent the latest evolution in Wi-Fi Alliance programs to ensure users receive a positive experience while remaining securely connected as the security landscape evolves.

“The evolution of Wi-Fi to stay ahead of market needs has been critical to it remaining one of wireless technology’s greatest success stories,” said Phil Solis, Research Director for IDC. “Wi-Fi Alliance has been instrumental in Wi-Fi’s evolution, and diligent about delivering Wi-Fi CERTIFIED programs so users and a variety of markets can rely on the convenience of Wi-Fi connectivity and security to meet their needs.”

Wi-Fi Alliance recently introduced Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Enhanced Open™, a certification program that delivers new benefits for users in open Wi-Fi networks. In scenarios where user authentication is not desired or distribution of credentials is impractical – such as local coffee shops or guest networks with a web portal in airports, hotels, and sports arenas – Wi-Fi  Enhanced Open™ now delivers improved data protections while maintaining the convenience and ease-of-use of open networks.

For more information, please visit: https://www.wi-fi.org/security and https://www.wi-fi.org/wi-fi-easy-connect.

Industry support for WPA3 and Wi-Fi Easy Connect:

“2018 is a transformative year for Wi-Fi with new standards being published such as WPA3, which is the latest evolution of Wi-Fi Protected Access, taking security to a level of robustness and resiliency not seen before. Coupling WPA3 with the promise of 802.11ax’s efficiency will allow Wi-Fi to reach levels of security and performance unimaginable only a few years ago.” – Alan Amrod, SVP & GM, Products & Marketing, Aerohive Networks

"Security has always been a key component of Wi-Fi's broad appeal and Wi-Fi Alliance’s certifications. Ruckus is in full support of continuing to evolve the certification of security standards to meet potential new threats. We are actively developing new software to take full advantage of Wi-Fi CERTIFIED WPA3 for the benefit of our customers and their millions of end users around the world.” - said Mark Hamilton, Principal Networking Standards Engineer, Ruckus Networks, an ARRIS Company

“As Wi-Fi evolves to deliver more value in an ever expanding array of use cases, it’s important that security evolves too. WPA3’s new features, such as improved password based authentication and stronger encryption, will further simplify and strengthen how consumers and businesses connect to the Internet every day.” – Vijay Nagarajan, senior director of marketing for Wireless Communications and Connectivity division at Broadcom

Cisco is in full support of Wi-Fi Alliance’s continual focus on security evolution to WPA3. The WPA3 program will bring much needed upgrades to wireless security protecting all levels of customers from consumer to enterprise/government. Cisco is committed to integrating WPA3 features into our Aironet Access Points and Wireless Controllers via a firmware upgrade so that our existing and new customers can take advantage of the capabilities offered by WPA3. - Greg Dorai, Vice President Cisco WLAN, Cisco

“WPA3 and Wi-Fi Enhanced Open provide a comprehensive security offering without added complexity.  With WPA3, users will receive better experiences with passwords that are easier to remember and manage, and IT will be able to ensure consistent and strong cryptography throughout their infrastructure. Aruba has already begun to incorporate and certify WPA3 for future designs to ensure the most advanced protection for our customer’s data.” – Dan Harkins, Distinguished Technologist, Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Company

“WPA3 is another milestone for the Wi-Fi industry, the extreme high throughput and enhanced security delivered by Wi-Fi will provide an excellent end-user experience in both consumer and enterprise markets. We are pleased to see Wi-Fi to continue to enable the digital transformation in many sectors and businesses.” – Dr. Wen Tong, Huawei Fellow, CTO, Huawei Wireless

“WPA3 brings critical updates to Wi-Fi security for personal and enterprise networks. Intel supports WPA3 and through our involvement in the test bed, we are helping our customers incorporate WPA3 into their products for enhanced security protections.” – Eric Mclaughlin – GM, CCG Wireless, Intel

“Marvell has worked in close cooperation with Wi-Fi Alliance on Wi-Fi CERTIFIED WPA3 and Wi-Fi Easy Connect.  WPA3 builds on the widespread adoption of WPA2 and delivers a high level of security for both personal and enterprise Wi-Fi networks. We support these latest programs as together they provide strong protection against security threats while also enhancing the connectivity user experience for our customers.” – Mark Montierth, VP and GM of the Wireless Connectivity Business Unit at Marvell

“Hospitals are keenly aware of the critical importance of data privacy and security, and maintaining a robust security policy means accessing the strongest security measures available. Philips applauds Wi-Fi Alliance for building upon the success of WPA2 with the latest security mechanisms now available in WPA3.” – Phil Raymond, Director, Wireless CoE, MA&TC CTO Office, Philips Healthtech

“Qualcomm Technologies is committed to safeguarding the trust that millions of users and businesses put in Wi-Fi every day. We are proud to be among the first companies to support WPA3 across our portfolio of mobile and networking infrastructure products, and we are working closely with Wi-Fi Alliance and key stakeholders to accelerate its adoption throughout all major industries and ecosystems that rely on Wi-Fi.” – said Rahul Patel, senior vice president and general manager, connectivity and networking, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

“Silicon Motion proudly supports the industry transition to WPA3.  Our new low power Wi-Fi SoC, built for IoT applications, supports both the mandatory and optional elements of WPA3 so that our customers can enable the highest level of security possible for their Wi-Fi and low power IoT applications.”  - David Cohen, Sr. Marketing Director, Silicon Motion, Inc.

About Wi-Fi Alliance®
www.wi-fi.org
Wi-Fi Alliance® is the worldwide network of companies that brings you Wi-Fi®. Members of our collaboration forum come together from across the Wi-Fi ecosystem with the shared vision to connect everyone and everything, everywhere, while providing the best possible user experience. Since 2000, Wi-Fi Alliance has completed more than 40,000 Wi-Fi certifications. The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ seal of approval designates products with proven interoperability, backward compatibility, and the highest industry-standard security protections in place. Today, Wi-Fi carries more than half of the internet’s traffic in an ever-expanding variety of applications. Wi-Fi Alliance continues to drive the adoption and evolution of Wi-Fi, which billions of people rely on every day.

Media contacts: 
Stephanie Burke
Highwire PR for Wi-Fi Alliance
wi-fi@highwirepr.com
+1-646-838-1190 ext. 48

New program enhances protections, maintains ease-of-use on open Wi-Fi

Austin, TX – June 5, 2018 – Wi-Fi Alliance® is introducing Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Enhanced Open™, a certification program that delivers new benefits for users in open Wi-Fi® networks. Wi-Fi Enhanced Open™ provides protections in scenarios where user authentication is not desired or distribution of credentials impractical. These unauthenticated networks are often deployed in public locations such as local coffee shops and guest networks with a web portal in airports, hotels, and sports arenas. Wi-Fi Enhanced Open™ offers improved data privacy while maintaining convenience and ease-of-use.

Wi-Fi Enhanced Open provides protections against passive eavesdropping without requiring a password or extra steps to join the network. Based on Opportunistic Wireless Encryption (OWE), Wi-Fi Enhanced Open integrates established cryptography mechanisms to provide each user with unique individual encryption that protects data exchange between a user device and the Wi-Fi network. Protected Management Frames further protects management traffic between the access point and user device. Network operators that use a captive portal to control network access can maintain the simplicity of their deployment because there are no network credentials to maintain or share.

“Wi-Fi Alliance recommends enabling Wi‑Fi security whenever possible to control who connects to the network and ensure transmissions across the Wi-Fi network cannot be read by others,” said Kevin Robinson, VP of Marketing, Wi-Fi Alliance. “In deployment scenarios where the network owner does not enable Wi‑Fi security to limit network access and wishes to minimize deployment complexity, Wi-Fi Enhanced Open delivers great benefits of protections against passive eavesdropping and a seamless experience to customers.

Wi-Fi Enhanced Open can be deployed in a transition mode which allows for gradual migration from an open network to a Wi-Fi Enhanced Open network without disruption to Wi-Fi users or network operators. As more client devices include Wi-Fi Enhanced Open, they will benefit from the new protections provided. There is no need for additional user configuration. Network operators benefit because they can be confident they are closing off passive eavesdropping attacks that are possible on open networks while minimizing network complexity. Network operators wishing to deploy a fully-featured authentication and device-provisioning solution should consider approaches such as Wi‑Fi CERTIFIED Passpoint®.

Later this summer, Wi‑Fi Alliance will deliver the next generation of Wi-Fi Protected Access® security capabilities for personal and enterprise Wi-Fi networks through Wi-Fi CERTIFIED WPA3™. In scenarios where the authentication capabilities inherent in Wi‑Fi Protected Access are not desired, Wi-Fi Enhanced Open will provide users with enhanced data protections.

For more information, please visit: http://wi-fi.org/enhanced-open.

About Wi-Fi Alliance®
www.wi-fi.org
Wi-Fi Alliance® is the worldwide network of companies that brings you Wi-Fi®. Members of our collaboration forum come together from across the Wi-Fi ecosystem with the shared vision to connect everyone and everything, everywhere, while providing the best possible user experience. Since 2000, Wi-Fi Alliance has completed more than 40,000 Wi-Fi certifications. The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED seal of approval designates products with proven interoperability, backward compatibility, and the highest industry-standard security protections in place. Today, Wi-Fi carries more than half of the internet’s traffic in an ever-expanding variety of applications. Wi-Fi Alliance continues to drive the adoption and evolution of Wi-Fi, which billions of people rely on every day.

Media contacts:
Stephanie Burke
Highwire PR for Wi-Fi Alliance
wi-fi@highwirepr.com
+1-646-838-1190 ext. 48

Industry harmonized solution now available for simple to use, self-organizing, smart Wi-Fi networks

Austin, TX – May 14, 2018 – Wi-Fi Alliance® introduces Wi-Fi CERTIFIED EasyMesh™, bringing efficient, self-organizing networks that deliver a broad footprint of uniform Wi-Fi® service. Built on the promise of Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™, Wi-Fi EasyMesh™ delivers a standards-based approach to deploying adaptable networks comprised of multiple access points from different vendors, extending uniform Wi-Fi coverage and enhancing performance throughout a larger service area than is possible with a single access point. Wi-Fi EasyMesh allows users and service providers to select interoperable devices across different brands to ensure fast, wide, and reliable Wi-Fi coverage.

Wi-Fi EasyMesh technology coordinates multiple access points into a unified and intelligent Wi-Fi network that autonomously aids all areas of the home to have complete Wi-Fi coverage. Access points organize themselves and establish high-performance Wi-Fi network connectivity with minimal effort required by the user. After the initial simple setup, Wi-Fi EasyMesh monitors network conditions and self-adapts as needed. Wi-Fi EasyMesh guides smartphones, tablets, and other user devices to the optimal access point, enabling a seamless experience, even when moving throughout the home. Wi-Fi EasyMesh networks accommodate a greater selection of devices across brands and are also extensible, making it easy for users to introduce new Wi-Fi EasyMesh access points into their network. Wi-Fi EasyMesh access points today will maintain interoperability with future Wi-Fi EasyMesh networks, providing an enhanced user experience for years to come.

“Wi-Fi EasyMesh offers both service providers and Wi-Fi users a consistent approach to multiple AP solutions," said Edgar Figueroa, president and CEO of Wi-Fi Alliance. “Wi-Fi Alliance is delivering a standardized solution to a market-leading product category enabling a strong ecosystem for interoperable, Wi-Fi CERTIFIED devices.”

Wi-Fi EasyMesh is a Wi-Fi Alliance certification program focused on access points. User devices also experience the benefits of Wi-Fi EasyMesh networks, which deliver a consistent level of interoperability between access points and client devices. Other benefits of a Wi-Fi CERTIFIED solution include assurances of Wi-Fi security and accepted protocols, as well as a dependable experience with Wi-Fi EasyMesh setup and management regardless of vendor. Service providers that deploy Wi-Fi CERTIFIED EasyMesh access points in homes can increase customer satisfaction with their Wi-Fi service. Further, Wi-Fi EasyMesh networks enable customers to seamlessly add an appropriate number of Wi-Fi EasyMesh access points to provide necessary full home coverage.

Wi-Fi EasyMesh is the latest in a growing Wi-Fi Alliance technology portfolio that improves the Wi-Fi user experience. Recently launched Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Home Design™ can leverage Wi-Fi EasyMesh networks in their Wi-Fi CERTIFIED floor plans as another method to deliver integrated, uniform whole home coverage. Wi-Fi EasyMesh networks utilize mechanisms from Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Agile Multiband™, and user devices certified for these capabilities will experience more intelligent steering and faster network transitions for applications such as Wi-Fi calling.

"Wi-Fi Alliance is delivering a fundamental innovation for interoperability which is necessary to enable residential IoT and the connected smart home, and products would benefit greatly from being Wi-Fi CERTIFIED," said Adlane Fellah, wireless analyst, Maravedis. “Wi-Fi EasyMesh delivers a better residential Wi-Fi user experience and a standardized approach further expands an existing market and drives greater innovation among product vendors.” 

For more information on Wi-Fi EasyMesh, please visit: https://www.wi-fi.org/discover-wi-fi/wi-fi-easymesh.

Industry response to Wi-Fi EasyMesh:

“Many of the world’s leading service providers rely on AirTies’ Managed Wi-Fi Mesh solutions, including software, devices, and cloud-based performance management, so we’re always interested in participating in initiatives that serve the interests of our customers. We applaud the Wi-Fi Alliance efforts to launch a Wi-Fi EasyMesh certification program, and look forward to certifying products in the near future.” – Metin Taskin, CTO of AirTies   

“ARRIS was a core contributor to the Multi-AP standard. We’re excited about Wi-Fi CERTIFIED EasyMesh™ and its capabilities for multi-vendor interoperability and Wi-Fi management. ARRIS gateway and extender products will be Wi-Fi EasyMesh certified as part of our HomeAssure™ whole home Wi-Fi solution. As we usher in these new features, we’ll continue to enhance HomeAssure by integrating new Wi-Fi management logic into the next generation of our Multi-AP Wi-Fi system.” – Ian Wheelock, Engineering Fellow at ARRIS

“ASSIA is excited to expand our CloudCheck Wi-Fi management software suite which will support Wi-Fi CERTIFIED EasyMesh™ devices.  Cloud-based Wi-Fi-management software for multiple access point environments delivers many benefits to service providers today in CloudCheck’s rapidly expanding global deployments.   With Wi-Fi EasyMesh, service providers can achieve the benefits of cloud-based Wi-Fi management across an interoperable, standards-based environment.” – John Cioffi, CEO, ASSIA

“The availability of Wi-Fi Easy Mesh certification will grow the available market for multiple AP solutions by enabling the multi-vendor interoperability and a common feature set which has been the foundation of Wi-Fi’s success. Broadcom has coupled its high-performance Wi-Fi silicon platforms with a Wi-Fi Easy Mesh certifiable software solution to create the Broadcom SmartMesh family of products.  With Broadcom’s SmartMesh, OEMs can accelerate their time to market for standards-compliant multiple AP products that allow service providers and consumers to deploy high-throughput Wi-Fi coverage to every corner of the home.” – Manny Patel, Senior Director of Marketing, Wireless Connectivity, Broadcom

"CableLabs has played an active role in the research and standardization process of Wi-Fi EasyMesh. With the launch of Wi-Fi CERTIFIED EasyMesh, consumers and operators will have the assurance of interoperability and coordination between access points for faster and more reliable Wi-Fi throughout the home.” – John Bahr, Lead Architect, Wireless R&D at CableLabs

“Mesh Wi-Fi networks are growing in popularity since they give consumers what they want - fast, reliable connectivity in all corners of the home. Implementing a standards-based approach with multi-vendor interoperability also makes them a win for service providers to drive down operational costs. We support the Wi-Fi EasyMesh effort to deliver a better consumer experience.” – WK Tan, Vice President and General Manager, Intel’s Connected Home Division

“Liberty Global is committed to delivering the best user experience to our customers through high-performance Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi EasyMesh will provide an opportunity to further improve customer satisfaction with our Wi-Fi service, and we support a standardised approach to delivering a consistent solution for multiple access point Wi-Fi networks that provide Wi-Fi coverage and capacity seamlessly throughout the home.” – Peter Joyce, Director of Connectivity CPE Architecture, Liberty Global

"Wi-Fi EasyMesh delivers a standardized mechanism for bringing self-organizing networks consisting of multiple access points. Our customers are seeking to provide a great user experience with Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi EasyMesh delivers uniform, quality coverage throughout the home. Marvell is pleased to be a part of a program that standardizes access point mesh solutions so customers can develop differentiated products.” – Prabhu Loganathan, Senior Director of Marketing, Wireless Connectivity Business Unit, Marvell

“Wi-Fi CERTIFIED EasyMesh brings interoperability for the industry and accelerates whole home coverage via multiple access points and routers.” – Alan Hsu, GM, Intelligent Connectivity BU, MediaTek Inc.

“Mesh technology has ushered a new era of smart home connectivity, by delivering reliable Wi-Fi throughout the home and enabling more high-quality connected experiences. Qualcomm Technologies helped initiate the home mesh networking revolution and continues to expand the capabilities of our home mesh platforms, building upon this ideal network architecture to thrill our customers and consumers alike. We are happy to be a dedicated supporter of Wi-Fi Alliance initiatives and, with the validation of this new Wi-Fi Alliance Wi-Fi EasyMesh program, we expect further proliferation of these amazing products and enhanced experiences.” – Gopi Sirineni, vice president, product management, Qualcomm Atheros, Inc, a subsidiary of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

“Wi-Fi EasyMesh allows multi-vendor solutions around the house to work in harmony, which is essential for creating enhanced Wi-Fi experiences at home. We are pleased to share our experience in the area of multi-AP networking, and collaborate in Wi-Fi Alliance’s effort to define this new standards-based approach and improve mesh network operation.” – Ambroise Popper, Vice President of Strategy & Corporate Marketing, Quantenna

About Wi-Fi Alliance®
www.wi-fi.org
Wi-Fi Alliance® is the worldwide network of companies that brings you Wi-Fi®. Members of our collaboration forum come together from across the Wi-Fi ecosystem with the shared vision to connect everyone and everything, everywhere, while providing the best possible user experience. Since 2000, Wi-Fi Alliance has completed more than 40,000 Wi-Fi certifications. The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED seal of approval designates products with proven interoperability, backward compatibility, and the highest industry-standard security protections in place. Today, Wi-Fi carries more than half of the internet’s traffic in an ever-expanding variety of applications. Wi-Fi Alliance continues to drive the adoption and evolution of Wi-Fi, which billions of people rely on every day.

Media contacts:
Stephanie Burke
Highwire PR for Wi-Fi Alliance
wi-fi@highwirepr.com
+1-646-838-1190 ext. 48

New Wi-Fi capabilities provide comprehensive context-aware services

Austin, Texas, April 24, 2018 – New enhancements to Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Wi-Fi Aware™ from Wi-Fi Alliance® enable more opportunities for personalized social, local, and mobile experiences. In addition to discovering other devices, applications, and information nearby before making a Wi-Fi® connection, Wi-Fi Aware™ introduces direct data transfer and distance measurement capabilities without requiring Wi-Fi infrastructure. Wi-Fi Aware provides a robust solution for delivering contextual awareness of a user’s environment, even when highly dynamic, and providing efficient connectivity to deliver on an enhanced mobility experience.

New capabilities in Wi-Fi Aware provide the means to establish a peer-to-peer data connection upon successful discovery of other devices, enabling users to send files – including directions, photos, and personalized information – directly through Wi-Fi Aware without requiring an access point. Wi-Fi Aware’s data path operates at typical Wi-Fi ranges and data rates, and leverages WPA2™ security to create secure links within Wi-Fi Aware connections. While utilizing Wi-Fi Aware-specific data transfer mechanisms, users can maintain connectivity to their current Wi-Fi infrastructure network. Wi-Fi Aware also provides accurate peer-to-peer ranging, which can determine other supported devices within a specified range of the user, or can be used as part of the application itself. Ranging capabilities include geofencing, allowing applications to automatically trigger a data connection when a certain range condition is met. Wi-Fi Aware leverages energy-efficient mechanisms to continually find and deliver information and services defined by the user.

“Wi-Fi Aware delivers a high level of contextual awareness by providing users with greater understanding of nearby data and services,” said Edgar Figueroa, president and CEO, Wi-Fi Alliance. “Mobility is at the heart of the Wi-Fi user experience, and Wi-Fi Aware‘s rich capabilities and personalized interactions deliver immediate, dynamic awareness of the user’s surroundings and a direct method to deliver on that information.”

Wi-Fi Aware scales to accommodate many users, and works well in demanding environments, underground, and in areas where Wi-Fi infrastructure is unavailable. Mobile operators can leverage Wi-Fi Aware capabilities to offer services that rely on proximity including social networking, gaming, and wearable connectivity. Retailers can use Wi-Fi Aware to deliver relevant content, personalized recommendations, and special offers directly to customers based on user-defined preferences. Wi-Fi Aware enables users to opt-in to these services, and to take prompt action once they discover relevant information.

Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Wi-Fi Aware devices which form the test suite for the certification program are:

• Broadcom BCM4361 11ac STA Reference Design
• Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265
• Marvell 802.11ac Wave2 Wi-Fi Test Bed Evaluation Kit
• Qualcomm® mobile Wi-Fi AC2 chipset 

Native support of Wi-Fi Aware is now available with the Android Oreo operating system (OS). As additional native OS support emerges, Wi-Fi Aware will alleviate complexity for application developers by providing a standardized approach to create new and exciting experiences.

For additional resources, and to experience a range of Wi-Fi Aware use cases through our video animation, please visit www.wi-fi.org/wi-fi-aware.

About Wi-Fi Alliance®                                                                                                                            
www.wi-fi.org
Wi-Fi Alliance® is the worldwide network of companies that brings you Wi-Fi®. Members of our collaboration forum come together from across the Wi-Fi ecosystem with the shared vision to connect everyone and everything, everywhere, while providing the best possible user experience. Since 2000, Wi-Fi Alliance has completed more than 40,000 Wi-Fi certifications. The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED seal of approval designates products with proven interoperability, backward compatibility, and the highest industry-standard security protections in place. Today, Wi-Fi carries more than half of the internet’s traffic in an ever-expanding variety of applications. Wi-Fi Alliance continues to drive the adoption and evolution of Wi-Fi, which billions of people rely on every day.

Media contacts:
Stephanie Burke
Highwire PR for Wi-Fi Alliance
wi-fi@highwirepr.com
+1-646-838-1190 ext. 48

Austin, TX and Washington D.C. – March 6, 2018 – Wi-Fi Alliance® congratulates the House of Representatives on the passage of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reauthorization bill, known as the RAY BAUM Act (The Act). The Act includes important provisions from the Senate-passed Mobile Now Act, including identification of additional spectrum for unlicensed use, and recognizes the importance of Wi-Fi® in delivering 5G connectivity to all Americans. These provisions will help ensure U.S. leadership in wireless innovation as we advance into an era of next generation connectivity.  Wi-Fi Alliance applauds the bipartisan effort on this legislation and looks forward to its enactment into law.

About Wi-Fi Alliance®
www.wi-fi.org
Wi-Fi Alliance® is the worldwide network of companies that brings you Wi-Fi®. Members of our collaboration forum come together from across the Wi-Fi ecosystem with the shared vision to connect everyone and everything, everywhere, while providing the best possible user experience. Since 2000, Wi-Fi Alliance has completed more than 40,000 Wi-Fi certifications. The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED seal of approval designates products with proven interoperability, backward compatibility, and the highest industry-standard security protections in place. Today, Wi-Fi carries more than half of the internet’s traffic in an ever-expanding variety of applications. Wi-Fi Alliance continues to drive the adoption and evolution of Wi-Fi, which billions of people rely on every day.

Media contacts:
Stephanie Burke
Highwire PR for Wi-Fi Alliance
wi-fi@highwirepr.com
+1-646-838-1190 ext. 48

Austin, TX and Washington D.C. – February 12, 2018 – Wi-Fi Alliance® welcomes a new report on the interference impact from nationwide deployment of Wi-Fi® devices in the 6 GHz frequency band. This analysis, performed by RKF Engineering Solutions, LLC, confirms that with appropriate interference mitigation techniques, introduction of Wi‑Fi in the 6 GHz band will have minimal impact on existing radio operations. The highlights of this study include an analysis of potential Wi-Fi interference with respect to the following services:

• Satellite receivers – interference levels are well below established satellite interference protection criteria and significantly below presently existing levels
• Fixed microwave links – no degradation in availability or quality of service
• Mobile or transportable links – unaffected connectivity for 99% of the time while the remaining 1% can be managed with existing operational practices

This report provides further technical evidence in support of regulatory action needed to allow Wi-Fi operations in the 6 GHz band. Wi-Fi Alliance urges regulators to consider this report in their efforts to address the projected Wi-Fi spectrum shortfall.

About Wi-Fi Alliance®
www.wi-fi.org
Wi-Fi Alliance® is the worldwide network of companies that brings you Wi-Fi®. Members of our collaboration forum come together from across the Wi-Fi ecosystem with the shared vision to connect everyone and everything, everywhere, while providing the best possible user experience. Since 2000, Wi-Fi Alliance has certified more than 35,000 Wi-Fi products. The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ seal of approval designates products with proven interoperability, backward compatibility, and the highest industry-standard security protections in place. Today, Wi-Fi carries more than half of the internet’s traffic in an ever-expanding variety of applications. Wi-Fi Alliance continues to drive the adoption and evolution of Wi-Fi, which billions of people rely on every day.

Media contacts: 
Stephanie Burke
Highwire PR for Wi-Fi Alliance
wi-fi@highwirepr.com
+1-646-838-1190 ext. 48