Access to Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ programs will deliver Wi-Fi’s trademark user experience and consumer confidence in smart home and Internet of Things products

Austin, Texas, September 22, 2015 – Wi-Fi Alliance® is introducing a new membership category designed to enable an even wider range of companies to offer products carrying the industry-leading Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ seal of approval. The new Implementer Member class will address the needs of companies who do not specialize in developing connectivity technologies, but who want to deliver connected products with certified interoperability and security protections in categories such as smart home and Internet of Things.

With many companies now adding intelligence and connectivity to products not historically thought of as high-tech, the breadth of Wi-Fi® industry stakeholders has continued to grow. Implementer membership in Wi-Fi Alliance is intended for companies that value certified interoperability and consumer confidence, and who want to focus on other aspects of product development more closely related to their line of business. Implementer Members will be able to certify products for Wi-Fi interoperability, legacy compatibility, and secure operation with billions of devices in the installed base at an entry-point level of membership investment.

Wi-Fi Alliance Implementer Members may include in their products unmodified Wi-Fi modules or systems certified by other Wi-Fi Alliance members, and those products may use the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED logo and be listed in the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Product Finder. Implementer Members are not eligible to contribute to the development of Wi-Fi technology, marketing, and regulatory programs.

“Manufacturers in the Internet of Things and smart home industries increasingly rely on Wi-Fi to connect their products, and interoperability for those products remains as important as ever,” said Wi-Fi Alliance president and CEO Edgar Figueroa. “The Implementer membership will ensure that the terrific Wi-Fi user experience of the last 15 years extends to these new device categories and market segments, and that buyers will only need to look for the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED seal of approval when they shop.”

The number of connected Internet of Things (IoT) devices will grow to 38.5 billion in 2020. To support that growth, Wi-Fi Alliance will soon expand its industry’s portfolio of solutions for products in the smart home and burgeoning IoT market. One Wi-Fi innovation on the horizon will address use cases requiring the lowest power consumption including wearables, sensor networks, and industrial automation. Wi-Fi Alliance is also developing a new secure and simple way to connect and configure devices that do not have a display or input mechanisms, as is the case with many smart home devices today.

"As IoT becomes an increasingly important part of companies' strategies moving forward, the number of devices and vendors is expanding rapidly," said Steffen Sorrell, senior analyst at Juniper Research. "Technology is extending beyond traditional goods to major appliances, personal health devices, and other electronics, but interoperability among these products remains a key part of shaping the future of the smart home."

Wi-Fi Alliance member companies have developed and launched more than 20 certification programs and certified more than 25,000 products. The world-class certification program assures that products meet the highest connectivity standards and offer sustainable solutions – enabling products with longer lifespans like refrigerators, home security systems, and other appliances to integrate with the billions of user-facing devices already in use, and an exploding array of Wi-Fi smart home devices coming to market. As more traditional products expand their connectivity capabilities, Wi-Fi Alliance will continue to provide the best user experience with Wi-Fi products and services. For additional information on our Implementer membership, please visit http://www.wi-fi.org/become-a-member.

About Wi-Fi Alliance®
www.wi-fi.org
Wi-Fi Alliance® is a global non-profit industry association – our members are the worldwide network of companies that brings you Wi-Fi®. The members of our collaboration forum come from across the Wi-Fi ecosystem and share a common vision of connecting everyone and everything, everywhere. Since 2000, the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ seal of approval designates products with proven interoperability, industry-standard security protections, and the latest technology. Wi-Fi Alliance has certified more than 25,000 products, delivering the best user experience and encouraging the expanded use of Wi-Fi products and services in new and established markets. Today, billions of Wi-Fi products carry a significant portion of the world’s data traffic in an ever-expanding variety of applications. 

Media contacts:
Elliott Suthers
Highwire PR for Wi-Fi Alliance
wi-fi@highwirepr.com
+1-415-963-4174 ext. 6

Austin, TX, July 30, 2015 - Today Senator Brian Schatz presented a letter to the Federal Communications Commission in response to the FCC's Public Notice on unlicensed LTE. Wi-Fi Alliance® thanks Senator Schatz for his leadership on unlicensed spectrum policy and his recognition of the risk to more than 200 million Wi-Fi® users in the United States if LTE deployments in unlicensed spectrum fail to implement mechanisms that ensure fairness.

Sen. Schatz's observation that there is an absence of industry consensus about the real-world effects of unlicensed LTE deployments is accurate and is a point of grave concern for the Wi-Fi industry.

We welcome industry stakeholders interested in ensuring fair spectrum sharing to work in Wi-Fi Alliance on activities including documenting fair sharing guidelines, coexistence testing, and simulations. We intend to play an ongoing leadership role in driving industry consensus on the mechanisms needed to achieve fairness without hindering innovation or harming Wi-Fi users.

We support all efforts to achieve industry consensus on fairness mechanisms. We will participate in collaboration activities in any suitable forum. We support the Senator's recommendation that FCC initiate a process to ensure constructive dialogue continues in an open and neutral forum and to promote continued work on effective spectrum sharing mechanisms.

About Wi-Fi Alliance®
www.wi-fi.org
Wi-Fi Alliance® is a global non-profit industry association – our members are the worldwide network of companies that brings you Wi-Fi®. The members of our collaboration forum come from across the Wi-Fi ecosystem and share a common vision of connecting everyone and everything, everywhere. Since 2000, the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ seal of approval designates products with proven interoperability, industry-standard security protections, and the latest technology. Wi-Fi Alliance has certified more than 25,000 products, delivering the best user experience and encouraging the expanded use of Wi-Fi products and services in new and established markets. Today, billions of Wi-Fi products carry a significant portion of the world’s data traffic in an ever-expanding variety of applications. 

New Wi-Fi Alliance® certification program sets the stage for more powerful context-aware services

Austin, Texas, July 14, 2015 – Wi-Fi®-enabled mobile devices will soon enable a new wave of social, local, and mobile experiences. Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Wi-Fi Aware™, a new certification program from Wi-Fi Alliance®, validates a new capability for energy-efficient, proximity-based service discovery among Wi-Fi devices. The technology in Wi-Fi Aware enables products to discover other devices, applications, and information nearby - before making a Wi-Fi connection.

Wi-Fi Aware comes at a time when demand for highly personalized mobile experiences is growing rapidly. Wi-Fi Aware makes contextual awareness more immediate and useful, enabling personalized applications that continuously scan surroundings, anticipate actions, and notify of services and selected preferences. Wi-Fi’s widespread implementation in mobile devices offers potential for vendors, operating system (OS) developers, and application makers to create innovative services based on proximity.

“Wi-Fi Aware exemplifies the continued innovation in our industry and our commitment to a terrific Wi-Fi user experience,” said Edgar Figueroa, president and CEO of Wi-Fi Alliance. “Wi-Fi Aware makes that user experience even richer by delivering immediate, dynamic awareness of the user’s environment.”

Wi-Fi Aware makes proximity more powerful

Wi-Fi Aware improves on existing proximity offerings by delivering a truly here-and-now contextual awareness solution that works well indoors and in dense environments, without requiring a cellular, Wi-Fi, or GPS connection. The technology provides an easy on-ramp for a high-performance Wi-Fi connection and works at typical Wi-Fi range.

Wi-Fi Aware devices go through a unique process of discovery and synchronization, establishing a common “heartbeat” that enables very power efficient operation. Devices form clusters and exchange small messages about services available nearby, enabling immediate discovery. Once an interesting service has been discovered, an app can easily initiate a Wi-Fi connection for follow-up activity such as sharing photos or playing a multiplayer game.

Wi-Fi Aware-enabled experiences will be application-driven, and users will be able to control privacy settings and opt-in to desired notifications. Users can configure an application to offer and/or seek services on nearby devices, exchanging basic information without making a connection to that device.

Users are embracing context-aware applications

“The future of mobile applications is being driven by a more location-based, context-aware, and personalized approach,” said Rich Karpinski, principal analyst at 451 Research. “Wi-Fi Aware has the potential to put Wi-Fi at the forefront of those experiences, enabling social and local applications to come to life because users discover what’s nearby in real time, accessing the experiences they want – when and where they want them.”

The market for proximity-based mobile and social services is expected to increase three times by 2016. Today, users of these services must instruct their devices to discover other devices or nearby information. Wi-Fi devices will now be more proactive in offering these experiences and personalized interactions. Wi-Fi Aware’s ability to send and receive tiny messages before establishing a connection further enables a two-way conversation among devices. This capability not only enables a user to discover nearby information and services, but request additional information – all without an internet connection. As native OS support emerges, application developers will leverage the benefits of Wi-Fi Aware to create new and exciting experiences that will further accelerate the growth of the mobile and social service market.

Industry support for Wi-Fi Aware is widespread

Smartphones, tablets, and a variety of other consumer electronics products stand to benefit from the enhanced capabilities of Wi-Fi Aware, and silicon vendors have begun to certify the core technology that will power next-generation mobile devices.

The first Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Wi-Fi Aware products which form the test suite for the certification program are:

• Broadcom BCM4358
• Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260
• Marvell Avastar 88W8897 802.11ac low power Wi-Fi combo chip
• Realtek RTL8812AE 2x2 a/b/g/n/ac MiniCard

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. The underlying Wi-Fi Alliance Neighbor Awareness Networking (NAN) Specification is also available for free download.

Industry response for Wi-Fi Aware:

“Wi-Fi Aware is a key certification program that will enable Wi-Fi to bring proximity-awareness to mobile devices. Wi-Fi Aware closes many of the gaps preventing other technologies from offering a rich experience where users can fully engage with the world around them. Its ability to work well indoors and in dense environments, and to facilitate an efficient device-to-device or traditional Wi-Fi connection, will make Wi-Fi Aware well suited for a variety of applications and environments.”

- Clint W. Brown, Director, Product Marketing, Broadcom Corporation

“Persistent awareness to surrounding services adds an exciting new dimension to the mobile user experience and enables applications to be more social, useful, and intuitive. The Wi-Fi Aware certification program provides both a foundation and a simplified approach to creating new generations of proximity-aware products.”

- Yaniv Garty, Vice President and General Manager of Wireless Communications Solutions, Intel Corporation

“Wi-Fi Alliance’s Wi-Fi Aware program closes a gap in the market where other proximity-aware technologies fall short. Wi-Fi Aware not only provides a power-efficient solution for device discovery, but also leverages Wi-Fi’s strengths to enable a fully rich consumer experience for a variety of peer-to-peer applications.”

 - Kevin Tang, Sr. Director of Marketing Connectivity Solutions, IoT Business Unit,
Marvell Semiconductor, Inc.

“MediaTek is accelerating the delivery of leading technology and innovation through all aspects of our business including this important area of context-aware technology. Wi-Fi Aware technology will proliferate the development of innovative social and business applications. Working in Wi-Fi Alliance, we will help drive the adoption of Wi-Fi Aware devices which leverage proximity to enable new and interactive consumer experiences.”

 - SR Tsai, General Manager of Wireless Connectivity and Networking Business, MediaTek

“The role of mobile in people’s lives continues to evolve and technologies from Wi-Fi Alliance play a big part. Wi-Fi Aware’s ability to allow mobile devices to be more in-tune with and better interact with devices in their proximity enables exciting new experiences for consumers. Qualcomm Atheros has been a strong supporter of the Wi-Fi Aware program and is pleased to see it reach this important milestone towards enabling proximal awareness.”

- Gajinder Singh Vij, Director of Product Management, Qualcomm Atheros, Inc.

About Wi-Fi Alliance®
www.wi-fi.org
Wi-Fi Alliance® is a global non-profit industry association – our members are the worldwide network of companies that brings you Wi-Fi®. The members of our collaboration forum come from across the Wi-Fi ecosystem and share a common vision of connecting everyone and everything, everywhere. Since 2000, the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ seal of approval designates products with proven interoperability, industry-standard security protections, and the latest technology. Wi-Fi Alliance has certified more than 25,000 products, delivering the best user experience and encouraging the expanded use of Wi-Fi products and services in new and established markets. Today, billions of Wi-Fi products carry a significant portion of the world’s data traffic in an ever-expanding variety of applications.

ABI Research reports that 68 percent of Wi-Fi devices sold this year will be dual-band; Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ ac consumer products proliferating 

Austin, Texas, and Oyster Bay, April 21, 2015 – Wi-Fi Alliance® and ABI Research announced today that the use of dual-band Wi-Fi® devices has surpassed that of single-band 2.4 GHz devices only. Widespread adoption of Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ ac in smartphones, tablets, and consumer electronics has pushed 5 GHz into the spotlight as a critical frequency band for Wi-Fi operation, today and into the future.

Wi-Fi CERTIFIED ac is the latest generation of Wi-Fi, offering users expanded bandwidth and up to gigabit per second data rates, with dual-band usage doubling overall network capacity. Wi-Fi CERTIFIED ac has prompted the expansion of 5 GHz Wi-Fi usage beyond the enterprise, as consumers adopt advanced smartphones and look to dual-band networking to improve home network capacity and performance to support multimedia usages.

“The advancements in 5 GHz Wi-Fi technology have fueled the growth in the number and variety of devices certified by Wi-Fi Alliance members,” said Edgar Figueroa, president and CEO of Wi-Fi Alliance. “The widespread use of 5 GHz Wi-Fi products continues to increase the value of Wi-Fi, with better performance and capacity.”  

According to a new report by ABI Research, 68 percent of all Wi-Fi devices shipped in 2015 will use the 5 GHz band. “The growth of Wi-Fi devices has been consistent over a number of years and has shown an ever-expanding presence in 5 GHz,” said research director Phil Solis, ABI Research. “More than half of all Wi-Fi devices last year used 5 GHz, and that will grow to close to 100 percent saturation in the next five years.”

Download the free ABI report 5 GHz Wi-Fi is Now Mainstream and Wi-Fi Alliance infographic. Please visit www.wi-fi.org for more information on Wi-Fi CERTIFIED ac and other Wi-Fi Alliance technologies and certification programs.

About Wi-Fi Alliance®
www.wi-fi.org
Wi-Fi Alliance® is a global non-profit industry association – our members are the worldwide network of companies that brings you Wi-Fi®. The members of our collaboration forum come from across the Wi-Fi ecosystem and share a common vision of connecting everyone and everything, everywhere. Since 2000, the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ seal of approval designates products with proven interoperability, industry-standard security protections, and the latest technology. Wi-Fi Alliance has certified more than 25,000 products, delivering the best user experience and encouraging the expanded use of Wi-Fi products and services in new and established markets. Today, billions of Wi-Fi products carry a significant portion of the world’s data traffic in an ever-expanding variety of applications. 

About ABI Research

ABI Research provides in-depth analysis and quantitative forecasting of trends in global connectivity and other emerging technologies. From offices in North America, Europe and Asia, ABI Research’s worldwide team of experts advises thousands of decision makers through 70+ research and advisory services. Est. 1990. For more information visit www.abiresearch.com , or call +1.516.624.2500.

Media contacts:
Elliott Suthers
Highwire PR for Wi-Fi Alliance
wi-fi@highwirepr.com
+1-415-963-4174 ext. 6

Christine Gallen
ABI Research
pr@abiresearch.com
+1-516-624-2542

Austin, TX, April 17, 2015 - Wi-Fi Alliance applauds the FCC's efforts toward making additional spectrum available for unlicensed operations in the 3.5 GHz band. Unlicensed spectrum is one of the true backbones of the world economy, enabling hundreds of billions of dollars in global commerce annually. In the U.S. alone, Wi-Fi® drives an estimated $140 billion a year in commercial activity. More than 10 billion devices rely on Wi-Fi, and unlocking additional spectrum for these devices to operate will have untold benefits for the economy, users and businesses. We are pleased to see FCC allocate portions of 3.5 for unlicensed use and to facilitate shared use of licensed spectrum by unlicensed devices.

In today’s world, where there is an exploding demand for connectivity, it is essential that the FCC’s policy enable our society to make the best use of spectrum. Unlicensed spectrum is a venue for innovation and for general public use in a fair and equitable way. As we have seen over the last 15 years, those principles have driven tremendous economic and end user benefit in the United States. Wi-Fi has exemplified innovation in 2.4 and 5 GHz, increasing performance and reliability while remaining a polite “good citizen” in the band.

We look forward to expanding Wi-Fi’s successes into the 3.5 GHz band, and to collaborating with FCC and other stakeholders on this important initiative.

About Wi-Fi Alliance®
www.wi-fi.org
Wi-Fi Alliance® is a global non-profit industry association – our members are the worldwide network of companies that brings you Wi-Fi®. The members of our collaboration forum come from across the Wi-Fi ecosystem and share a common vision of connecting everyone and everything, everywhere. Since 2000, the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ seal of approval designates products with proven interoperability, industry-standard security protections, and the latest technology. Wi-Fi Alliance has certified more than 25,000 products, delivering the best user experience and encouraging the expanded use of Wi-Fi products and services in new and established markets. Today, billions of Wi-Fi products carry a significant portion of the world’s data traffic in an ever-expanding variety of applications. 

Austin, Texas, February 10, 2015 –Today in the United States Congress, Senators Rubio
(R-FL) and Booker (D-NJ) introduced the Wi-Fi Innovation Act, with a House companion measure co-sponsored by Representatives Latta (R-OH) and Eshoo (D-CA). The bill directs the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to work with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DoT) and National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to closely study the impact of opening the 5.9 GHz spectrum band for use by a wide array of devices.

Wi-Fi Alliance® welcomes the proposed U.S. legislation and urges lawmakers to take action swiftly to advance innovation in unlicensed spectrum.

“We applaud this group of Senators and Representatives for their recognition of the value of unlicensed spectrum in enabling innovation and economic benefits today,” said Edgar Figueroa, president and CEO of Wi-Fi Alliance. “It’s well understood that more unlicensed spectrum is critical to meet our society’s ongoing requirements for connectivity.”

Unlicensed spectrum has created significant economic opportunities in the U.S. and worldwide. Recent studies assess the worldwide economic value of Wi-Fi® to have been well above $200 billion in 2013, and with growth in Wi-Fi offloading, sales of Wi-Fi equipment, and other drivers of economic activity related to unlicensed spectrum usage, the economic benefit is predicted to exceed $500 billion in 2017.

The proposed legislation would require the FCC to develop spectrum-sharing tests to examine how devices may use the 5.9 GHz spectrum band in the U.S. without negative impact to other users, and to open the spectrum to Wi-Fi devices, unless it identifies a compelling reason not to do so.  

“Although this spectrum was allocated fifteen years ago for future use in vehicular communications, it remains underutilized today,” continued Figueroa. “Wi-Fi includes a number of proven mechanisms that make it capable of sharing spectrum with other technologies, and these mechanisms can be adapted to enable shared use of the 5.9 GHz band. We are eager to work closely with the FCC, DoT and NTIA to provide technical expertise and industry feedback during their examination of the issue.”

Please visit www.wi-fi.org for more information on the various Wi-Fi Alliance technologies and certification programs available today and in development.

About Wi-Fi Alliance®
www.wi-fi.org
Wi-Fi Alliance® is a global non-profit industry association – our members are the worldwide network of companies that brings you Wi-Fi®. The members of our collaboration forum come from across the Wi-Fi ecosystem and share a common vision of connecting everyone and everything, everywhere. Since 2000, the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ seal of approval designates products with proven interoperability, industry-standard security protections, and the latest technology. Wi-Fi Alliance has certified more than 23,000 products, delivering the best user experience and encouraging the expanded use of Wi-Fi products and services in new and established markets. Today, billions of
Wi-Fi products carry a significant portion of the world’s data traffic in an ever-expanding variety of applications. 

Austin, TX, February 9, 2015 - Unlicensed spectrum is one of society’s most valuable resources. The Wi-Fi® industry’s innovation, promotion and good stewardship of the unlicensed 2.4 GHz and the 5 GHz bands has helped deliver significant benefits to users and driven immense economic value worldwide.

As U.S. Federal Communications Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel stated in her recent remarks to the 2015 State of the Net Conference, "Wi-Fi is a boon to the economy. The economic impact of unlicensed spectrum has been estimated at more than $140 billion annually and it's only going to grow." Indeed, numerous studies (see Katz and Plum Consulting) assess the worldwide economic value of Wi-Fi in hundreds of billions of dollars.

Wi-Fi exemplifies innovation, delivering higher-performance connectivity and carrying more data traffic than cellular networks. In the last 15 years, Wi-Fi data rates have advanced from 11 Mbps to exceed 1 Gbps – and continued innovation will deliver Wi-Fi data rates exceeding 5 Gbps within a few short years. The growing worldwide demand for connectivity cannot be supported without Wi-Fi. Today, Wi-Fi carries ten times the IP data traffic of cellular.

5 GHz spectrum is a critical element of today’s Wi-Fi – it is widely used to support the capacity and performance requirements of our connected world. Since its introduction in 2001, 5 GHz Wi-Fi has expanded its reach well beyond enterprise networks into billions of consumer devices used worldwide.  

Wi-Fi Alliance® is aware of 3GPP work addressing LTE operation in the unlicensed 5 GHz band, known as LAA, as well as early deployments of pre-standard LAA-like systems. There is a risk that LAA, and especially pre-standard systems deployed ahead of coexistence work being done in the industry, will negatively impact billions of Wi-Fi users who rely on 5 GHz today for networking and device connectivity. It is generally agreed in principle that fair sharing is required, but there needs to be further work from all parties to address this risk in practice.

The future value of unlicensed spectrum is dependent upon good stewardship by all technologies that share the resource. The LTE and Wi-Fi communities must work toward a mutually understood fair and effective use of the 5 GHz band and ensure that there are no adverse effects to the installed base and future users of Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi Alliance is planning collaboration with 3GPP, and is eager to work with those planning pre-standard deployments to help them continue to satisfy the expectations of Wi-Fi users.

Wi-Fi Alliance will also continue to support regulators in their attempts to understand this emerging technology and its implications. We plan to work with regulators and industry stakeholders toward an industry-led outcome that avoids heavy regulation and ensures that users are able to benefit from Wi-Fi well into the future.

About Wi-Fi Alliance®
www.wi-fi.org
Wi-Fi Alliance® is a global non-profit industry association – our members are the worldwide network of companies that brings you Wi-Fi®. The members of our collaboration forum come from across the Wi-Fi ecosystem and share a common vision of connecting everyone and everything, everywhere. Since 2000, the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ seal of approval designates products with proven interoperability, industry-standard security protections, and the latest technology. Wi-Fi Alliance has certified more than 23,000 products, delivering the best user experience and encouraging the expanded use of Wi-Fi products and services in new and established markets. Today, billions of
Wi-Fi products carry a significant portion of the world’s data traffic in an ever-expanding variety of applications. 

Beijing, China, February 5, 2015 –Wi-Fi Alliance® and China Communications Standards Association (CCSA) today signed a memorandum of understanding to facilitate communication between the organizations in support of continued adoption of standards-based communications technology for the China market and around the world.

The increasing number of Wi-Fi® devices and hotspots in China has created the opportunity for many new wireless access technologies and applications. As leaders in their respective industry segments, Wi-Fi Alliance and CCSA have agreed to stay mutually informed on technologies of mutual interest toward the goal of facilitating the adoption and roll out of harmonized communications standards.

The agreement comes at a time when membership in Wi-Fi Alliance from China companies is at an all-time high, with 83 companies headquartered in China. Wi-Fi Alliance has operated a Representative Office in Beijing since 2012, and four Authorized Test Laboratories conduct Wi-Fi certification testing in China. China is both a large end-user market for the Wi-Fi industry and the home of many companies which are developing innovative Wi-Fi products.

“As China users embrace Wi-Fi, and China-based companies set their sights on worldwide markets, it is more important than ever for harmonized standards to be implemented,” said Edgar Figueroa, president and CEO of Wi-Fi Alliance. “We are excited to partner with CCSA to enable dialogue that will further develop the Wi-Fi ecosystem and deliver the best user experience.”

"The application of ICT technologies in both the areas of individual consumption and industrial use is of common interest of CCSA and Wi-Fi Alliance,” said Zemin Yang, Secretary-General of CCSA. Collaborating with Wi-Fi Alliance will bring a new perspective to the work of CCSA. We look forward to exchanges with Wi-Fi Alliance to find opportunities for harmonization.”

Please visit www.wi-fi.org for more information on the various Wi-Fi Alliance technologies and certification programs available today and in development.

About Wi-Fi Alliance®
www.wi-fi.org
Wi-Fi Alliance® is a global non-profit industry association – our members are the worldwide network of companies that brings you Wi-Fi®. The members of our collaboration forum come from across the Wi-Fi ecosystem and share a common vision of connecting everyone and everything, everywhere. Since 2000, the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ seal of approval designates products with proven interoperability, industry-standard security protections, and the latest technology. Wi-Fi Alliance has certified more than 23,000 products, delivering the best user experience and encouraging the expanded use of Wi-Fi products and services in new and established markets. Today, billions of Wi-Fi products carry a significant portion of the world’s data traffic in an ever-expanding variety of applications. 

Media contact:
Crystal Yang
Edelman for Wi-Fi Alliance
crystal.yang@edelman.com
+86-188-1083-1606

Follow Wi-Fi Alliance:
wi-fi.org/beacon
facebook.com/wificertified
twitter.com/wifialliance
linkedin.com/company/wi-fi-alliance
Weibo: @wifialliance官方微博

About CCSA
http://www.ccsa.org.cn
The China Communications Standards Association (CCSA) is the national ICT standards organization of China. Its membership consists of nearly 400 vendors, carriers, Internet service providers, and academia, both domestic and multinational in the information and communication field. The number of subscribers and the market shares served by CCSA’s members take a significant part of the whole of the world. While serving China with the national ICT standards formulated by its members, CCSA is playing also the role of contributing towards global ICT standards.

Media contact:
ZHAO, Shi-zhuo
CCSA Project Management
zhaosz@ccsa.org.cn
+86-136-7134-8485

Look for Wi-Fi® calling, Internet of Things, and continued innovation in the mobility landscape

Las Vegas, NV, January 7, 2015 – 2014 was a monumental year for Wi-Fi – the wireless technology celebrated 15 years, carried more than 42 percent of the world’s mobile data traffic and 90 percent of the world’s tablet traffic, and connected users to more than 47 million public hotspots worldwide. Wi-Fi is on a path to provide seamless Wi-Fi virtually everywhere, and is pushing the limits of what wireless technology has traditionally offered.

With input from representatives from our member companies, Wi-Fi Alliance® has developed a list of fifteen predictions for the coming year that proves Wi-Fi has evolved into much more than a mode of connectivity to the internet.

Wi-Fi’s fifteen for ’15:

Higher-performance, more capable Wi-Fi steps into the spotlight:

1. A performance boost for Wi-Fi – Wi-Fi performance will continue to improve in 2015, with Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ ac becoming mainstream and including advanced features. Looking a bit further ahead, WiGig® will augment Wi-Fi’s networking prowess with an even higher-throughput link to support in-room connectivity and cable replacement.
2. Dual band gets its due – In 2015, dual-band Wi-Fi will become ubiquitous. ABI Research predicts that 72 percent of Wi-Fi devices sold this year will operate in both 2.4 and 5 GHz. Consumers are beginning to take advantage of the increased capacity of dual-band networks as they adopt more demanding applications, like Ultra HD and 4K TV, and to support a growing number of devices on the home network.
3. New developer tools in Wi-Fi Direct® will become more widely deployed – Application developers will take note: the Wi-Fi industry is constantly enhancing the core technology to make it more useful. One example: Look for broader adoption of recent enhancements to Wi-Fi Direct that make it easy to develop device-to-device services that interoperate across brands and operating systems.
4. Discovering the world nearby – The newly-announced Wi-Fi Aware™ will deliver service discovery before connecting, enabling developers to focus on building the coolest apps for proximity-based services.

The Wi-Fi mobility landscape continues to evolve:

1. Passpoint is your passport – Wi-Fi roaming based on Passpoint, and Wireless Broadband Alliance’s NGH initiative, will take off in 2015. Expect to see more roaming relationships emerge among carriers and cities domestically and across oceans – enabling you to seamlessly connect on Wi-Fi networks around the world.
2. Cable providers continue investing in Wi-Fi – 2014 was a monumental year for cable Wi-Fi deployments, and there is no sign of slowing down in 2015. Cable providers will continue to expand their footprint outside of the home, and to reach the growing number of gadgets received this holiday season – In doing so, cable providers will aim to stay ahead of mobile carriers that have been slower to deploy.
3. Mobile providers feel the heat – With rapid cable Wi-Fi deployments in 2014 and continuing into 2015, mobile carriers will feel increasing pressure to expand their own Wi-Fi footprint. Mobile operators will look to Wi-Fi deployments to provide much-needed data offload and enable inter-provider roaming.
4. Wi-Fi calling reaches the tipping point – With major product vendors, mobile carriers, and startups announcing their Wi-Fi voice offerings, 2015 is the year
   Wi-Fi will emerge as a popular connection for mobile phone calls.
5. Consumers demand secure Wi-Fi – With nearly-ubiquitous Wi-Fi mobility comes the growing expectation of security and privacy. Consumers now have choices about where to connect, and will expect home and public Wi-Fi providers to protect their privacy and security.

Wi-Fi enables new business models and supports strategic marketing objectives:

1. Wi-Fi First models keep the pressure on – Wi-Fi is already most people’s default connection to the internet, and “Wi-Fi First” business models will continue to gain traction, offering Wi-Fi as the primary connection and cellular as a supplement only when needed. These disruptive models will continue to upend the landscape and garner new subscribers.
2. Wi-Fi increases retail’s bottom line – Retailers will continue to step up their Wi-Fi investments on the realization that in-store connectivity is more than a customer amenity. In-store Wi-Fi bridges the gap between online and bricks-and-mortar, increases customer loyalty and engagement, and serves as a platform for promotions and outreach when customers opt-in. Expect to see more large retail establishments expand their Wi-Fi investments.
3. Take Me Out to the Wi-Fi Game – In 2015, every Major League Baseball stadium will have Wi-Fi by Opening Day, and many more National Football League, National Basketball Association, and U.K. stadiums will follow on the heels of Levi’s Stadium and FedExField, to deliver high-grade Wi-Fi networks for its fans. Stadiums and other high-traffic venues will deliver Wi-Fi ostensibly as an amenity, but recognizing that a fan with a connection, a camera, and a social media presence is the ultimate outbound marketing tool.

And what about the Internet of Everything?

1. Fragmentation gives way to collaboration – Competing proprietary solutions, turf battles, and technical differences among IoT consortia will surely continue in 2015, but we will see increasing recognition that industry alignment is key to unlocking the most value from the IoT opportunity. Not only will industry move toward a common language for IoT communications, Wi-Fi will emerge as essential to the IoT because of Wi-Fi’s ubiquity, user affinity, and legacy of interoperability.
2. Wi-Fi leads in smart home, industrial IoT, and connected car – Already ubiquitous in homes and enterprises, Wi-Fi networks will connect a wider range of devices to make homes and businesses more automated, efficient, and comfortable. At home, more appliances, security cameras and energy devices will connect over Wi-Fi, and cars will connect both at home and on the go for entertainment, maintenance, and safety. Meanwhile, expect advances in enterprises around building and factory automation, leveraging existing Wi-Fi infrastructure.
3. Core Wi-Fi technology will keep pace – Innovation in Wi-Fi technology will continue to push the boundaries of Wi-Fi power efficiency, range, and performance, while preserving long-lived interoperability and strong security that has made Wi-Fi the success it is today.

Please visit www.wi-fi.org for more information on the various Wi-Fi Alliance technologies and certification programs available today and coming on our future roadmap.

About Wi-Fi Alliance®
www.wi-fi.org
Wi-Fi Alliance® is a global non-profit industry association – our members are the worldwide network of companies that brings you Wi-Fi®. The members of our collaboration forum come from across the Wi-Fi ecosystem and share a common vision of connecting everyone and everything, everywhere. Since 2000, the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ seal of approval designates products with proven interoperability, industry-standard security protections, and the latest technology. Wi-Fi Alliance has certified more than 23,000 products, delivering the best user experience and encouraging the expanded use of Wi-Fi products and services in new and established markets. Today, billions of
Wi-Fi products carry a significant portion of the world’s data traffic in an ever-expanding variety of applications.

Devices will be aware of nearby services before connecting

Las Vegas, NV, January 6, 2015 - With connected social, local and mobile applications growing at an explosive pace, Wi-Fi® will soon include a new capability to make it easier for users to discover nearby devices, applications, and information before making a Wi-Fi connection. The solution, to be Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ in products later this year, is called Wi-Fi Aware™.

The “neighbor awareness” technology behind Wi-Fi Aware operates continuously in the background, sending very small messages to enable service discovery for a wide range of applications. Wi-Fi Aware-certified devices will discover before connecting, further improving Wi-Fi’s convenience for social applications such as gaming, peer-to-peer messaging, and media sharing, as well as location-specific services such as proximity assessment, contextual notifications, and offers. The user may then launch an application, which will connect via Wi-Fi Direct® or traditional Wi-Fi to use the service.

“We know users want to use Wi-Fi as much as possible for social and local applications, and Wi-Fi Aware is an exciting breakthrough that makes it easier to know what interesting services are nearby before making a connection,” said Edgar Figueroa, president and CEO of Wi-Fi Alliance. “We’re excited about how Wi-Fi Aware will transform the experience of initiating proximity-based services, and its potential to enable a range of peer-to-peer service experiences.”

The introduction of Wi-Fi Aware certification comes at a time when smartphones are overtaking feature phones and the increased capabilities of these devices are creating a burgeoning mobile application market. As the mobile ecosystem evolves, Wi-Fi is evolving alongside it to enable a new breed of innovative applications built on proximity-based information that will bring significant advantages to mobile devices and a personalized experience to the user based on his or her preferences.  

Wi-Fi Aware in action

Wi-Fi Aware is designed to work well in crowded environments and indoors, and to minimize power consumption. Applications on a mobile device will use Wi-Fi Aware both to offer and to find services on other devices. The user may then “opt-in” to initiate a connection to the discovered device, often without using an internet connection.

The value of Wi-Fi Aware comes alive in social, local and mobile applications. Apps themselves will leverage the technology in Wi-Fi Aware-certified devices to discover nearby counterparts offering valuable services. For example, a user may download a shopping application which leverages Wi-Fi Aware to find nearby availability of the user’s preferred brands. In another example, devices using a jukebox application can find one another to tailor the playlist at a venue or party based on users’ musical preferences. 

“We’ve only begun to imagine the uses for Wi-Fi Aware,” said Edgar Figueroa. “Of course, people will use the technology to find video game opponents, photo sharing opportunities, and sources for location-specific information. We are also excited about Wi-Fi Aware’s potential in a range of services yet-to-be conceived.”

Please visit www.wi-fi.org/wi-fi-aware for additional resources, including a video animation illustrating the technology in action. A draft of the Wi-Fi Alliance Neighbor Awareness Networking Specification, the technology which underpins the forthcoming Wi-Fi Aware certification program, is also available for purchase.

About Wi-Fi Alliance®
www.wi-fi.org
Wi-Fi Alliance® is a global non-profit industry association – our members are the worldwide network of companies that brings you Wi-Fi®. The members of our collaboration forum come from across the Wi-Fi ecosystem and share a common vision of connecting everyone and everything, everywhere. Since 2000, the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ seal of approval designates products with proven interoperability, industry-standard security protections, and the latest technology. Wi-Fi Alliance has certified more than 23,000 products, delivering the best user experience and encouraging the expanded use of Wi-Fi products and services in new and established markets. Today, billions of
Wi-Fi products carry a significant portion of the world’s data traffic in an ever-expanding variety of applications.