25 years of Wi-Fi®: Celebrating today’s innovations

Wi-Fi^® has achieved a significant milestone in 2024 as this year marks 25 years of one of technology’s greatest success stories. The expansive reach of Wi-Fi transcends physical and geographical boundaries, fostering a sense of unity and global connectivity that touches almost all aspects of daily life. As we celebrate a quarter century of Wi-Fi innovation and impact, read on to learn more about how today’s Wi-Fi successes are transforming the way people work, live, and play. 

The launch of Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 7™

Wi-Fi 7 has officially become today’s Wi-Fi. With heightened speeds and deterministic latency, Wi-Fi 7 supports applications that require superior reliability to create an elevated experience for the use cases that have quickly become mainstays, like ultra-high definition video streaming, hybrid work and rich telepresence, and multi-user AR/VR/XR in enterprise and education. Wi-Fi 7 also supports complex environments and processes, including bringing immersive 3-D surgical training to healthcare professionals and supporting an IoT ecosystem of devices that depend on real-time monitoring in industrial settings.

Wi-Fi Alliance^® celebrated the launch of Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 7 in January 2024, beginning the first wave of mass market adoption. Wi-Fi Alliance certification typically serves as an inflection point in the industry as products fill the shelves, and forecasts predict that the rate of Wi-Fi 7 adoption will exceed previous generations of Wi-Fi.

Wi-Fi uptake in 2024

Wi-Fi delivers the connectivity users worldwide depend on every day, and its momentum shows no signs of slowing down. In 2024, it is predicted that there will be more than 21 billion Wi-Fi devices in active use, connecting users in their homes, on the go, and everywhere in between.^[1] 2024 will also see an increase in 6 GHz devices with an estimated 807.5 million shipments expected by the end of the year.^[2] Wi-Fi is anticipated to continue its immense economic impact by delivering more than $4.3 trillion of economic value this year.^[3]

Wi-Fi is the catalyst for innovation

Part of Wi-Fi’s success is that it provides a foundation for innovation. Because organizations are not locked into a specific network provider, if they can dream it, they can make it – and that flexibility has made Wi-Fi ubiquitous, showing up in some unexpected places. The Artemis mission, for example, saw the first usage of Wi-Fi in lunar orbit, enabling cameras that survey the condition of the vehicle. Wi-Fi provides crucial connectivity to Base Camp at Mount Everest, as well as on Mount Fuji, the North Pole, and even at the San Jose Cemetery in Spain. Perhaps one of the most surprising elements of Wi-Fi is that it has evolved beyond its original purpose to reach places it was never expected to be, meaning that Wi-Fi really is everywhere, all the time. 

Innovation is not only measured in the spectacular but also in the more mundane daily use cases that can be easily taken for granted. Wi-Fi is essential in delivering healthcare around the globe, with healthcare workers easily accessing electronic medical records and MRI results on tablets that enable them to provide care in real-time. In industry, Wi-Fi is part of the critical infrastructure in fulfillment centers and manufacturing plants. During the pandemic, Wi-Fi supported students and collaboration in remote workplaces. At home, Wi-Fi provides security and safety through smart locks and cameras, and supplies our entertainment through wireless speakers and streaming content without the cords.

As we celebrate the impact of today’s Wi-Fi, we want to thank our members for their contributions to the technology that has revolutionized our daily lives. Wi-Fi is not just this foundational layer that things sit on top of, but rather, it is interwoven through everything we do. 

[1] IDC Research, March 2023

[2] IDC Research, November 2023

[3] Telecom Advisory Services, 2021