Wi-Fi is now a massive part of our everyday lives, with each of us relying on several connected devices to work, play and ultimately live a modern-day life. Here are 10 facts you probably didn’t know about Wi-Fi.

1. As of 2022 there are 5 billion internet users and 4.65 billion of those are active social media users, so quite a few.

2. Wi-Fi doesn’t actually stand for anything, what we know as Wi-Fi was originally called IEEE 802.11 (IEEE stands for Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the numbers refer to certain methods and protocols),not very user friendly, right? The marketing team in charge of promoting this new form of wireless internet connection came up with the name Wi-Fi as a play on words relating to Hi-Fi and it stuck, and has been used worldwide ever since.

3. There are two types of Wi-Fi frequencies, 2.4GHz and 5GHz. Depending on what is the most used frequency in your wide area network (WAN), which is basically your local area/neighbourhood, you can switch which to the other frequency in your router settings to increase your speeds. The more people in your area using the same frequency as you the more likely interference and delays are to occur.

4. Physical interferences with Wi-Fi can come from many different things, metal objects are the more obvious one that cause quite a big issue for travelling radio waves, as well as other electronic devices that emit radio waves, however a less obvious one, is… you! We are made of about 60-70% water and H20 is actually pretty good at blocking radio frequencies, try to load a video on your phone in a full sink or bath (if your phone is waterproof), it doesn’t work so well!

5. According tostatisa.com, as of March 2022, Monaco has the fastest Wi-Fi in the world with an average speed of 270.25Mbps, closely followed by Hong Kong with 260.35Mbpsand Singapore with 257.15Mbps, not too shabby.

6. The average wireless router can support around 250 connected devices, however the number of those users that could actually use the Wi-Fi effectively at the same time depends on bandwidth and broadband speeds.

7. Wi-Fi signals generated from a router or extender/booster are released in a doughnut shape, more specifically a ring doughnut! The hole/ring actually has no Wi-Fi coverage, weird, right?!

8. There are a lot more devices that can connect to Wi-Fi than there are people on the planet, there are 7.7 billion people on earth and an estimation of over 20 billion devices.

9. International Data Corporation (IDC), estimates that by 2025 500 million units of wearable Wi-Fi devices, such as the Apple Watch, will be sold annually.

10. Smart homes are becoming more and more normal, for good reason! There are currently an estimated 175 million smart homes in the world and the number will only continue to increase. Smart homes allow access to things like thermostat, oven, lights, speakers, TV’s, smart locks, garage doors and security cameras from your phone, tablet or laptop.

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If you are looking to install a new, or improve an existing Wi-Fi network in your home or business, we can help! Contact our team today to talk about how we can help build your Wi-Fi solution. Get in touch at 01633 357260 or support@cambrianconnect.co.uk.