Wi-Fi® allows extending an Ethernet IP network to operate over the air for the last 30 m of access.
In other words, 802.11/Wi-Fi is a collection of protocols that replace an Ethernet cable.
IEEE 802.11 and Wi-Fi are often used synonymously. Let's elaborate on these acronyms:
IEEE 802.11
It refers to the suite of standards for implementing wireless local area networks (WLANs), created and maintained by theIEEE Standards Committee. The base current version is IEEE 802.11-2016.
Wi-Fi
It is a trademark owned by the Wi-Fi Alliance (www.wi-fi.org), an industry trade association that promotes WLAN technology and certifies products if they conform to certain standards of interoperability. In purpose/scope, it is similar to the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF).
