The Wi-Fi Alliance has completed its annual consumer study, which indicates continued growth in awareness of the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED branding. This brand is applied to Wi-Fi product types that have successfully completed rigorous testing by the Wi-Fi Alliance, and the study indicates the branding will be effective in boosting the development and deployment of wireless communications based on the IEEE 802.11 standard.

The Web-based research study, conducted in June 2007 by research firm Millward Brown, surveyed more than 1200 broadband Internet users in the U.S., China, Japan and U.K. Respondents were from a nationally balanced and demographically representative sample of adult consumers with awareness of wireless technology.

The survey reveals that word-of-mouth and marketing efforts from the Wi-Fi Alliance’s members contributed to increased brand awareness. Consumers in the U.S. and U.K. reported the greatest recognition of the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED logo, with 70% and 68%, respectively.

Wi-Fi CERTIFIED branding was associated with multi-vendor wireless interoperability by 60% of the total respondents. The branding was also associated with secure wireless communications by 54% of the total respondents. This is significant because interoperability and security are two of the certification testing program’s core elements.

“Our rigorous certification program helps assure users that their Wi-Fi devices have been tested to work together,” said Karen Hanley, senior director for the Wi-Fi Alliance. “The results of this study reaffirm the success of the program and the positive experiences consumers have with Wi-Fi CERTIFIED products.” Hanley also states that vendor interoperability was the primary motivation for establishing the member-driven Wi-Fi Alliance in the first place.

On the issue of security, the Wi-Fi Protected Access program, or WPA—and now the more recent WPA2 (based on the IEEE 80211.i standard), enable extremely high levels of security in Wi-Fi data links. WPA2 is available and now mandatory for all Wi-Fi CERTIFIED devices. According to Hanley, WPA2 employs the advanced encryption standard, or AES, and also adds an authentication feature. The security is high enough to meet government regulation FIPS-140-2, and is required for all federal government installations equipped with Wi-Fi systems.

Hanley also states that the WPA2 encryption standard has not yet been cracked. Therefore, security issues relate mainly to the failure of users to enable this security feature in their Wi-Fi connections. To reduce this tendency, a program called Wi-Fi Protected Setup has been developed. This involves the use of a proactive application that notifies users if their wireless security is not enabled. It can prompt the user to enable WPA2 security in a simple four-step process when a computer system is first booted.

The Wi-Fi Alliance certification program has become widely accepted as Wi-Fi technology has gained momentum and popularity. For example, according to Hanley, 90% of all laptops are Wi-Fi CERTIFIED. Additionally, results from the survey indicate that 79% of U.K. consumers who are aware of the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED branding would choose a Wi-Fi CERTIFIED laptop computer.

Extending beyond traditional Wi-Fi-enabled laptops, the report also indicates that consumers are very likely to consider other Wi-Fi CERTIFIED electronic devices, including mobile phones. For example, 70% of U.S. consumers who responded to the survey are likely to purchase a Wi-Fi CERTIFIED mobile phone. Furthermore, of the survey respondents from China who indicated they would pay more for a Wi-Fi CERTIFIED device, 73% would do so for a mobile phone.

Electronic devices already achieving Wi-Fi certification include printers, digital audio players and digital cameras. For example, Apple's recently released iPod touch is the first iPod to feature Wi-Fi capabilities (http://www.apple.com/ipodtouch/features.html?feature=safari). In keeping with this trend, 56% of Japanese respondents in the survey that are aware of Wi-Fi suggested that it is a good way to connect devices within the digital home.

RF design engineers will face multi-faceted testing challenges as Wi-Fi becomes a standard feature in handsets due to the convergence of Wi-Fi and cellular technologies. The CTIA, which tests all handsets for use in the U.S., performs tests that characterize both the Wi-Fi radio and the Cellular phone radio when the two are in operation simultaneously. Part of the CTIA certification for Wi-Fi enabled wireless handsets also requires the handset to be Wi-Fi CERTIFIED.

With this kind of certification branding for wireless technology, the development work performed by RF engineers and technicians can be rewarded with faster acceptance by consumers who have confidence in the quality of emerging Wi-Fi applications. As indicated by this study, this confidence appears to be growing.