Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity)

The abbreviation Wi-Fi refers to Wireless Fidelity and marks devices that are able to communicate via the Wireless Local Area Network, or WLAN for short. Over the course of time, new transmission standards have been regularly developed and made available for data exchange.

Wireless connectivity for TVs via Wi-Fi

The transmission works according to the IEEE 802.11 standard and uses the 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz frequency band to exchange data wirelessly. The information is divided into packets and sent via radio waves by a transmitter – for example, a router – to a receiver – for example, a smart TV. The technology was developed in 1997 by the Wi-Fi Alliance, a non-profit organisation that also promotes, regulates and standardises development.

In connection with TV sets, Wi-Fi has been the standard since 2010 and is used to easily integrate smart TVs into the home network and connect them with the Internet. Streaming services, web browsing, cloud gaming and other internet-based functionalities are thereby also become possible. An additional feature is the ability for software updates, control of the TV via smartphone and screen synchronisation with third party devices.

Due to ever-increasing data volumes, new revisions have been developed regularly over the years and made available to consumers. Currently, Wi-Fi 6 is the newest and fastest development.

You can get an overview of those standards here:

Standard	Frequency band	Max. Speed	Launch
802.11a	5 GHz	54 Mbit/s	1999
802.11b	2,4 GHz	11 Mbit/s	1999
802.11g	2,4 GHz	54 Mbit/s	2003
802.11n	2,4/5 GHz	600 Mbit/s	2009
802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5)	5 GHz	3466,8 Mbit/s	2014
802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6)	2,4/5/6 GHz	9607,8 Mbit/s	2019

Note: The speed may vary depending on the environment and devices.