“What is the WiFi password?” It is a common question and one of the most recurrent in these times of hyper connection. It is an everyday necessity in our days, so vital that when it is lost it creates havoc.
Every June 20, World WiFi Day is commemorated, one of the technological concepts closest to citizens and which has become a necessity in homes, offices, schools, hotels and even bathrooms.
In today’s home we not only connect computers and phones, but also televisions, watches, cameras and appliances. Today signal strength is no guarantee of connectivity. All of these devices compete for the Wifi spectrum and not all of them are “good companions.” Some are going to “appropriate” the spectrum and others do not react to the conditions in which they are connected, delegating the connection problem to the user.
Today the Wi-Fi network is managed centrally. The sum of extenders forms an intelligent and coordinated mesh that at all times knows what the conditions are – not only of the WiFi access points – but of each of the devices in a home.
“The network must ensure that there are no devices with coverage, interference or speed problems and must dynamically adjust to changing conditions, such as a phone that moves around the house, a vacuum cleaner that generates noise or a neighbor that is invading the WiFi spectrum. when turning on some devices,” explains Edwin Elberg, senior product manager at VTR.
The executive adds that until recently these technologies had high costs, so only high-income companies or households could afford them. Nowadays, however, there are operators that incorporate it in all their residential broadband products.
We want to be connected to such an extent that the sale of guides, manuals, workshops and decalogues to moderate our consumption are becoming more and more frequent. Just as the anniversary in favor of WiFi approaches, November 8th was chosen as the Day Without Wi-Fi, a collective vote in favor of disconnection and a moment of analysis regarding the dependence we have on the digital world and reconnection with one same.
Beyond taking sides with one or the other, below we list curious details about WiFi that few know.
1. What does WiFi mean? It originally referred to the wireless standard. In fact, Wi-Fi is short for Wireless Fidelity and was chosen because it sounded similar to “Hi-Fi” (High Fidelity), which is a term then used to describe home stereos. high-end.
2. The icon that represents WiFi was designed in 1999 by Interbrand and has since become known throughout the world. Its design was based on the ying-yang symbol, as an attempt to convey the ability to exchange information.
3. The first device with WiFi dates back to 1997. It was a wireless network card called WaveLAN, which offered a transmission speed of 2 megabits per second.
4. The development of WiFi has as its earliest precedent nothing less than the Second World War. The renowned Austrian film actress and self-taught inventor, Hedy Lammar, created, developed and patented a system based on radio frequencies that guided allied torpedoes using a “spread spectrum”, highly complex to be interpreted by the enemy.
5. WiFi uses a technology called radio spectrum. Waves transmit and receive data and this particular technology allows the signal to pass through walls and objects, ensuring flexibility and range.
6. The system was never used in World War II but was used during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.
7. One of the first spaces where free WiFi could be accessed in Chile was the Metro. In 2012, it inaugurated a free service in certain spaces on its network in 22 stations. Then new places would come, countless parade grounds in regions, waterfronts, shopping centers, the central market and many others.
8. The old San Carlos de Apoquindo Stadium was the first in the country to offer free Wi-Fi to fans. On Saturday, February 28, 2015 during the UC vs Cobresal match.
9. North Korea, South Sudan and Somalia are three of the most disconnected countries on the planet. The first with a level of 99.9% disconnection of the population.
10. Some scientists estimate that in the period from 2024 to 2028 there is a certain possibility that the Internet will go down for weeks or months as a result of a space weather phenomenon called a geostorm in which the sun emits an enormous amount of energy that could interrupt the Internet and TV, cell phones. .
