Microwave frequency band in the range of 75 - 111 GHz that corresponds to wavelength from 0.4 cm to 0.27 cm.

Wide Area Network. A network that has regional, national, or international coverage.
Also see PAN, LAN, MAN.

Wireless Application Protocol. A standard protocol that provides access to Internet services such as e-mail and Web (WAP site) browsing to mobile phones and other handheld devices.
Sometimes WAP refers to Wireless Access Point.

The practice of marking walls, payphone booths, or sidewalks with certain signs meant to tell passers-by about the availability of Wi-Fi hotspots.
In reality, many business owners voluntarily put direction to their hotspots to attract people to their business.

The practice of walking, driving, or traveling around with a notebook that is equipped with hotspot finder software and a GPS receiver to find Wi-Fi hotspots. Serious wardrivers install external antenna on top of their cars to detect the presence of more Wi-Fi hotspots.

Wavelength Division Multiplexing. The multiplexing of two or more wavelengths of light (colors) in one fiber optic strand.
Also see multiplexing, CWDM, DWDM, and fiber optic.

Wired Equivalent Privacy. The original security scheme that is used to secure wireless LAN (Wi-Fi). It is based on the IEEE 802.11 standard. WEP was designed to provide a security level in wireless LAN that is comparable to wired LAN. WEP uses pre-shared keys that are entered manually at both ends.
Because of weaknesses found in WEP that makes it vulnerable to eavesdropping, it has been replaced by WPA in newer wireless LAN specifications.
Also see WPA.

Wireless Fidelity. Wi-Fi refers to wireless LAN that conforms to the IEEE 802.11b standard. It is also a general name referring to all 802.11 LAN standards, including 802.11g and 802.11a.
Also see LAN and 802.11b.

Wi-Fi Alliance is an industry association that promotes the growth of wireless LAN and ensures interoperability of Wi-Fi products based on the IEEE 802.11 specifications. Formerly called WECA.

Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access. A broadband wireless access (BWA) technology that is developed based on the IEEE 802.16 and ETSI HiperMAN wireless MAN standards.
When used in line-of-sight (LOS) application, WiMAX can provide high speed Internet access that's 70 Mbps per channel to a broad area up to 50 km from a WiMAX base station that can be shared by more than 100 users. Therefore, WiMAX may become an alternative to DSL and cable Internet services. WiMAX can serve as backhaul for Wi-Fi hotspots.
Also see MAN.

WiMAX Forum is an industry association that promotes and certifies compatibility and interoperability of broadband wireless products based on the IEEE 802.16 and ETSI HiperMAN wireless MAN standards. 

A wireless technology that enables low power, high data rate (480 Mbps), short range (up to 20 meters), and point-to-point wireless transmission and is intended for high speed communication between computers, home entertainment systems, and mobile devices.
WiMedia uses UWB spectrum and multi-band OFDM technology. Wireless USB and Wireless 1394 (FireWire) are implementations of WiMedia.
See picture. Also see UWB.

WiMedia Alliance is an industry alliance that creates UWB industry specifications and certification programs for enabling connectivity and interoperability of consumer electronics, mobile and PC applications.

The wireless version of FireWire (IEEE 1394) interface that is developed using UWB spectrum and multi-band OFDM technology. It supports 400 Mbps data rate and is compatible with the wired FireWire.
Also see FireWire.

The wireless version of USB interface that is developed using UWB spectrum and multi-band OFDM technology. It supports 480 Mbps data rate and is compatible with the wired USB.
Also see USB.

Wireless Internet Service Provider. ISP that uses wireless network to deliver Internet access to its subscribers.

Wireless MultiMedia. A specification that was defined by the Wi-Fi Alliance to support QoS in a Wi-Fi network. This will improve user experience when using the Wi-Fi network for multimedia applications.
WMM was developed based on IEEE 802.11e which was still a draft standard when WMM was put into specification.

A computer that is part of a network. Also called a client.

Wi-Fi Protected Access. A security scheme that is part of the IEEE 802.11i standard, created by the Wi-Fi Alliance as a measure to overcome known weaknesses of WEP. WPA employs TKIP, increases the size of the keys and the number of keys, and adds a secure message verification system.
Also see WEP and TKIP.

WPA2 is the Wi-Fi Alliance implementation of the IEEE 802.11i standard. WPA2 is compatible with WPA, but WPA2 provides a stronger encryption using AES. WPA2 is developed to meet the stringent security requirement of corporate and government networks.
Also see AES.