The Wi-Fi Alliance actually coined the term "Wi-Fi" and is the worldwide network of companies brought together in a non-profit organisation that promotes the adoption and evolution of Wi-Fi technology and certifies Wi-Fi products conforming to agreed interoperability standards. 

The Wi-Fi Alliance recently published a major research report that, from verifiable empiric evidence, calculates the value to the technology brings to the global economy. The study focused on six of the world's most important economies and shows that this year (2018) Wi-Fi in the UK alone will be worth £4.3 billion while the total worldwide value of the technology will be US$1.9 trillion and rising. The report is unequivocal prima facie evidence that Wi-Fi is an engine of global economic growth and shows that more attention needs to be paid to policy in the area of spectrum availability if Wi-Fi's full economic potential is to be realised.

As Edgar Figueroa says, Wi-Fi is a major foundation stone underpinning global connectivity and, as it carries 80 per cent of all data traffic and together with the bulk of traffic on mobile networks, it is unlikely to be superseded anytime soon. Indeed, as the introduction of the Wi-Fi 6 standard shows, Wi-Fi continues to evolve and the latest iteration meets many of the use cases targeted for 5G. Wi-Fi looks to be well and truly future-proof for many years to come.

Filmed at Wireless Global Congress, London 2018