A Wi-Fi device complies with the IEEE 802.11 standard – a set of specifications that describe a specific method of implementing a WLAN. The standard was originally released in 1997. To say that a device is a Wi-Fi device in the technical sense is the same as saying that it complies with IEEE 802.11. However, wireless networking equipment manufacturers didn’t think IEEE 802.11 was a term that was going to catch fire, and the term Wi-Fi was selected to be used instead.