A few days ago, the first public test of the "white spaces" wireless data technology launched in parts of New Hanover County, North Carolina. The technology, which accesses unused parts of the broadcast TV signal spectrum to send wireless data, has been called by some in the press, including Neowin, as "Super Wi-Fi".
Now the Wi-Fi Alliance, the organization that is in charge of certifying worldwide Wi-Fi standards, has issued a press release that basically calls for everyone to stop calling the new white spaces technology "Super Wi-Fi."
The press release states:
The Wi-Fi Alliance supports efforts to use the unlicensed spectrum known as Television White Spaces to expand connectivity. However, Wi-Fi Alliance cautions that the use of terminology such as “Super Wi-Fi” or “Next Generation Wi-Fi” for the Television White Spaces implementations available today will lead to substantial user confusion. Consumers should be aware that recently-announced deployments using terms like “Super Wi-Fi” are not in fact Wi-Fi.
The press release adds that in addition to the fact that WiFi and the white spaces wireless technology are based on two different systems, the term "Wi-Fi" itself is a trademark that's owned by the Wi-Fi Alliance. Thus, the group claims that the term "Super Wi-Fi" has not been authorized by the group as an extension of their Wi-Fi branding.
It will be interesting to see if companies who try to expand the white spaces technology will heed the Wi-Fi Alliance's warning to not use "Super Wi-Fi" to describe their plans.
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