Wi-Fi is critical to the way we live and work today. Indeed, studies have confirmed that Wi-Fi already contributes close to $100 billion each year to the U.S. economy.

Economic Value

Launched 20 years ago, Wi-Fi has evolved from an experiment to a necessity that contributes billions of dollars to the economy.

• A study by the Wi-Fi Alliance found that the global economic value of Wi-Fi will reach $4.9 trillion by 2025.
• Allowing Wi-Fi and other unlicensed technologies to operate in the 5.9 and 6 GHz bands will contribute $183 billion to U.S. economy by 2025.
• The RAND Corporation released a new economic analysis that finds opening up the 5.9 GHz frequency band for Wi-Fi will contribute up to $100 billion per year to the U.S. economy, and provide up to an additional $190 billion in economic surplus.

Wi-Fi at Work: from Businesses to Airports to Hospitals

• Computers, tablets and smartphones are the most visible things connected to the internet. But that’s just the beginning. Today anything with a Wi-Fi chip can connect and communicate with anything else on the network. Many of these items are for sale and ready for use in our homes today—ready to become part of the “Internet of Things.” In addition, small radios called RFID chips are in use across many industries, helping companies track inventory or doctors track surgical tools in a hospital. Whether it’s a new device or application, innovation using Wi-Fi bands has made us more productive and contributed to the growth of the U.S. economy.
• Businesses know Wi-Fi is increasingly critical to their bottom lines. From retail stores to hospitals to schools, from hotels and event spaces to transportation hubs and coffee shops — being able to offer super-fast wireless connections is more and more critical to our way of doing business.
• Wi-Fi is used for everything from medical telemetry and connected learning, to billions of dollars in secure financial transactions and critical machine communications. As Americans depend on more and more connected devices, they will increasingly look to Wi-Fi to power these crucial services in:
  – Libraries
  – Businesses
  – Airports
  – Healthcare facilities

Wi-Fi at Home and at School: Consumer Applications and our Connected Communities

• Today, we have smart gadgets and smart voice assistants that perform many daily tasks. Often referred to as the Internet of Things (IoT), these connected devices allow us to run our homes more seamlessly and efficiently. Importantly, all of these capabilities are made possible by Wi-Fi networks.
• Wi-Fi-enabled devices help us in ways we never could have imagined. Connected video cameras, security systems and flood sensors keep our homes safe. Smart thermostats, lightbulbs and shades save energy and cut down on the cost of heating and cooling our homes. And gadgets like this Wi-Fi-enabled grill and connected Crockpots let us monitor dinner from anywhere — even the office.
• Voice assistants in our homes take the IoT to the next level by allowing us to ask questions about the weather, stream music and the news and speak commands to our many devices. Echos, Google Assistants and other smart speakers can also serve as a smart home hub, syncing multiple devices in one centralized place. And they have become increasingly popular: TechCrunch reports that more than a quarter of adults in the U.S. have a smart speaker.

Wi-Fi at School — Creating the Next-Generation Classroom

• Today’s students need more than three-ring binders and number two pencils to ensure their success. In our connected world, internet connectivity has become increasingly essential, making Wi-Fi a must-have school supply.
• During the COVID-19 pandemic, Wi-Fi served as a lifeline between teachers and students in virtual or hybrid classrooms.
• Wi-Fi in schools transforms classrooms into digital environments that make learning more flexible and personalized than ever before. Teachers can tailor their teaching style to the learning needs of each student and increase student participation, using techniques like video lectures or interactive learning activities. Smartboards, for example, allow students and teachers to use electronic pens to write and draw on large screens that are capable of mirroring displays from other connected smart devices. Teachers use this type of Wi-Fi-enabled technology to introduce students to new online resources.
• Digital tools in the classroom also allow for further collaboration between students and their peers. With Wi-Fi, students can use applications like Google Drive to work collectively on assignments and use email or instant messaging platforms to organize and communicate effectively as a team during group projects. It is no wonder that 80 percent of eighth-graders reported using computers during the weekday at school to complete their work.
• In higher education, high-quality Wi-Fi connectivity is imperative. Applications like language-learning tools and graphic design platforms require wireless internet access. College students often use the internet for everything from turning in completed assignments on time to accessing programs like R Studio to code and analyze their research findings. 86 percent of college students, compared to 59 percent of the U.S. general population, claim that the internet is essential to both their academic and social lives.