Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Wi-Fi Direct

Personal, portable Wi-Fi to connect devices anywhere, any time

Wi-Fi Alliance
October 2010

The following document and the information contained herein regarding Wi-Fi Alliance programs and expected dates of
launch, are subject to revision or removal at any time without notice. THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS",
"AS AVAILABLE" AND "WITH ALL FAULTS" BASIS. THE WI-FI ALLIANCE MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS,
WARRANTIES, CONDITIONS OR GUARANTEES AS TO THE USEFULNESS, QUALITY, SUITABILITY, TRUTH,
ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THIS DOCUMENT AND THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS
DOCUMENT.

Overview
Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Wi-Fi Direct is a certification mark for devices supporting a game-changing
new technology enabling Wi-Fi devices to connect directly, making it simple and convenient to do
things like print, share, sync and display. Products bearing the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Wi-Fi Direct
designation can connect to one another without joining a traditional home, office or hotspot
network. Mobile phones, cameras, printers, PCs, and gaming devices will be able to connect
directly to each other to transfer content and share applications quickly and easily. Wi-Fi Direct
devices will be able to make a one-to-one connection, or several devices can connect
simultaneously.
Connecting Wi-Fi Direct-certified devices is easy and simple, in many cases only requiring the
push of a button. Wi-Fi Direct products are based upon an industry-wide technology defined in
the Wi-Fi Alliance by computing, consumer electronics, and handset vendors from around the
world. Wi-Fi Direct-certified devices have been tested and certified for this technology as well as
interoperability and WPA2 security, the current generation of security technology.

Wi-Fi Direct: Wi-Fi Technology Evolves to Keep Pace with Consumer Needs
1

Today, roughly 10% of all people in the world use Wi-Fi to stay connected. There are more than
1 billion devices in use today, with an estimated 580 million units shipped in 2009. Shipments for
2
2011 are forecasted at 1 billion, growing to 1.5 billion by 2013. Wi-Fi is widely available in
homes, Wi-Fi hotspots, and enterprise environments, and is found in many types of devices,
including notebook computers, cameras, media players, photo frames, TVs, gaming devices, and
mobile phones, among others. At the time of this papers publication, the Wi-Fi Alliance has more
than 350 member companies and has completed more than 8,000 product certifications since
March 2000.
The introduction of Wi-Fi Direct
devices extends Wi-Fis utility at the
center of a seamless connected
experience, meeting end users current
needs for portable content and easy,
seamless connectivity between
devices. The technology greatly
enhances the portability of content and
applications across all of a users
devices using a single industry-wide
technology, allowing users to access
movies, music, and photos on the go.

Wi-Fi shipments continue to grow each year,

with more than 1 billion devices in use today.

1
2

Wi-Fi Alliance estimate of installed base of Wi-Fi devices, 2009.

ABI Research, 2010.
2010 Wi-Fi Alliance. All rights reserved.

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Around the globe, people are creating, storing, accessing and sharing more songs, videos,
pictures and documents than ever before. Recent research indicates that U.S. Millennials people between the ages of 18-29 - have on average a total of 2,400 songs, videos and pictures
stored on digital devices. The trend toward ever-larger amounts of portable content is echoed in
3
China, Japan and Korea. Millennials frequently gather around a single digital camera to look at
pictures with friends and family, or
around a single handheld or laptop
screen to watch videos. Wi-Fi
Direct products enable users to
Digital Content Stored Worldwide
connect directly with each others
Wakefield Research - August 2010
devices to share those pictures,
games and video, or display them
2500
on a nearby monitor or TV for easy
2000
viewing.
In the study, young consumers also
revealed that they would most want
to use Wi-Fi Direct for instant
messaging, sharing pictures with
friends and family, displaying those
pictures from a portable device to a
monitor or TV screen, video
chatting, and playing video games
4
with others while on the go.

Pictures

1500
1000

Videos

500

Songs

US

China

Japan

Korea

U.S. Millennials store an average of 2,400 songs,

photos and videos on digital devices

Wi-Fi Direct Benefits

The technology behind Wi-Fi Direct builds on traditional Wi-Fi strengths like performance,
security, ease of use and ubiquity, and adds features that optimize it for consumer uses that dont
require access to an infrastructure network. Rather than connecting first to an infrastructure
network and then connecting to another networked device, users can connect directly to those
devices offering the services they need. This allows, for example, a mobile device such as a
cellular phone to connect directly to a laptop, regardless of whether an infrastructure network is
available to the user.
Many consumers associate Wi-Fi with Internet connectivity. Devices certified for Wi-Fi Direct
extend the technologys reach to include the simple, direct connections that many users may
accomplish using cables today. Here are some of the benefits consumers will see from Wi-Fi
Direct devices.
Mobility & Portability: Wi-Fi Direct-certified devices connect anytime, anywhere.
Immediate Utility: Users have the ability to create direct connections with the very first Wi-Fi
Direct-certified device they bring home. For example, a new laptop certified for Wi-Fi Direct
can create direct connections with the existing legacy Wi-Fi devices in the users home.
Ease of Use: Wi-Fi Direct devices have features that allow users to identify available devices
and services before establishing a connection.
Simple Secure Connections: Wi-Fi Protected Setup makes it simple to create securityprotected connections between devices. Users in most cases will be able to connect at the
push of a button.

3
4

Wi-Fi Alliance and Wakefield Research, Global Wi-Fi Survey, August 2010.
Wi-Fi Alliance and Wakefield Research, Global Wi-Fi Survey, August 2010.
2010 Wi-Fi Alliance. All rights reserved.

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The technology behind Wi-Fi Direct plays a role

anywhere and connections support simple
transactions. Here are some examples of how
it extends the connected experience:

Wi-Fi Direct devices have WiFis traditional strengths

Nora needs to print her term paper before

heading to class. Her laptop has
Throughput and range of
permission to access the universitys
traditional Wi-Fi technology
network, but she is not allowed to connect
Works with legacy Wi-Fi
her printer to the network. In her dorm
CERTIFIED devices
room, she prints directly to her Wi-FiVirtually any application can be
enabled printer while continuing to check
designed to run over the
email over the university network.
connection
Bert and Fergus are throwing a party on
Latest-generation security: WPA2
the first weekend of the semester. All the
Easy to set up and protect with
guests use the cameras on their mobile
Wi-Fi Protected Setup
phones to capture the party at its peak, and
transfer images to each other.
Joe is commuting to work on the train after
and important new
a once-in-a-lifetime vacation overseas. He
capabilities.
makes use of the time to transfer his
photos directly from his Wi-Fi-enabled
Devices find each other
camera to his notebook and culls through
automatically
them to find the best ones. When he gets
Devices can see what other
to the office, he displays the photos on the
devices can do (e.g., print)
office television.
Sophisticated power
Kevin has been travelling for two weeks
management
using his netbook. When he returns to the
Devices can connect to each
office, he syncs the new files he has
other while staying connected to
created on his netbook with his desktop
the Internet
PC.
Kyles friends Taylor, Jett and Ava come to
his house after school to play video games.
The group bypasses the home network and
directly connects their handheld gaming devices to engage in mortal combat. Jett prevails.
Later that evening, Kyle connects to his home network and challenges Jett to a rematch over
the Internet.

How Wi-Fi Direct Works

Wi-Fi Direct device connections can happen anywhere, anytime - even when you dont have
access to a Wi-Fi network. Your Wi-Fi Direct-certified device will signal to other devices in the
area that it can make a connection. You can view available devices and ask them to connect. In
some cases, you might receive an invitation to connect to another Wi-Fi Direct certified device.
You can then decide whether to accept the invitation or not. In many devices the only action
required is to push a connection button on the device, or accept a pop-up window request. Just
like with traditional Wi-Fi networks, you should only connect with trusted devices or people.
Once a connection is confirmed using Wi-Fi Protected Setup, the seamless and easy to use
protocol for Wi-Fi connections, the devices make a secure connection to help protect your
communication. This secure connection is completed by industry-standard WPA2 security, the
very latest and best form of Wi-Fi security.
Once two or more Wi-Fi Direct-certified devices connect directly, they have formed a Wi-Fi Direct
Group. Now you can get started doing all the exciting things that Wi-Fi Direct enables!
2010 Wi-Fi Alliance. All rights reserved.

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Wi-Fi Direct devices can connect to each other on a one-to-one basis, or as a group. A one-toone connection will be very common for Wi-Fi Direct devices. You may use one-to-one
connections to exchange content or share applications with a friend or co-worker. You may often
connect your camera to a printer, your phone to your PC to sync calendars, or a gaming device to
another gaming device in order to compete real-time. You may also link your phone to a display
device such as a TV in order to view downloaded videos.
Many Wi-Fi Direct devices can also connect with multiple devices at one time. This group
connection is known as one-to-many because one device will act as the gate keeper to invite
other devices and determine whether devices requesting to join the group will be allowed. Only
devices that receive permission from the gatekeeper device are allowed to connect to other
devices in the group.
A one-to-many connection allows many devices to connect together and replaces numerous
cables between the devices. A one-to-many connection in your home may include PCs, printers,
speakers, TVs, monitors and cameras.
Wi-Fi Direct-certified devices are also able to
make direct connections to most of your older
Wi-Fi CERTIFIED equipment. In this way, WiFi Direct brings direct connection capabilities to
the hundreds of millions of legacy Wi-Fi
CERTIFIED devices already in our homes and
workplaces. As long as one device in a
connection is Wi-Fi Direct-certified, you can
connect all devices without a Wi-Fi home
network or hotspot. Youll never be without a
network again, as the network can travel with
you wherever you go, whenever you need it.

Summary
Wi-Fi Direct is a certification for an exciting
new technology that enables Wi-Fi devices to
form connections among themselves, with or
without a hotspot or other Wi-Fi network
available. Now, Wi-Fi isnt just about
accessing the Internet but about connecting
all the Wi-Fi devices you and your friends have
anytime, anywhere.
Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Wi-Fi Direct devices connect
directly to make it simpler and more
Connections can be one-to-one or one-to-many.
convenient to do things like share, synch or
Legacy devices can connect to a Wi-Fi Direct device.
transfer content, and play games. You dont
need an access point or internet connection to
use it the connection lives inside your Wi-Fi Direct devices, and goes with you wherever you go.
With Wi-Fi Protected Setup included in devices as well, Wi-Fi Direct is easy to setup and use.
The very latest WPA2 security mechanisms help ensure your communications and data transfers
are safe and secure. You get the ability to connect directly to other Wi-Fi devices without
sacrificing performance or security.

2010 Wi-Fi Alliance. All rights reserved.

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Wi-Fi Direct devices are

compatible with almost all of your
existing Wi-Fi devices, and
enable them to connect with
virtually any other Wi-Fi device as
well, so you can connect
seamlessly across different
device types and brands, such as
TVs, cameras and printers, as
well as laptops and gaming
devices. That brings direct
connection capabilities to the
hundreds of millions of legacy WiFi CERTIFIED devices already in
homes and offices around the
globe. Manufacturers and service
providers will soon be offering
exciting new applications for Wi-Fi Direct.
Around the globe, more and more people are connecting digital devices in order to create and
share content, music and videos, sync personal and work information and print photos, email,
letters and documents. Wi-Fi Direct devices can do the things they find most valuable in a direct
connection sharing pictures with friends and family, displaying those pictures from a portable
device to a monitor or TV screen, video chatting, and playing video games with others.
Wi-Fi has already changed the way the world connects. With Wi-Fi Direct, users will now find it
even easier to share, show, print, and synchronize content however they want, wherever they
are. With Wi-Fi Direct-certified devices, users will no longer need to worry about finding a network
to connect devices the connection travels with them.
For more information about Wi-Fi Direct and other Wi-Fi CERTIFIED programs, along with a list
of certified products and Wi-Fi Direct Frequently Asked Questions, visit
www.wi-fi.org/wi-fi_direct.php.

About the Wi-Fi Alliance

The Wi-Fi Alliance is a global non-profit industry association of hundreds of leading companies
devoted to the proliferation of Wi-Fi technology across devices and market segments. With
technology development, market building, and regulatory programs, the Wi-Fi Alliance has
enabled widespread adoption of Wi-Fi worldwide.
TM

The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED program was launched in March 2000. It provides a widely-recognized
designation of interoperability and quality, and it helps to ensure that Wi-Fi enabled products
deliver the best user experience. The Wi-Fi Alliance has completed more than 8,000 product
certifications to date, encouraging the expanded use of Wi-Fi products and services in new and
established markets.

2010 Wi-Fi Alliance. All rights reserved. Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Alliance, WMM, Wi-Fi Protected Access, the Wi-Fi
CERTIFIED logo, the Wi-Fi logo, the Wi-Fi ZONE logo, and the Wi-Fi Protected Setup logo are registered trademarks of
the Wi-Fi Alliance; Wi-Fi CERTIFIED, Wi-Fi Protected Setup,Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi Multimedia, and the Wi-Fi
Alliance logo are trademarks of the Wi-Fi Alliance.

2010 Wi-Fi Alliance. All rights reserved.

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