Wireless network interface controller

A WNIC, just like other NICs, works on the layers 1 and 2 of the OSI model and uses an antenna to communicate via radio waves.

The low cost and ubiquity of the Wi-Fi standard means that many newer mobile computers have a wireless network interface built into the motherboard.

Large electrical appliances, such as refrigerators, fuse boxes, metal plumbing, and air conditioning units can impede a wireless network signal.

The reason is that wireless devices dynamically negotiate the top speed at which they can communicate without dropping too many data packets.

In an 802.11 WNIC, the MAC Sublayer Management Entity (MLME) can be implemented either in the NIC's hardware or firmware, or in host-based software that is executed on the main CPU.