Who Makes WiFi (and Why Other Makers Matter)?

Abstract

WiFi is often understood (and overlooked) as a one-size fits-all phenomenon that exists ‘everywhere’ and ‘anytime’ and is packaged in a pay-plug-and-play format by large scale telecommunication distributors, mainly as a way to access the internet without wires. Yet, as this chapter illustrates, it is not ubiquitous or universal. In this case it is uniquely customised, culturally shaped, comprised of ordinary stuff in everyday places and made (and remade) by individuals on a daily basis. Drawing on Science and Technology Studies, I argue that the global starts with the local. In other words, other makers matter.