Wi-Fi Multimedia (WMM)

Techopedia explains Wi-Fi Multimedia (WMM)

Wi-Fi traffic access is prioritized according to the following categories from highest to lowest:

• Voice: Uses Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), lowest latency and highest quality
• Video: Supports standard and high-definition television (SDTV/HDTV) signals via a wireless local area network (WLAN)
• Best effort: Data packets from devices and applications that lack quality of service (QoS) standards
• Background: File downloads, printing and other signals not degraded by latency

The Wi-Fi Alliance - a trade association that promotes WLAN technology and oversees interoperability performance standards - added the Power Save certification to WMM to fine-tune the power consumption of critical applications used by mobile phones and other battery-driven devices. Power Save triggers the release of queued buffered data at regular intervals from the access point, or WLAN signal transmission point, which conserves power and allows continuous data transmission on Wi-Fi devices in low-power states.