Last week the Wireless Innovation Alliance (whose members include Microsoft, Google and Dell) announced that Wilmington, North Carolina was home to the first non-trial deployment of White Space broadband, a technology that makes use of the unlicensed spectrum vacated from the shift to digital television. In their release, the group called the technology "Super Wi-Fi," a term that was inaccurately affixed to the technology by FCC boss Julius Genachowski in 2010.

Apparently this designation annoyed the folks over at the Wi-Fi Alliance, who issued a press statement trying to crush the Super Wi-Fi moniker before the technology gets rolling. According to the Wi-Fi Alliance, use of the term will sow confusion among users who might think the two technologies are compatible.

"The technology touted as 'Super Wi-Fi' does not interoperate with the billions of Wi-Fi devices in use today," warns the Wi-Fi Alliance, adding that "today’s deployments in Television White Spaces do not deliver the same user experience as is available in Wi-Fi hotspots and home networks."

Trying to stop consumer confusion in such matters is kind of like trying to stop the rain, with most consumers not knowing what a gigabyte even is, much less capable of differentiating between technologies like Mobile WiMax and LTE (no thanks to the ITU and wireless marketing departments). The group is of course primarily concerned that the name is an unofficial use of the Wi-Fi brand, and was at least kind enough to issue a press release instead of immediately filing a lawsuit.