yes, it piggybacks off of an existing wifi network. As I understand it, the remote sends its command through wifi, which in turn goes through the wifi router, to the wifi enabled 9400 then to the device through the IR emitters. Or you can configure it in stand-alone mode(RF between remote and extender). Basically, you will need an existing Wifi network for the RFX9400 to work because it does not make a wireless network. It just acts like a computer on an existing network.