Li-Fi Ready to Replace Wi-Fi? What You Need to Know About New Internet Delivery Innovation

A revolutionary new technology called “Li-Fi” is currently being developed. This promising new means of data delivery could soon replace traditional Wi-Fi connections and will give users top-speed data connections all with the use of light.

According to BBC, this new technology refers to Visible Light Communications (VLC) and simply requires a light source such as a standard LED bulb, an Internet connection and a light detector to work. With these, Li-Fi can transfer data at up to breathtaking speeds. Theoretically, this promising innovation can reach speeds of up to 224 Gbps (Gigabits per second)

The International Business Times reported that this new tech is being tested by Estonian startup Velmenni, in Tallinn. Currently it has been reported to deliver Internet access of up to 1Gbps, 100 times faster than traditional Wi-Fi.

This innovation was first mentioned four years ago by Harald Haas during a TED Talk. Haas is a German physicist who outlined the idea of using lightbulbs as wireless routers. Since then, the idea has been explored by Haas and other professionals at the University of Edinburgh.

Haas said that this innovation would transform any LED lightbulb into an ultrafast wireless router.

"In the future, we will not only have 14 billion lightbulbs, we may have 14 billion Li-Fis deployed worldwide for a cleaner, greener and even brighter future,” Haas said.

Li-Fi works by transmitting data through visible light. As such, possible disadvantages revolve around factors where Li-Fi lightbulbs cannot effectively transmit visible light: through walls, outdoors or in places with unstable conditions.

On the other hand, Li-Fi does not interfere with radio signals. Although this means that Wi-Fi has theoretically a wider reach because radio signals pass through walls, a more secure connection inside a smaller area can be established – and neighbors or other outsiders will not be able to steal your Internet connection, and your private information.

Li-Fi can even be installed in areas unreachable with traditional Wi-Fi, such as airplanes.

"The wider opportunity is to transform global communications by speeding up the process of bringing Internet and other data communication functionality to remote and poorer regions in a way not previously thought achievable due to lack of infrastructure and investment," Tom Higgison, Edinburgh Research & Innovation's IP project manager, said as per Design & Trend.

However, as promising or exciting as this new technology is, it is still unlikely to reach shelves this year. Velmenni CEO Deepak Solanki told the IBTimes that this innovation will reach consumers in about three to four years.