A new technology, LiFi, could one day offer internet speeds 100 times faster than the WiFi. In a pilot scheme carried of by Estonian start-up Velmenni, the technology was trialled in offices and industrial environments in Tallinn. Scientists have achieved speeds in the lab of up to 224 GB per second. At that speed, 100-times faster than current Wi-Fi technologies, a high-definition film could be downloaded in a matter of seconds.
Writing about the technology earlier this year, Sophie Curtis of the Telegraph, said, “Light is already used to transmit data across fibre optic networks at high speed. These work by guiding the light along optical fibres using total internal reflection, so that no information is lost along the way.”
Apart from its superior speed, Li-Fi flaunts also a number of other benefits over Wi-Fi. For instance, the fact that the signal is carried by optical light means that it can not travel through walls hence, enhancing the security of local networks.
Therefore, it produces a number of limitations also, as it suggests that connection will be lost if a user leaves the room, representing a major hurdle that must be overcome if the technology is to be successfully implemented. Although, if this barrier may be surmounted, then the use of the visible spectrum could allow Li-Fi to send messages across a much wider range of frequencies than Wi-Fi, which operates between the frequencies of 2.4 gigahertz and 5 gigahertz.
Li-Fi technology was originated first in the year of 2011 by Professor Harald Haas of the University of Edinburgh, who demonstrated that, with a flickering light from a single LED, he could transmit more data than a cellular tower.