What’s LI-FI?
Li-Fi or Light Fidelity is another and new emerging network protocol that can replace standard Wi-Fi systems. It is Technology That Will Rule, Instead of using radio waves used by Wi-Fi, Li-Fi uses LeED bulbs and Light signals to transfer and receive data and also uses electromagnetic signals which may or may not be visible to humans, such as ultraviolet, infrared waves besides just visible light.
Li-Fi was first invented by Prof. Harald Haas in 2011. Li-Fi represents a strong potential technology, announces Yole Development (Yole) and PISEO. However, both companies do see two major challenges that could prevent the technology from developing quickly in the short-term standardization activities, and the development of products and services integrating Li-Fi.
This is an extraordinary advance over today’s wireless networks. Li-Fi increases the speed and bandwidth of Wi-Fi, 3G, and 4G. WI-FI has a limited capacity and becomes saturated when the number of users surfing increases, causing them to crash, reducing speeds, and even interrupting the connection.
With Li-Fi, however, its band frequency of 200,000 GHz, versus the maximum 5 GHz of the Wi-Fi, is 100 times faster and can transmit much more information per second. A 2017 study by the University of Eindhoven obtained a download rate of 42.8 Gbit/s with infrared light with a radius of 2.5 meters when the best Wi-Fi would barely reach 300 Mbit/s.
Advantages of LI-FI Technology That Will Rule
Li-Fi technology is faster, cheaper, and even more secure than Wi-Fi. Its main advantages include:
Faster: the current speed of Wi-Fi ranges between 11 and 300 Mbit/s, while that of Li-Fi is also highly variable according to the last studies carried out. The most widely accepted speed is 10 Gbit/s, but it has been proven that it could reach 224 Gbit/s and that a 1.5 Gbit film could be downloaded in thousandths of a second.
Cheaper and more sustainable: it is up to 10 times cheaper than Wi-Fi, requires fewer components, and uses less energy. All you have to do is turn on a light!
More accessible: any light fitting can easily be converted into an internet connection point, as only a simple Li-Fi emitter needs to be fitted.
More secure: light does not pass through walls as radio waves do, and this prevents intruders from intercepting Li-Fi communications through a wireless network. LI-FI has also More bandwidth: the light spectrum is 10,000 times wider than the radio spectrum, which increases the volume of data it can carry and transmit per second.
More reliable: Li-Fi transmits its signal without interruptions, making communication more stable than with Wi-Fi.
No interference: electronic light does not interfere with radio communications, interact with other systems, or compromise transmissions from aircraft, ships, etc.
Wireless and invisible: Li-Fi takes advantage of lights and dispenses with the router, so it works without the need for cables. In addition, it can operate with infrared light, which is invisible to the human eye, or with visible LED light at very low intensity so as to avoid disturbance.
No saturation: internet connection via light could prevent the collapse of the radio spectrum which, according to Li-Fi’s inventor Harald Haas, could take place by 2025. With the emergence and development of Li-Fi technology, many foreshadow the obsolescence of Wi-Fi and other wireless networks. We will have to wait a few more years to see if streetlights, in addition to illuminating our streets, will connect us to the internet at the speed of light.
it could reach our homes in just a few years. Nowadays it is being tested with LED luminaires in offices around the world and the aeronautical industry is already working on solutions to integrate it into commercial aircraft. Airports, hospitals, and city streets are other spaces where Li-Fi technology could become popular.
The boom in mobile devices and the growing demand for higher bandwidth systems are expected to drive the development of this social technology in the next decade, as noted in the Global Market for Li-Fi Technology Analysis and Forecast 2018-2028.
According to antiessays estimates that the global market will reach a value of nearly $36 billion in 2028 and that over the next 10 years the compound annual growth rate will rise to 71.2%. The Asia-Pacific region will lead the global growth in Li-Fi technology up to 2028, overtaking Europe, which remained at the forefront in 2017.