Now, internet at the speed of light

Li-Fi, a superfast new form of wireless communication, could be 100 times faster than W-Fi

The last time you switched your torch on and off, it was probably a playful mimicry of Morse. Very soon, however, you might be doing it for some serious message transmission — and that could be 100 times faster than average Wi-Fi. 

 

Scientists have finally introduced Li-Fi, a superfast new form of wireless communication for computers, outside of labs. An Estonian start-up, Velmenni, successfully implemented this technology in its offices. 

 

According to reports in the Sydney Morning Herald, Li-Fi, which rapidly transmits data using flickering LED light fields between 400 and 800 terahertz, is nearly 100 times faster than Wi-Fi. The technology employed is known as Visible Light Communication (VLC), and is like an advanced version of Morse-code. Like switching a torch on and off in a pattern to relay a message in Morse, LED lights flick on and off in VLC at such extreme speeds that it can be used to write and transmit things in binary code, says the report.

 

Sciencealert.com reported that scientists that the researchers at Velmenni tested the technology in offices and industrial environments in Tallinn, Estonia, reaching transmission speeds of one gigabits per second, 100 times faster than the current average Wi-Fi speeds. In lab conditions, the International Business Times (IBTimes UK) reported, the transmission speed recorded a jaw-dropping 224 gigabits per second.

 

“We are doing a few pilot projects within different industries where we can utilise the VLC technology,” IBTimes UK quoted Velmenni Chief Executive Deepak Solanki as saying. “Currently, we have designed a smart lighting solution for an industrial environment where the data communication is done through light. We are also doing a pilot project with a private client where we are setting up a Li-Fi network to access the internet in their office space.”

 

So what are we basically looking at? Nothing is currently imaginable. Movie downloads, for one, would not be the same as before. Oh wait! Internet would not be the same as before. In fact, more efficient communication systems can be developed.

 

Before Li-Fi becomes available for mass use, however, devices have to be developed so that they are compatible with the technology and the speed. “It is very difficult to create a whole new infrastructure for Li-Fi, so somehow we need to integrate our system with the current system,” Solanki was quoted as saying in the IBTimes UK report.