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Not Wi-Fi, but LiFi: Company launches devices that provide internet through light

Users will experience low latency, congestion-free gaming, video conferencing and media streaming that doesn’t force them to battle for bandwidth

Published: Thu 29 Feb 2024, 6:00 AM

Updated: Thu 29 Feb 2024, 3:18 PM

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Photos: Supplied

Photos: Supplied

Not satisfied with your Wi-Fi? Here is a LiFi system that promises faster internet speed.

Launched by the UK-based pureLiFi at the Mobile World Congress (MWC 2024) in Barcelona, this new technology offers wireless communication using light and can also complement the existing Wi-Fi network.

Users will experience low latency, congestion-free gaming, video conferencing and media streaming that doesn’t force them to battle for bandwidth with others over Wi-Fi.

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Unlike traditional wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi and 5G, LiFi communicates wirelessly using light, overcoming common limitations such as buffering, congestion, and vulnerable signals.

“Just like Wi-Fi access points people have, LiFi is also a plug-and-play. People can plug into a network and within a few seconds, you have LiFi,” said Ron Schaeffer, chief strategy officer at pureLifi.

“Importantly, it is not subject to congestion like Wi-Fi is. Everyone who would be connected to LiFi will have full bandwidth. For instance, if you are watching a video, someone is on a video call and another person is playing a VR game, you all are competing with each other for Wi-Fi bandwidth. With LiFi, everyone has his own bandwidth. You can take off the Wi-Fi network and put it onto LiFi, then the internet experience gets better too. Because it is less congested. So, we say LiFi makes Wi-Fi better,” Schaeffer told Khaleej Times in an interview on the sidelines of the MWC 2024.

Named in CES 2024 Tech Trends to Watch, LiFi represents a significant leap forward in using light rather than radio frequencies for wireless communications.

LiFi more secure than Wi-Fi

The LiFi device is capable of transmitting and receiving 1GB of data per second in each direction. It can cover 50 square metres (540 sq feet), which is almost an entire room full of LiFi.

“Since LiFi doesn’t pass through walls, people will be required to have a LiFi device in each room of the house. Also, it benefits security. Some can eavesdrop on your network if he/she is a good enough hacker. Since LiFi doesn’t pass through the wall, so no one breaches the security. Therefore, our biggest customer is the US Army,” Schaeffer said during the interview.

The company will tie up with telecom service providers to supply the devices which will be installed in the homes and offices of the subscribers.

Going forward, Schaeffer believes that LiFi is the future for internet connectivity.

“The reason is that radio spectrum is super crowded, and it’s getting more crowded by the day. It is said to be growing 40 per cent per year. To visualise that, a couple of years ago if traffic could fit in two lanes on a highway, it would be over 100 lanes by 2030. But light is totally uncongested and has 2,600 times more spectrum available than all of radio,” he added.

“We are excited to bring products solving both today's and tomorrow’s connectivity challenges. LiFi is now ready to augment and extend other wireless technologies ushering in a new era of bandwidth, speed and reliable communications,” said Alistair Banham, CEO of pureLiFi.

In addition, pureLiFi is bringing to market the world’s first commercial light antennas — the optoelectronic components which make LiFi possible — for all kinds of devices, from industrial to consumer, and from smart cars to smartphones.

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