Li-Fi could soon replace Wi-Fi with 100 times faster Net speed

Paris: Existing technologies can be used to provide Internet access to people living in places with poor infrastructure.

Using LEDs and solar cells, a new technology has been developed that transmits data using light.

This technology called Li-Fi, short for "light fidelity," was recently demonstrated at the Mobile World Congress, the world's biggest mobile fair, by French startup Oledcomm.

The thing that makes Li-Fi so revolutionary is its incredible speeds, up to 100 times faster than Wi-Fi. To put that in perspective, you could download 23 DVDs in just one second using a Li-Fi connection. Laboratory tests have shown speeds of over 200 Gbps. It could solve the bottleneck problem that currently exists with our Wi-Fi networks, which will only be compounded as an estimated 50 million different objects and devices are expected to be connected to the Internet by 2020.

Li-Fi works by making use of the imperceptible flicker of LED lights, which actually blink on and off thousands of times per second.

For all of its advantages, Li-Fi does have one drawback. Because it beams information with visible light, your device has to be in a lit room for it to work. Forget about using it in the dark, or out in the bright sunlight for that matter. Sunlight interferes with the artificial light that is transmitting the information. Li-Fi also can't pass through walls, for the same reason that the light from a closed room doesn't illuminate any surrounding rooms.