How does the new standard work?

The concept of using light instead of radio waves has long been advocated by Li-Fi proponents such as pureLiFi, Fraunhofer HHI, and the Light Communications 802.11bb Task Group. They claim that this technology will provide a faster, more reliable and more secure connection compared to cutting-edge technologies such as Wi-Fi and 5G. Once this new standard is adopted, such systems are expected to be compatible with Wi-Fi-based alternatives.

The advantages of Li-Fi include not only an incredible speed of up to 224 GB/s, but also operation in the optical spectrum, which guarantees reliability, lower latency and a higher degree of interference resistance under certain conditions.

A major drawback is that unlike Wi-Fi signals, Li-Fi light does not penetrate walls, making it nearly impossible to interrupt the signal outside of the room.

First developments

With the publication of the IEEE 802.11bb standard, manufacturers can now look to the future of this technology with greater confidence and expand its use wherever conditions permit. For example, pureLiFi, one of the driving forces behind Li-Fi, has developed a compact Light Antenna ONE module for integration into connected devices. Measuring only 14.5mm, this miniature item is currently available to OEMs for evaluation and testing.

What will happen to WI-FI now?

According to experts, the adoption of the standard Won’t override Wi-Fi, 5G, or even wired networksSince wired and radio technologies continue to have a number of significant advantages over optical data transmission. For example, data can be transmitted to much greater distances and even through opaque objects. However, some of these advantages are also inherent disadvantages of radio communications.

Experts predict that a wide variety of devices supporting Li-Fi modules will hit the market in the near future, possibly before the Mobile World Congress in February.