LiFi: Internet through light in 7 questions

LiFi: internet by light in 7 questions

For several years, LiFi has been gaining momentum in the telecommunications world. This innovation, the result of years of research and development, puts technological progress at the service of connectivity, security, the environment and even health. Find the answer to all your questions about LiFi and learn everything you need to know about the Internet of Light in 7 questions!

1. What is LiFi ?

LiFi, for Light Fidelity, is an Internet connection technology using LED light, so different from traditional technologies such as WiFi, 4G or 5G, which are based on radio frequency waves.

2. How does LiFi work?

Data transmission via LiFi takes place between a transmitting device (Access Point) and a receiving device (Dongle). The LED bulb, located in the transmitting device, emits extremely fast variations in light intensity, invisible to the naked eye. These intensity variations are captured by the receiving device and converted into an electrical signal, which is then transmitted to the computer, smartphone or tablet, which finally translates them into intelligible information.

3. Will LiFi replace WiFi?

The ambition of LiFi is not to replace WiFi, but to offer an efficient alternative where radio waves are not desirable, and to complement or reinforce WiFi to ensure optimal connectivity where traditional technologies are insufficient.

4. Is the LiFi connection high speed?

The answer is yes, LiFi offers an ultra-fast Internet connection, with speeds of up to 1 Gb/s, equivalent to the best fiber optic offerings.

5. What are the possible applications of LiFi?

LiFi has already found its place in several sectors, but there are many others that have open arms and a bright future:

• Education, to protect children from WiFi radio frequencies, and because wireless installations are much less cumbersome.
• Sectors dealing with sensitive or confidential data (law firms, ministries, intelligence services, defense...), because it is inviolable and, unlike WiFi, it cannot be intercepted outside the broadcast room.
• Health, because the most vulnerable people must not be exposed more than necessary to the effects of radio waves, which we still know too little about.
• Transportation, especially aviation, because it does not interfere with onboard electronics and a LiFi installation is half the weight of a WiFi installation, resulting in significant fuel savings.

6. Is LiFi more secure than WiFi?

In terms of cyber security, LiFi is indeed more secure than WiFi. The signal it emits being limited to the light beam emitted by the LED, it does not cross the walls of the room in which it is broadcast and cannot exceed the projection area of the light beam.

It is therefore inviolable by an ill-intentioned person located outside the establishment where it is used, unlike WiFi whose average range is 250 meters outside and 35 meters inside.

7. Is LiFi healthier than WiFi?

In our ultra-connected society, radio frequency waves are omnipresent. However, for several years, their impact on health has raised questions to which no really reassuring answer has yet been provided. To face this potential danger, new directives have been put in place, such as the Abeille law, which prohibits the use of WiFi in establishments hosting young children.

LiFi uses the optical part of the electromagnetic spectrum, and therefore does not use radio waves like WiFi, 4G or 5G. It is therefore safe for health and can be used without fear in environments with vulnerable, sick or young people.