A new wireless technology that you may have not heard about, Li-Fi, has finally been tested in a real world setting and proving 100 times faster than Wi-Fi—but don't say goodbye to Wi-Fi just yet.
Li-Fi works through Visible Light Communication, Science Alert reports, using visible light from 400 to 800 terahertz to carry data at high speeds. Science Alert described it as an "incredibly advanced form of Morse code," using an LED (Light Emitting Diode) which flicks on and off to transmit data in binary code. Li-Fi was created in 2011 by Harald Haas of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. At the time he showed how the flickering light of one LED could carry more data than a cellular tower.
Scientists of Estonian tech company Velmenni have tested out the Li-Fi in Tallinn, Estonia offices. CEO of Velmenni Deepak Solanki told IBTimes UK, "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." During the trial the scientists reached a data transmission speed of 1GB each second, surpassing a previously recorded transmission speed of 224 gigabits per second in the lab.
Not only is Li-Fi faster (which is really all anyone could ask for), it's more secure. This is because light can't pass through walls like a normal Wi-Fi signal would. Getting rid of Wi-Fi and installing Li-Fi technology would be too expensive so scientists are currently working on ways to make devices work with Li-Fi, possibly combining Wi-Fi and Li-Fi down the line for a more secure wireless technology.
