When a startup company called Velmenni announced that it was testing technology called Li-Fi last year, it barely made a splash in tech circles, even with the claim that it is 100 times faster than Wi-Fi and is rumored to be part of the iPhone 7 handset. The figures are definitely impressive, but people tend to treat this kind of information with a grain of salt since everything has been figures in the paper so far. However, changed during the Mobile World Congress, where Li-Fi finally was demonstrated by a French company called OledComm.
Li-Fi can connect a smartphone to the web using a lamp. Essentially, it is data transmitted from a light bulb at flickering speed, leading its proponents to say that it is the digital equivalent of the Morse Code, according to AFP. While it cannot penetrate walls like Wi-Fi, it features a massive boost in speed. Early trials, for instance, revealed that Li-Fi can reach as much as 224 GB per second, as HNGN previously reported.
It is significant to note that there are several companies that are seeking to introduce different Li-Fi products. In addition to OledComm, for instance, startup pureLiFi also demonstrated their product at MWC. This company is co-founded by Harald Haas, who is credited with being the first to discover Li-Fi technology. pureLifi's product is a miniature dongle called LiFi-X. "The product shows the tremendous progress pureLiFi has made over the last 12 months to create a fully USB 2.0 powered dongle that is smaller than a credit card and can be used with tablets. Looking forward, the LiFi-X will provide a state-of-the-art basis for future LiFi products with our partners," Harald Burchardt, COO at pureLiFi, said in a press statement.
