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Forget Wi-Fi: Li-Fi could be the future – Metro US

Forget Wi-Fi: Li-Fi could be the future

light Credit: Alexandre Delbos/Flickr/Creative Commons
Here’s a bright idea: Wi-Fi that connects to the internet via LED lamps. Li-Fi technology – developed by Mexican company Sisoft – is wireless internet connectivity using specialized LED light, creating a signal that is apparently unhackable. This new type of connection will be able to download a full HD movie in 30 seconds, according to Sisoft’s CEO Arturo Campos. The tech pioneer sheds light on the revolution in connecting online.

How exactly does Li-Fi work?

It takes the information from any internet service and makes a transmission of encoded information into a LED focus lamp. Turning on and off at an exorbitant rate, the lamp sends information to a computer that captures that light with a special camera and decodes that information. Whereas Wi-Fi uses cables to disseminate a connection, Li-Fi wireless transmission uses LED lamps that emit high-brightness lighting so it is undetectable to the human eye.

Is Li-Fi faster then Wi-Fi?

In Mexico, to download a full movie in HD usually takes over 3 hours, whereas with a LED lamp it only takes 30 to 45 seconds.

Is it more secure than Wi-Fi?

One of the advantages of using this Li-Fi technology is that it cannot ‘walk through walls’. And it does not require user authentication, because it is transmitted directly, so neighbors can’t “hack or steal” the internet.

Where will the first product with Li-Fi technology be released?

It will be available in late August 2014 in Mexico. News and music will be transferred via audio headphones through LED spotlights that are located in cafes, waiting rooms, concert halls and public transport. In March 2015 it will be placed in houses and offices. Then we will take this technology to Latin America: mainly to Chile, Colombia, Peru and Argentina.