LiFi: 7 questions for Internet by light

LiFi: Internet by light in 7 questions

LiFi has been booming in the world of telecommunication for a few years. This innovation, resulting from years of research and development, puts technological progress at the service of connectivity, security, environment and even health. Find the answer to all your questions about LiFi and learn everything you need to know about the Internet by light in 7 questions!

1. What is LiFi?

LiFi, for Light Fidelity, is a technology for connecting to the Internet using LED light, which differs from conventional technologies such as WiFi, 4G or 5G, which are based on radio waves.

2. How does LiFi work?

The transmission of data via LiFi takes place between a transmitter device (Access Point) and a receiver device (Dongle). The LED bulb, located in the transmitter device, emits extremely fast variations of light intensity, imperceptible 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 a speed that can now reach 1 Gb/s, which is equivalent to the most efficient fiber optic offers.

5. What are the possible applications of LiFi?

While LiFi has already found its place in several sectors, there are many others that promise a bright future:

– Education, to protect children from the radio waves of WiFi, and because the installations, wireless, are much less cumbersome.

– Sectors dealing with sensitive or confidential data (law firms, ministries, intelligence services, defense…), because it is impiratable and, unlike WiFi, cannot be intercepted outside the broadcast room.

– Health, because the most fragile should not be exposed more than necessary to the effects, still too unknown, of radiofrequency waves.

– Transportation, and in particular aeronautics, because it does not interfere with the electronic equipment on board and because a LiFi installation is half the weight of a WiFi installation, which results in significant fuel savings.

6. Is LiFi more secure than WiFi?

When it comes to cyber security, LiFi is indeed more secure than WiFi. Because the signal it emits is limited to the light beam emitted by the LED, it does not pass through the walls of the room in which it is broadcast and cannot go beyond the projection area of the light beam.

It can therefore not be hacked by a malicious 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 now, their impact on health has been raising questions to which no really reassuring answers have yet been provided. In order to face this potential danger, new directives have been established, 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 hosting fragile, sick or young people.