Li-Fi Now Capable of 10Gbps Speeds Thanks to UK Research Project

There was a time not too long ago when people wondered if WiMAX, LTE or Wi-Fi would emerge as the primary method of transmitting data wirelessly. These days, WiMAX is practically a memory, while LTE and Wi-Fi use is practically integral to many North Americans. However, this doesn’t mean that this is the end of wireless data technology development; on the contrary, new and exciting technologies are reaching new heights.

For example, researchers in the U.K. recently made a breakthrough in the area of Li-Fi or visible light communication (VLC), which uses light to facilitate data transmissions, achieving speeds of 10Gbps (gigabits per second). Specifically, these researchers used a micro-LED light bulb to transmit 3.5Gbps via each of the three colors that make up the RGB (red, green, blue) color model.

This breakthrough is huge for furthering the spread of wireless Internet because, not only does it allow for speeds that far outstrip most wired connections, Li-Fi itself can be easily installed practically anywhere. Indeed, the technology needs only specialized LED bulbs to providing low-cost wireless Internet connectivity.

The research being done in the U.K., known at the ultra-parallel visible light communications project, is a joint venture between several universities — Edinburgh, St Andrews, Strathclyde, Oxford and Cambridge — and is being funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.

The micro-LED bulbs used in the project were developed by the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, and they are what allow streams of light to be beamed in parallel, resulting in boosted transmission speeds. Professor Harold Haas, one of the project leaders and an expert in optical wireless communications at the University of Edinburgh, compared this to a shower head separating water into parallel streams.

Li-Fi has the potential to be cheaper and more energy efficient than traditional wireless radio systems, thanks to how common LED bulbs are and the fact that lighting infrastructure is already in place. Meanwhile, Li-Fi has access to bandwidth 10,000 times bigger than the radio frequency spectrum, while offering greater connection consistency.