Meet Li-Fi: Light Based Internet That's 100 Times Faster Than Wi-Fi

(Photo : Getty Images/Oli Scarff) Li-Fi can transmit data at a rate of 1 gigabit per second.

Scientists are working to develop a potential successor to Wi-Fi that is capable of transmitting data at a rate 100 times faster than the average wireless connection.

Li-Fi can transmit data at a rate of 1 gigabit per second, 500 times faster than the first incarnation of Wi-Fi, which had speeds of up to 2 megabits per second, writes Christian Science Monitor.

Li-Fi utilizes the surge created by LED bulbs switching on and off billions of times per second to transmit strings of data. It works in a similar way to the operation of Morse code - but much faster.

The new method of delivering fast Internet takes place in the visible spectrum, which means humans are able to see the light emitted, although the lights flicker too fast for our eyes to pick up on it. In appearance, the Li-Fi bulb would look like any other bulb, although with the added advantage of transmitting ultra-fast Internet.

An Estonian tech company called Velmenni, has already installed Li-Fi in its offices. They say that they have measured speeds of up to 224 gigabits per second during lab testing and 1 gigabit per second in a real life setting, where transmissions are affected by other factors including light interference and movement. Offices or industrial parks could be fitted with the smart LED bulbs that could provide illumination as well as data transmission, Velmenni CEO Deepak Solanki told IBTimes.

The only downside to the technology is its reach. Light is unable to pass through solid objects including walls and furniture, meaning a Li-Fi access point can only cover a single room. Multiple smart LEDs would need to be installed within a house or apartment - though this would greatly reduce the wireless interference.

If you live in close proximity to your neighbors, you have probably noticed that your devices pick up on their Wi-Fi networks. These networks tend to share the same frequencies - increasing the chances of interfering with one another and slowing Internet speeds. In comparison, Li-Fi is contained within the walls of a room and cannot be picked up outside of this.

Li-Fi could also provide more security than Wi-Fi because its signal cannot move beyond the walls of a room. This makes is harder to hackers to set up and gain access to the connection. The Telegraph reports that intelligence agencies have expressed an interest in the potential security of Li-Fi and airlines are also considering the technology aboard aircraft.

However, the technology is still in its infancy - though the next few years could see an Internet speed revolution.