Goodbye, Wi-Fi

[Dannydet]

https://www.androidpolice.com/light-based-wi-fi-official-standard/

 

[IOWA]

I wouldn't say goodbye wifi but it's definitely an interesting thought, saw a similar article this morning on my google feed.

 

[Dannydet]

Yeah, not a goodbye as of yet but sometime soon. Hopefully it will work as touted.

 

[ocnbrze]

as per the article:

Li-Fi isn't meant as a replacement to Wi-Fi, but it can thrive in scenarios where Wi-Fi can be a weaker alternative or is outright not an option. Think of places where Wi-Fi's radio waves can interfere with other things, like hospitals, airplanes, or military bases. Li-Fi can also co-exist with your Wi-Fi network at home, with your devices seamlessly switching between networks depending on which works best in a given scenario — similar to how phones switch between mobile radios and Wi-Fi already. For example, your phone could stay connected to Wi-Fi while it's in your pocket and then switch to the faster and more interference-free Li-Fi when you hold it in your hand, where it can receive light.

yeah wifi is not going anywhere. might work in addition to the blind spots in your home or at places listed in the article.

 

[AugieTN]

Li-Fi would have to be line of sight? correct?

 

[svim]

Yeah, this definitely cannot be a direct replacement for WiFi. It's based on light signals, not radio signals. Li-Fi waves will be limited to a single open-air space -- i.e. 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz WiFi radio waves can penetrate walls and a lot of other construction materials while Li-Fi light waves will just bounce off them.
This is for the most part a click-bait article, it's not going to be a consumer-based technology any of us will use to replace our otherwise conventional WiFi routers. At best it's going to be a niche technology for specific uses.

 

[IOWA]

Li-Fi would have to be line of sight? correct?

Yes. You would need LIFI APs in every single room, maybe more than one.

 

[AugieTN]

Yes. You would need LIFI APs in every single room, maybe more than one.

Interesting. I wonder if mirrors could expand coverage around corners.

 

[Hadron]

The higher frequency of visible light vs radio is source of both the advantage (bandwidth) and the disadvantage (signal blocking) here, but the latter is just a feature of the particular frequency range: increase the frequency further and it starts to penetrate clothing and thin walls again, and in principle you can also get higher bandwidth. So maybe we should skip over "LiFi" and move direct to "XiFi": X-ray based wireless communications? Solve both of those problems and as a bonus the people who are paranoid about radiation from wireless networks would finally have the satisfaction of being justified?