Li-Fi

In Li-Fi, Li refers to Light. Li-Fi is the term used for fast and cheap wireless-communication system, which is the optical version of Wi-Fi. The term was used by Harald Haas. The technology was demonstrated at the January 2012 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas using a pair of Casio smartphones to exchange data using light of varying intensity given off from their screens, detectable at a distance of up to ten metres.

Li-Fi Consortium

In October 2011 a number of companies and industry groups formed the Li-Fi Consortium, to promote high-speed optical wireless systems and to overcome the limited amount of radio-based wireless spectrum available by exploiting a completely different part of the electromagnetic spectrum. The consortium believes it is possible to achieve more than 10 Gbps, theoretically allowing a high-definition film to be downloaded in 30 seconds. Li-Fi has the advantage of being able to be used in sensitive areas such as in aircraft without causing interference. However, the light waves used cannot penetrate walls.