Du, a UAE-based telecommunications service provider, and UAE startup Zero1 announced the successful demonstration of light fidelity (LiFi) technology in Dubai. Details about the actual demonstration and the achieved data rates are somewhat sketchy. Du’s press release extols the potential of the technology claiming data rates as high as 224 GB/s.
The only company to perform public demonstrations of LiFi technology previously has been pureLiFi. Professor Harold Haas, a LiFi pioneer from the University of Edinburgh founded pureLiFi. The Edinburgh spin-off, pureLiFi introduced a LiFi Dongle in late February. (Ref: article).
Apparently, Zero1 and Du are in the testing phase of their technology. Du says that LiFi capabilities from Zero1 will enhance du’s wireless broadband portfolio, increasing the data transmission rates both indoors and outdoors. Du says that it will use LiFi to provide solutions for its municipal, commercial and industrial customers. The demonstration reportedly included three use cases of LiFi technology including internet, video, and audio streaming over LiFi.
The algorithm that Zero1 used to transmit the data over LiFi was also not specifically explained. In public demonstrations, the company pureLiFi says that their technology transmits many data streams at once through the tiny changes in light intensity that are invisible to the human eye.
Saleem AlBlooshi, executive vice president of Network Development and Operations at du, said “With the Global LiFi market expected to reach $80 billion by 2021, we expect to see demand for this technology increasing exponentially over the coming years. We wanted to ensure our customers were aware of this technology and the demonstration of LiFi technology complements our broadband portfolio for the business segment. We are currently working with major businesses to create tailor-made LiFi solutions and to test and validate the applications so that we can ensure we offer the latest in innovation to our valued customers.”
Du points out that the new LiFi technology is particularly suitable for environments in which safety and data security are paramount such as hospitals, company headquarters, transport, and security agencies. LiFi uses Visible Light Spectrum (VLS) and is unimpeded by radio interference and generates no electromagnetic smog, making it superior option for intrinsically hazardous environments such as oil refineries and platforms or petrol stations.
Du and Zero1 said that they are developing LiFi-enabled solutions that will deliver a variety of analytics, communication and management systems. Du notes that the outdoor deployment of LiFi can enable motion detection, geo-localization and camera networks through street lights. According to Du, the indoor deployment of LiFi can support retail, healthcare, education, and cultural centers.
Marc Fleschen, CEO, Zero1, said, “We are thrilled to work with du on LiFi technology to create a powerful platform which will provide tangible and long-lasting solutions for du’s business partners. We are honored to be part of the LiFi integration for different applications, which will place the UAE at the forefront of LiFi enabled environments.”
