Global LiFi technology firms pureLiFi and Fraunhofer HHI welcome the release of IEEE 802.11bb as the latest global light communications standard alongside IEEE 802.11 WiFi standards. The bb standard marks a significant milestone for the LiFi market, as it provides a globally recognised framework for deployment of LiFi technology.
LiFi is a wireless technology that uses light rather than radio frequencies to transmit data. By harnessing the light spectrum, LiFi can unleash faster, more reliable wireless communications with unparalleled security compared to conventional technologies such as WiFi and 5G. The Light Communications 802.11bb Task Group was formed in 2018 chaired by pureLiFi and supported by Fraunhofer HHI, two firms which have been at the forefront of LiFi development efforts. Both organisations aim to see accelerated adoption and interoperability not only between LiFi vendors but also with WiFi technologies as a result of these standardisation efforts.
The IEEE 802.11bb standard defines the physical layer specifications and system architectures for wireless communication using light waves. This new standard sets the foundation for the widespread adoption of LiFi technology and paves the way for the interoperability of LiFi systems with the successful WiFi standard. Ratification of the standard was concluded in June 2023.
pureLiFi, a pioneering company in the development of LiFi technology, has already developed the world’s first standards-compliant devices including the recently released Light Antenna ONE.
Analogous to the antenna chain in a radio frequency (RF) system such as WiFi, Light Antenna ONE inherently enables 802.11bb compliance. It can be integrated with existing WiFi chipsets that ship in the billions annually. With Light Antenna ONE, LiFi simply appears to the system as if it were another band of WiFi.
Fraunhofer HHI is a world leader in the development of mobile and optical communication networks and systems as well as processing and coding of video signals. HHI has studied use cases for indoor and outdoor applications with early adopters and made sustainable contributions to standards. HHI offers all building blocks for state-of-the-art LiFi systems, tailors prototypes for special applications and conducts field trials in real scenarios.
