INTERVIEW: PureLiFi CEO Alistair Banham (pictured) detailed a determination to prove the viability of the company’s light-enabled connectivity by deploying it in homes and on big-brand consumer devices.

In an interview at MWC Barcelona 2022, Banham said Li-Fi would have a large role to play as an alternative “in this very congested RF world we live in”.

Banham detailed commercial progress including a contract with the US Army won in 2021, along with a significant reduction in the size of the module employed to provide connectivity compared with pureLiFi’s last appearance at MWC four years ago.

The latest unit enables data rates of 1Gb/s compared with the 43Mb/s of the previous device, he explained.

Banham cited pureLiFi’s progress as contributing to his broader goal of deploying the technology in homes and on consumer devices.

He added the technology could provide a point of differentiation for manufacturers.

The executive also discussed pureLiFi’s contribution to the IEEE’s 802.11bb standard to enable connectivity using light, noting the specification is expected to be released in 2023.

“We’re developing our products to be standards compliant so we don’t have to do any retrofitting.”

Banham explained because pureLiFi’s transceiver connects to 802.11 the barrier to entry is low for it to be used by consumer companies due to the pervasiveness of the standard.

“I’d like to sit here next year and say, I’m in the first generation of the next flagship, differentiated handset, which is going to offer more security and improve the ecosystem.”

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