Shining a New Light on Connectivity: The Long Awaited Release of IEEE 802.11bb is Finally Here

Image Credit to pureLiFi

IEEE LiFi 802.11bb

Leading LiFi technology enterprises, pureLiFi and Fraunhofer HHI, have expressed enthusiasm for the introduction of IEEE 802.11bb, the newest global light communication standard, which stands alongside the IEEE 802.11 WiFi standards. The arrival of the bb standard signifies a notable turning point for the LiFi industry, as it establishes an universally acknowledged blueprint for implementing LiFi technology.

LiFi represents a revolutionary wireless technology, utilising light instead of radio waves to transfer data. By exploiting the light spectrum, LiFi has the potential to provide faster, more dependable wireless communication that exhibits superior security compared to existing technologies such as WiFi and 5G. In 2018, the Light Communications 802.11bb Task Group was established under the leadership of pureLiFi, with support from Fraunhofer HHI - two entities that have been trailblazers in LiFi technology advancement. These organizations strive to expedite acceptance and seamless integration not only amongst LiFi providers, but also in combination with WiFi technologies, thanks to these standardization endeavors.

The IEEE 802.11bb standard stipulates the physical layer qualifications and system blueprints for wireless communication utilizing light waves. This fresh standard forms the backbone for the mass adoption of LiFi technology and creates a pathway for LiFi systems to seamlessly work with the well-established WiFi standard. The process of standard endorsement was completed in June 2023.

Image credit to pureLiFi

Richard Webb, Director, Network Infrastructure at industry analyst firm CCS Insights, “The IEEE 802.11bb standard is an important milestone for LiFi technology placing LiFi as a complementary and integrated technology alongside the highly successful WiFi standard. This opens-up exciting new opportunities for LiFi to work seamlessly with WiFi and make communications better in a range of applications, from high-speed, secure internet access in the home and office to expanding next generation experiences to wider markets such as XR and spatial computing.”

“The release of the IEEE 802.11bb standard is a significant moment for the wireless communications industry,” said pureLiFi’s VP of Standardisation, Nikola Serafimovski, who chaired the 802.1bb Task Group. “Through the activity of the 802.11bb task group, LiFi attracted interest from some of the biggest industry players ranging from semiconductor companies to leading mobile phone manufacturers. We worked with these key stakeholders to create a standard that will provide what the industry needs to adopt LiFi at scale. I would like to thank the support of Tuncer Baykas as Vice-Chair, and Volker Jungnickel as technical editor for helping make this process so successful.”

Volker Jungnickel from Fraunhofer HHI, technical editor of the task group, commented on the importance of a global LiFi standard: “The IEEE 802.11bb standard is a critical step to enable interoperability between multiple vendors. It allows for the first time LiFi solutions inside the WiFi ecosystem. This is essential for the development of new and innovative applications. LiFi can replace cables by short-range optical wireless links and connect numerous sensors and actuators to the Internet. We believe that this will create a future mass market. Fraunhofer HHI is looking forward to work with LiFi vendors from lighting and communication industries to make this a reality.”

pureLiFi

pureLiFi develops technology for communication networks that integrates data and lighting utility infrastructures. It offers a LiFi enabled device that converts the beam of lights into an electrical signal. The signal is then converted back into data. The company was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in Edinburgh.

pureLiFi demonstrated the next LiFi system for the home at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2022 in Barcelona. pureLiFi stated that this is the world’s first LiFi ecosystem for the consumer market, named LiFi@Home™.

Fraunhofer HHI

The Heinrich Hertz Institute, HHI, also known as Fraunhofer HHI or Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute, is an organisation of the Fraunhofer Society based in Berlin. The institute engages in applied research and development in the fields of physics, electrical engineering and computer sciences.