LiFi: A Technology of The Past, Present or Future? - Li-Fi Conference 2023 Presentation
LiFi Technology Presentation
In today's article, we will talk about another presentation delivered at the recent Li-Fi Conference 3rd edition. The presentation titled “LiFi: a technology of the past, present or future?” was delivered by Mr Théo Lazuech, CEO & Founder of LiNA SAS.
The speaker, a photonic engineer and founder of a LiFi startup called LiNA SAS, discusses the potential and challenges of LiFi technology in comparison to Wi-Fi. He mentions that despite the revolutionary tag associated with LiFi, its adoption has been slow, and its high cost makes it less appealing compared to Wi-Fi. He draws parallels with other technologies that were touted as revolutionary but failed to gain widespread adoption due to various factors like being too early in the market, high costs, or not meeting the actual needs of users.
He mentions that while LiFi has technical advantages over Wi-Fi, such as higher speed and stability, its high cost and lack of standardization among manufacturers hinder its widespread adoption. The speaker notes that LiFi finds its place in niche markets where Wi-Fi or other alternatives are not viable, such as in aeronautical, space, military, and some hospital settings. However, he points out that these markets often have limited financial resources, making it challenging to sell LiFi solutions.
The speaker suggests that for LiFi to be successful, it needs to address user-friendliness, cost-effectiveness, and standardisation issues. He concludes by stating that from a technical standpoint, LiFi is a success, but from a business perspective, its adoption is limited to niche markets due to the aforementioned challenges.
You can watch the full presentation on the following link:
Below are some of the key points we have extracted from the speaker's presentation:
The speaker chose a provocative title to prompt discussion on whether LiFi is a failure given lack of widespread adoption compared to WiFi.
Just because a technology is revolutionary does not guarantee market success. Many examples of "failed" revolutionary technologies like iPad replacing laptops.
Reasons for failure: being too early (Nokia smartphones), lack of user need (flying cars), high costs (LiFi is 100x more than WiFi).
Ingredients for success: solving user pain points, ease of use, cost effectiveness, standards for interoperability.
LiFi is technically superior but lacks business success except some niche markets like aerospace, military where it solves problems.
LiFi companies can survive in niches where there are no alternatives but struggle for mass market as WiFi dominates and LiFi is costly.
Niche markets are small - aviation, hospitals don't have big budgets. Schools interested but can't afford LiFi.
So LiFi has seen many failures but it's not a total failure. Critics see lack of widespread adoption as failure given years of development.
LiFi companies need to pivot strategy to target niche applications where high costs are acceptable and WiFi can't solve problems.
Speaker gives examples of overhyped technologies like iPad, Metaverse that failed to completely replace existing solutions, showing revolutions often underdeliver.
Timing is key - being too early with a technology before market is ready leads to failure even if idea is good.
Standardisation is important for telecom technologies - lack of standards hurts user adoption and interoperability.
From a technical view, LiFi has advantages over WiFi in speed and stability. But business view shows lack of customers and revenue.
LiFi companies have struggled to correctly analyse user needs. Offerings don't solve real pain points.
Niche markets for LiFi exist but are limited in size. Aviation and defense have money but hospitals and schools don't.
Spreading negative buzz about lack of LiFi adoption after years of development has hurt perception and funding.
LiFi companies should reevaluate strategies to target specific applications where benefits outweigh costs.
In conclusion, the speaker emphasizes the lack of standards, high costs, and mismatch with user needs as factors limiting LiFi success so far. But potential in niches where technical merits matter.
Image credit to LiNA SAS
