Feature

Li-Fi

Wi-Fi

Full Form

Light Fidelity

Wireless Fidelity

Operation

Li-Fi transmits data using light with the help of LED bulbs.

Wi-Fi transmits data using radio waves with the help of Wi-Fi router.

Interference

Do not have any interference issues similar to radio frequency waves.

Will have interference issues from nearby access points(routers)

Technology

Present IrDA compliant devices

WLAN 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ad standard compliant devices

Applications

Used in airlines, undersea explorations, operation theatres in the hospitals, office and home premises for data transfer and internet browsing

Used for internet browsing with the help of Wi-Fi hotspots

Merits (advantages)

Interference is less, can pass through salty sea water, works in dense region

Interference is more, cannot pass through sea water, works in less dense region

Privacy

In Li-Fi, light is blocked by the walls and hence will provide more secure data transfer

In Wi-Fi, RF signal cannot be blocked by the walls and hence need to employ techniques to achieve secure data transfer.

Data transfer speed

About 1 Gbps

WLAN-11n offers 150 Mbps, About 1 - 2 Gbps can be achieved using Wi-Gig/Giga-IR

Frequency of operation

10 thousand times frequency spectrum of the radio

2.4 GHz, 4.9 GHz and 5 GHz

Data density

Works in high dense environment

Works in less dense environment due to interference related issues

Coverage distance

About 10 meters

About 32 meters (WLAN 802.11b/11g), vary based on transmit power and antenna type

System components

Lamp driver, LED bulb (lamp) and photo detector will make up complete Li-Fi system

Requires routers to be installed, subscriber devices(laptops, PDAs, desktops) are referred as stations