Li-Fi Tested For 1st Time In Real World

[Gerowen]

I found a topic already related to this, but it's over 2 years old, so I thought I'd share this as a new topic.  Headline shortened because I kept getting errors with the long one.

Li-Fi is finally moving out of the research labs to the real world environments. This super-fast alternative to Wi-Fi has been tested in a commercial context by Velmenni, an Estonian startup.

This technology uses visible light to transmit high-speed data. Earlier this year, Li-Fi was tested in the labs and it achieved speeds of 224 gigabits per second. Now, in Estonia, in the first time field testing, it has been reported that Li-Fi achieved a data transmission rate of 1GB per second i.e., 100 times the current average Wi-Fi speeds.

More and source: http://fossbytes.com/li-fi-gets-tested-for-the-first-time-in-real-world-and-its-100-times/

I haven't read very many details on the technology, this is the first I've heard of it, but it seems sort of unreliable, like a cable-less version of fiber optic.  The problem though, is that couldn't the signal be blocked by the simplest things like turning around and placing your body between the device and the light source?  Radio waves are less physically secure because they penetrate solid structures, but that allows a certain amount of reliability so that if you cover a device up, walk into another room, etc., you don't lose connection.  I would also be curious to learn whether the devices can function with one burned out LED or not, assuming it uses multiple LEDs.  LEDs are more reliable than incandescence, but they can and do burn out, I've had it happen.  I also wonder if there would be a way to network light fixtures throughout a building so that if a person carried a device from room to room they could remain connected.