We’ve known [for over a decade](https://www.theverge.com/2013/10/28/5038130/internet-of-light-scientists-achieve-10-gigabit-data-speeds-using-leds) that blinking light bulbs can transfer _substantial_ quantities of wireless data, not just dumb infrared commands to your TV. Now, the IEEE standards body behind Wi-Fi has decided to formally invite “Li-Fi” to the same table — with speeds of up to 9.6 gigabits per second using invisible infrared light.

As of June 2023, the IEEE 802.11 wireless standard now [officially recognizes](https://standards.ieee.org/ieee/802.11bb/10823/) wireless light communications as a physical layer for wireless local area networks, which is a fancy way of saying that that Li-Fi doesn’t need to compete with Wi-Fi. Light can be just another kind of access point and interface delivering the same networks and/or the same internet to your device.

In fact, IEEE members have already been...
