LiFi is a new way to establish wireless communication links using the Led lighting networks.
The LiFi protocols are defined by the international standard IEEE 802.15 established since 2011 by the IEEE comity.
source: http://www.oledcomm.com/LiFi.html
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The fastest speed previously reported was 3Gbit/s, achieved earlier this year by the Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute in Germany.
Chinese researchers also claimed this month to have produced a 150Mbp/s connection, but some experts were doubtful without seeing further proof.
The term Li-Fi was coined by Edinburgh University’s Prof Harald Haas in 2011 though the technology is also known as visible light communications (VLC).
Many experts claim that Li-Fi represents the future of mobile internet thanks to its reduced costs and greater efficiency compared to traditional Wi-Fi.
source: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/lifi-revolution-internet-connections-using-light-bulbs-are-250-times-faster-than-broadband-8909320.html
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Visible Light Communication (VLC) is the use of the visible light portion of the electromagnetic spectrum to transmit information.
With VLC, data is transmitted by modulating the intensity of the light, which is then received by a photo-sensitive detector, and the light signal is demodulated into electronic form. This modulation is performed in such a way that it is not perceptible to the human eye.
VLC is a category of Optical Wireless Communications (OWC). OWC includes infra-red and ultra-violet communications as well as visible light. However, VLC is unique in that the same visible light energy used for illumination may also be used for communication.
source: http://purelifi.co.uk/what_is_li-fi/