Delivering 5G Cellular Service Indoors By Beaming Wireless Power & LiFi Through Window Glass

As someone who suffers with poor quality, rural, cellular internet at my home-office, I’m unusually aware of the limitations of cell service to deliver data services indoors. And for all of 5G’s touted speed, 5G signals don’t go through building walls well (especially mmWave 5G). A typical solution that I’m considering is mounting a cellular antennae outdoors drilling a hole to pass a coax cable through the wall and connect it to an amplifier that re-beams the cell signal indoors to our cellular router and even cell phones, enhancing performance and data rates. However, the installation work and drilling through walls has left this project on my to-do list for a while.

My jaw dropped when I saw the latest product from pureLiFi, their LINXC LiFi Bridge. The two halves of the product mount directly to either side of a window’s glass. The device beams wireless power from the inside half to the outside half, directly through the window glass. No wires, no drilling through a wall!

Simultaneously, the two halves of the device beam data bi-directionally through the window glass using infrared LiFi, enabling very high data rates. Again, no wires, no drilling through a wall! Connection to the indoor local area network (LAN) can be done with LiFi, WiFi, Ethernet or any combination

The LINXC Bridge can bring high speed 5G, 4G, and satellite broadband from outdoors to indoors. Both the power and 2-way data flow through the window glass without any wires between them, nor drilling through the wall. I’ve been aware of wireless power and LiFi technologies for many years, but to see them combined into such an elegant solution to a very real and important problem is inspiring and exciting.

Now the bad news. pureLiFi is currently planning to sell the product primarily to telecommunication companies. pureLiFi is not selling the LINXC Bridge system to individuals, small resellers, nor researchers evaluating LiFi.

More information on the pureLiFi LINXC Bridge is available here.

All Images: pureLiFi

David Shiller

David Shiller is the Publisher of LightNOW, and President of Lighting Solution Development, a North American consulting firm providing business development services to advanced lighting manufacturers. The ALA awarded David the Pillar of the Industry Award. David has co-chaired ALA’s Engineering Committee since 2010. David established MaxLite’s OEM component sales into a multi-million dollar division. He invented GU24 lamps while leading ENERGY STAR lighting programs for the US EPA. David has been published in leading lighting publications, including LD+A, enLIGHTenment Magazine, LEDs Magazine, and more.

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