LED was heavily discussed as an alternative to WiFi (News - Alert), yet the buzz seemed to die down when nothing came out of the idea for innovation. According to this engadget report, however, visible light communication is finally here and has arrived in the municipal offices of St. Cloud, Minn.

A Minnesota startup, LVX System, has announced that it is installing the first of a series of LED fixtures that will use flashing lights to connect government office workers to the Internet. At the same time, this technology will also deliver significant electric bill savings as the fixture will function as a standard overhead light and use 36 watts of energy where 100 watts was once necessary to get the job done.

John C. Pederson, CEO of LVX System, explained in a statement, "We came up with the idea of transmitting data using light emitting diodes (LEDs)." The LEDs replace conventional fluorescent lighting systems and provide a transmission pathway for any communications device.

This innovative setup consists of clusters of LEDs that switch on and off thousands of times per second at intervals that cannot be detected by the human eye. The flashes then emit binary code data such that off is equal to zero and on is equal to one. Patented modems receive this code data and the lights on the modems transmit data back to the fixtures. The result: Internet connections.

LVX System is touting the benefits of light-powered networks, highlighting that they are far less crowded and far more secure than their predecessors. The only problem with LVX’s innovation is that it currently transmits data at about 3Mbps, which is a far cry from the standard speeds produced by WiFi or Ethernet. 

On the other hand, the speed is still fast enough for standard tasks that may take priority in a government office. This launch will be the test ground for the success of this technology and whether or not the company can drive demand for its alternative Internet solution.

LVX takes its name from the Latin word for light, but the underlying concept used by the company is actually older than Rome. The ancient Greeks signaled each other using flashes of sunlight off mirrors and polished shields over long distances. The Navy uses a Morse-coded version with lamps. LVX certainly takes this platform to the next level – let’s just hope the next stop is faster transmission speed.