http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/boffin-watch-blog/2104628/lightbulbs-broadcast-wireless-internet
LiFi is coming
A BOFFIN HAS DISCOVERED a way to use lightbulbs to broadcast wireless internet, dubbed 'LiFi'.
Physicist Harald Hass said he has developed a technology that can broadcast data through the same connection as a normal lamp.
Handily, just turning on the light switch in a room would switch on the internet connection
"Light is part of the electromagnetic spectrum... wouldn't it be great to use it for wireless communications?" ยต
The story begins in Livermore, California, home of the world's longest-burning lightbulb. The filament-style bulb, which hangs in the Livermore fire station, has been glowing continuously since 1901.
The Light Bulb Conspiracy goes on to show how many early incandescent lightbulbs lasted upwards of 2,500 hours. But then the leading manufacturers of the time formed an international cartel whose ostensible goal was to standardize the lightbulb. Its real intent, however, at least as the conspiracy theory goes, was to shorten the lifespan of all lightbulbs. By the 1940s, bulbs were burning for 1,000 hours, which is their expected lifespan today.
