Wireless data transfer has had a literally bright outlook since LED lights started being used to generate frequencies for the technology. Now, Siemens' researchers have improved their own record speed for data transfer using LED white lights.

This week, Siemens officials and partners at Heinrich Hertz Institute in Berlin achieved a transfer rate of up to 500 megabits per second, significantly faster than the previous record of 200 megabits per second. The LED lights, provided by Osram, were able to transfer data over a distance of up to five meters.

The data transfer was successfully hastened by simply increasing the amount of light emitted by the LED. Still, the resulting changes in brightness remain imperceptible to the human eye.

The user-friendly light source means that this technology has potential applications in the consumer market. Businesses and educational institutions are already experimenting with LED-powered wireless communication as an energy-saving light solution. The technology might also soon be available for home use.

Additionally, researchers think it could prove an invaluable asset in factory and medical environments, which generally use radio-borne wireless technology. The lighting data transmission - unlike its radio counterpart - can't be interrupted or intercepted.

The successful launch of this product could lend itself to the growing commercial and residential LED markets, which LEDs magazine predicts will exceed $2 billion in 2011.