To: President Donald J. Trump, 45th and 47th President of the United States
From: John Coates, RF Safe
Subject: A White House Pilot Program for American Leadership in Low-RF, Optical Wireless, Smart Lighting, and Secure Building Innovation
Date: May 2026
Executive Summary
Mr. President,
The United States has an opportunity to lead the world in the next generation of wireless communications: optical wireless connectivity, including infrared Li‑Fi, integrated with smart lighting, Power-over-Ethernet infrastructure, and secure Internet of Things sensors.
The proposal is simple: establish a controlled pilot program inside selected, security-cleared areas of the White House complex to test whether infrared light-based wireless connectivity, smart PoE lighting, and environmental IoT sensors can improve presidential wellness, building efficiency, cybersecurity, communications resilience, and American technological leadership.
This pilot should begin in limited, nonpublic, federally controlled areas selected by the White House Communications Agency, the Secret Service, the White House Military Office, the General Services Administration, the White House Physician, and appropriate federal science and communications agencies.
The purpose is not to replace all Wi‑Fi or cellular systems. The purpose is to determine where optical wireless can complement radio-frequency systems, especially in spaces where lower RF exposure, greater physical containment of signals, enhanced cybersecurity, or better environmental control may be valuable.
The United Kingdom’s National Health Service has already piloted Li‑Fi, IoT sensors, and PoE lighting in an ambulance station setting. That trial showed promising results for IoT automation, smart lighting, energy management, and reduced manual tasks, while also showing that today’s Li‑Fi market still needs further maturity before mass deployment.
America should not wait for other countries to define the future of photonics-based wireless. The White House can lead.
Why This Matters
Wireless connectivity is now as fundamental to modern life as electricity, heating, lighting, and clean water. Yet most indoor wireless systems still rely heavily on radio-frequency emissions: Wi‑Fi, Bluetooth, cellular repeaters, and other RF-based systems.
At the same time, the world is entering a new era of communications technology based on light. Li‑Fi uses visible or infrared light to transmit data. It can reduce RF congestion, improve signal containment, and create new secure indoor connectivity options. NHS England defines Li‑Fi as wireless communication using light rather than radio frequency and identified potential advantages including speed, reliability, security, low latency, and avoiding wireless signal congestion.
The international standards community has also moved. IEEE 802.11bb, a global light-communications standard, has been developed to allow Li‑Fi to work alongside Wi‑Fi rather than merely compete with it. IEEE Spectrum described the standard as a framework for compatible light-based devices and emphasized that the technology is intended to be complementary to Wi‑Fi.
This is precisely the kind of next-generation technology the United States should lead.
Strategic Rationale
1. Protecting the Health and Performance of the Commander-in-Chief
The President’s health, sleep quality, cognitive performance, and physical well-being are matters of national importance. A White House pilot could create selected low-RF rest, recovery, and work environments while maintaining secure connectivity through infrared optical links, shielded hardwired systems, and carefully managed communications architecture.
The proposal does not require making unsupported medical claims. Federal agencies and mainstream scientific organizations do not currently state that compliant RF exposure is proven to cause cancer or other clearly established health effects. The National Cancer Institute states that the evidence to date suggests cell phone use does not cause brain or other cancers, and that RF radiation is nonionizing and too low-energy to damage DNA directly. The World Health Organization likewise states that research has not shown consistent adverse health effects from RF exposure below tissue-heating levels, while also noting that further research remains warranted for long-term exposure questions.
The appropriate federal framing is therefore precautionary, performance-oriented, and innovation-based: where a safer-feeling, lower-RF, high-security, high-performance alternative can be tested without compromising communications, America should test it.
2. American Technological Supremacy
The NHS case study shows that public-sector institutions outside the United States are already testing Li‑Fi, IoT sensors, and PoE lighting in operational environments. NHS England’s Connectivity Hub described the NWAS trial as part of a wireless innovation program and listed outcomes including reduced energy usage, fewer Wi‑Fi issues, and reduced time spent on manual tasks.
If foreign health systems, universities, and technology companies are experimenting with optical wireless, the United States should not lag behind. A White House pilot would send a clear message: America will lead the photonics, secure-connectivity, and healthy-building revolution.
3. Cybersecurity and Physical Signal Containment
Traditional RF signals can pass through walls, windows, and building envelopes. Optical wireless systems can be more spatially contained because light-based links are generally confined to the illuminated area or reflected interior surfaces. This does not make Li‑Fi automatically secure, but it creates a useful additional layer for certain high-security rooms.
A White House pilot could test whether infrared optical wireless provides measurable cybersecurity advantages in conference rooms, sensitive work areas, medical spaces, and rest environments, while preserving existing classified and emergency communications systems.
4. Energy Efficiency and Smart Infrastructure
The strongest near-term opportunity may be smart PoE lighting and IoT sensors, not Li‑Fi alone. NHS England reported that the ambulance station trial used bin-level monitors, leak detectors, temperature and humidity monitors, air-quality sensors, and PoE lighting; expected benefits included reduced energy use, reduced manual tasks, improved waste efficiency, audit automation, and a projected four-year payback.
A White House pilot could measure lighting energy savings, room-occupancy efficiency, air-quality improvement, water-leak detection, humidity control, and maintenance automation.
The Pilot Concept
The White House should establish a 90- to 180-day Optical Wireless and Smart Infrastructure Pilot in selected rooms or controlled areas chosen by federal security and facilities teams.
Phase 1: Assessment
Conduct a confidential baseline assessment of selected rooms, including:
RF exposure mapping
Wi‑Fi and cellular signal density
Cybersecurity requirements
Sleep, rest, and wellness requirements where applicable
Lighting systems
Power-over-Ethernet feasibility
Air quality, humidity, temperature, and occupancy patterns
Existing hardwired network availability
Historical-building constraints
No public report should disclose sensitive White House floorplans, room functions, wiring paths, protective infrastructure, or communications architecture.
Phase 2: Controlled Installation
Install a small-scale, reversible pilot system using:
Infrared Li‑Fi access points where appropriate
PoE LED lighting fixtures
Hardwired Ethernet backhaul
Room-level environmental sensors
Air quality, temperature, humidity, water-leak, and occupancy sensors
Optional RF-reduction measures selected by federal experts
Secure dashboards available only to authorized personnel
Manual override and emergency fallback systems
The pilot should prioritize rooms where users are relatively stationary, because the NHS trial found that current Li‑Fi systems can be restrictive when movement is required and often require external dongles.
Phase 3: Performance Testing
Measure:
Connection speed and reliability
Latency
Ease of use
Device compatibility
Signal containment
User satisfaction
Interference with existing systems
Cybersecurity performance
Energy consumption
Indoor air-quality trends
Maintenance burden
Installation cost
Operational disruption
Return on investment
Phase 4: Federal Review
At the conclusion of the pilot, produce a classified or controlled federal report answering:
Where does optical wireless outperform Wi‑Fi?
Where does it underperform?
Which rooms or use cases benefit most?
Is Li‑Fi ready for broader federal deployment?
Are PoE lighting and environmental IoT sensors independently valuable?
Could this model apply to military housing, VA hospitals, federal offices, embassies, secure conference rooms, or emergency operations centers?
Proposed Pilot Locations
Because the White House is a uniquely sensitive facility, this proposal should not publicly name specific rooms. Selection should be made by the White House Communications Agency, Secret Service, GSA, and White House medical and facilities staff.
Recommended categories include:
Private rest or recovery spaces where low-RF environments may be preferred
Small conference rooms where users are seated and stationary
Medical or wellness rooms
Administrative spaces with high lighting and HVAC use
Historic rooms where wireless signal containment is valuable but retrofit disruption must be minimized
Nonpublic test rooms in the White House complex before any installation in more sensitive spaces
Policy Review: Section 704 and the Need for Updated Science
This pilot should also launch a federal review of America’s wireless-safety and wireless-innovation framework.
Section 704 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 limits state and local governments from regulating the placement, construction, or modification of personal wireless service facilities on the basis of environmental effects of RF emissions, so long as those facilities comply with FCC regulations.
That law was written during the Clinton administration, before the modern era of smartphones, whole-home Wi‑Fi, 5G densification, wearable devices, smart buildings, and ubiquitous wireless exposure.
In 2021, the D.C. Circuit remanded part of the FCC’s decision to retain its RF guidelines, holding that the FCC had not provided a reasoned explanation regarding non-cancer effects, children, long-term exposure, wireless ubiquity, and environmental impacts. The court emphasized that it was not taking a position in the scientific debate, but that the agency’s analysis was legally insufficient.
The White House pilot would not need to wait for a full statutory overhaul. But it could help establish a federal model for measurement-based, science-forward, innovation-positive wireless policy.
Recommended Federal Participants
The pilot should be coordinated by:
White House Communications Agency
United States Secret Service
White House Military Office
General Services Administration
Office of Science and Technology Policy
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
Federal Communications Commission
Department of Health and Human Services
National Institutes of Health / National Cancer Institute
Department of Energy national laboratories
Department of Defense technical experts
NIST cybersecurity and measurement specialists
Independent photonics, Li‑Fi, optical engineering, and building-science experts
Key Safeguards
This pilot must not compromise emergency communications, classified communications, Secret Service operations, fire safety, accessibility, medical safety, or historical preservation.
All systems should be:
Reversible
Auditable
Cybersecurity tested
Vendor-neutral where possible
Compliant with federal procurement rules
Nonintrusive to historic architecture
Compatible with emergency fallback communications
Measured before and after installation
Subject to independent technical review
The pilot should avoid exaggerated claims. It should not state that Li‑Fi is a proven medical treatment, nor that all RF systems are unsafe. The defensible claim is stronger: America should test lower-RF, light-based communications where they may improve security, comfort, resilience, and technological leadership.
Expected Benefits
A successful pilot could deliver:
A healthier-feeling presidential environment
Reduced RF reliance in selected rooms
Greater communications resilience
Improved cybersecurity through spatial signal containment
Reduced Wi‑Fi congestion
Lower energy use through PoE lighting
Improved air-quality and environmental monitoring
Automated leak, humidity, and occupancy alerts
A model for federal buildings
A national signal that America intends to lead in photonics and next-generation wireless
Suggested Presidential Action
Mr. President, I respectfully recommend that you direct the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the White House Communications Agency, the General Services Administration, and relevant federal partners to develop a White House Optical Wireless and Smart Infrastructure Pilot within 90 days.
The goal should be to test infrared Li‑Fi, smart PoE lighting, and environmental IoT systems in selected secure areas of the White House complex, while also reviewing whether America’s wireless policy framework is keeping pace with modern science, modern technology, and modern national-security needs.
This pilot would be small, controlled, measurable, and reversible.
It would protect the Commander-in-Chief.
It would modernize the White House.
It would advance American leadership in photonics.
And it would show the world that the United States does not wait for other countries to define the future of wireless technology.
One-Page Cover Letter
The Honorable Donald J. Trump
President of the United States
The White House
Washington, D.C.
Re: Proposal for a White House Pilot Program in Optical Wireless, Smart Lighting, and Low-RF Secure Connectivity
Dear Mr. President,
I respectfully submit this proposal for a controlled White House pilot program testing next-generation optical wireless connectivity, smart Power-over-Ethernet lighting, and environmental IoT sensors.
The purpose is to protect the health, performance, and security of the Commander-in-Chief while positioning the United States as the global leader in photonics-based wireless technology.
The United Kingdom’s National Health Service has already tested Li‑Fi, IoT sensors, and PoE lighting in an ambulance station environment. That pilot showed meaningful benefits from smart lighting and IoT automation, including reduced manual tasks and energy-management opportunities, while also showing that Li‑Fi still requires careful testing before broad deployment.
The White House should now lead a more advanced American pilot.
This proposal does not seek to eliminate Wi‑Fi, cellular, or existing secure communications. It seeks to test where infrared light-based wireless can complement existing systems, especially in selected rooms where signal containment, reduced RF reliance, cybersecurity, resilience, and wellness may be valuable.
I recommend a 90- to 180-day pilot in selected, nonpublic areas chosen by the White House Communications Agency, the Secret Service, GSA, the White House Physician, and federal science and communications experts.
The pilot should measure connection speed, reliability, latency, cybersecurity, signal containment, energy use, air quality, user experience, and installation feasibility.
This is a practical, patriotic, and forward-looking opportunity. America should not concede leadership in next-generation wireless to foreign governments or foreign industries. The White House can become the proving ground for a new generation of secure, intelligent, light-based connectivity.
Respectfully submitted,
John Coates, RF Safe
