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New Report on Visible Light Communication, Li-Fi Technology & Free Space Optics Market

Reviewed

Jul 18 2013

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Visible Light Communication (VLC)/Li-Fi Technology & Free Space Optics (FSO) Market (2013-2018) - By Component (LED, Image Sensor, Opto-couplers), Application (Indoor Networking, Underwater Communication, Location Based Service, ITS) & Geography" report to their offering.

VLC technology, one of the advanced optical wireless communication technologies, in which light in the visible region (375nm-780nm) is used as a medium for data transmission is more secure and achieves high data rates as compared to conventional wireless technologies like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Wimax etc., which use radio waves for communication. Till late 1990s infrared spectrum is used for the communication. But in the early 2000s, researches started using visible light from LEDs as the medium for communication. Initially they were able to achieve network speed about 100Kbps. With continuous developments, VLC systems can now achieve about 800Mbps data rate for short range communications. Many companies and research institutes are conducting research to develop and commercialize Gigabit networks for long range communications.

FSO is based on the same principle as VLC but it uses light in the IR spectrum for communication. Invention RONJA device in 2001, which can achieve 10Mbps network speed over 0.87 miles boosted the research activities in the FSO technology. FSO was initially used for outdoor communication applications. But in the recent times, indoor applications like enterprise connectivity, hospitals are increasing.

Reliability and network coverage are the major issues to be considered by the companies while providing VLC services. Interferences from external light sources like sun light, normal bulbs; and opaque materials in the path of transmission will cause interruption in the communication. High installation cost of the VLC systems can be complemented by large-scale implementation of VLC. Adopting VLC technology will reduce further operating costs like electricity charges, maintenance charges etc.

Visible light communication technology is still in the introductory phase. Indoor networking and location based services are the only applications that are quite penetrated in the market. Products for other applications (intelligent traffic management system, in-flight entertainment, and underwater communication) are expected to hit the market by the end of 2013. VLC may be implemented as a complementary technology to the existing wireless networks. VLC is expected to penetrate M2M communication, smart cities, power over Ethernet (PoE), wireless sensor networks, ubiquitous networks, augmented reality etc. after five years.

Key Topics Covered:

1 Introduction
2 Executive Summary
3 Market Overview
4 Optical Wireless Communication Technology
5 Visible Light Communication Market, By Component
6 Visible Light Communication Market, By Application
7 Visible Light Communication Market, By Geography
8 Competitive Landscape
9 Company Profiles

Companies Mentioned