Urban optical wireless communication networks: The main challenges and possible solutions

Urban optical wireless communication (UOWC) is rapidly gaining popularity as an effective means of transferring data at high rates over short distances. The UOWC terminal includes an optical transmitter and a receiver positioned, for example, on high-rise buildings separated by several hundred meters. Light beams propagating through the atmosphere carry the information from the transmitter to the receiver. UOWC boasts many advantages over its rivals. Notably, UOWC facilitates rapidly deployable, lightweight, high-capacity communication without licensing fees and tariffs. However, UOWC still faces many challenges, including how to improve communication performance in adverse weather conditions or during building sway. We present and evaluate some of the exciting new research approaches that have been suggested to deal with these issues, including optimization of telescope gain, new technologies for pointing systems, and solutions at the network level.