Free Space Optics Performance, Issues and Applications

Free-space optics (FSO) is a wireless line of sight technology that transmits high data rates using a narrow beam light through the air as transmission medium. The demands on bandwidth and spectral availability are endless. Many telecommunications providers have been deploying different types of access technologies, such as cable and fixed wireless, in order to fulfill the needs. In many cases, transmission using fiber optics is preferred due to their ability to send high data rates with high reliability. This paper shows that the Free-space optics technology is an alternative to the already established fiber optics technology. The main reasons are it requires less installation time and it can save the required costs significantly without losing the capability to send high data rates. The paper also presents an assessment on the performance and current state of the Free Space Optics technology. It represents FSO’s limits in use under certain conditions; there are also circumstances where it can provide a high speed secure transmission channel.