Mobile Computing Research Library

Today's economy depends on the transmission of data, voice and multimedia across telecommunication networks. Optical networks represent the ideal medium for high-bandwidth communications. There are two distinct types of optical communications: fiber optics and optical wireless based on FSO technology. For long-haul network deployments, nothing is better than fiber. However, for making connections over relatively short distances in cities - the "Last mile" between the fiber and the metro concentration of end users - fiber and optical wireless often rely on one another for success. Fiber optics is being deployed at a measured and sustained pace, but the cost to do so is often high, the process long and the investment irreversible. This paper outlines how optical wireless complements fiber optics in metro networks and local area networks (LANs) to meet projected bandwidth needs with considerably less expense and faster deployment.