Optical wireless local area networks: enabling technologies : Advances in optical technology

The new generation of laptop and pen computers will require wireless connectivity to fully exploit the potential of personal mobile computing. They are also likely to require broadband telecommunications services for video transmission and access to multimedia databases. The use of the optical spectrum for wireless communications avoids radio frequency planning constraints, and can provide almost infinite bandwidth for these future applications. This paper describes enabling technologies that enhance the range, speed and practicality of optical wireless