Free Space Optics (FSO) and Visible Light Communication (VLC)/Light Fidelity (Li-Fi) Market by Component (LED, Photodetector, Microcontroller, and Software), Transmission Type, Application, and Geography - Global Forecast to 2023

The free space optics (FSO) market is expected to grow from USD 0.15 billion in 2017 to USD 1.45 billion by 2023, at a CAGR of 39.58% between 2018 and 2023. Factors driving the growth of the FSO market include last-mile connectivity, no licensing, and alternative solution to overburdened RF technology for outdoor networking. The visible light communication (VLC) market is expected to grow from USD 1.30 billion in 2017 to USD 75.00 billion by 2023, at a CAGR of 96.57% between 2018 and 2023. Factors driving this growth are faster and safer data transfer, RF spectrum bandwidth crunch, and less energy consumption.

Years considered for this report are as follows:

• 2017: Base year
• 2018: Estimated year
• 2023: Forecast year
• 2018–2023: Forecast period

Faster and safer data transfer are driving the VLC market

Data transmission is more secure and achieves high data rates compared to conventional wireless technologies, such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), and so on, which use radio waves for the communication. Light waves do not penetrate through walls; hence, they cannot be intercepted and misused. A networking speed of 100 Mbps can easily be obtained with VLC technology using LEDs. However, to compete with the existing communication technologies, VLC has to differentiate itself by providing a downloading speed of 1 Gbps or more compared to other wireless communication technologies. This can be achieved by parallel data transmission from a number of LEDs. VLC technology is a greener, cleaner, and safer technology as it produces no hazardous emissions, unlike RF, and is also biologically safe. Moreover, VLC technology is interference-free, which means it does not generate electromagnetic interference as is produced by RF systems. Therefore, it can be used in areas where RF wireless communications are not permitted, such as in hospitals, chemical plants, or on oil rigs or underwater. Thus, faster and safer data communication than other competing technologies is the major driving factor for the VLC technology.

Market Dynamics for VLC market

Drivers

• Faster and safer data transfer than other competing technologies
• RF spectrum bandwidth crunch
• Less energy consumption

Restraints

• Dominance of competing technologies
• Applicable only for short range communication applications and requirement of direct LOS

Opportunities

• Global acceptance of bidirectional VLC by different verticals
• Emergence of new applications such as IoT and 5G

Challenges

• Lack of technological awareness
• Lack of common standards

The Objectives of the report are as follows:

• To define, segment, and forecast the FSO market, in terms of value, on the basis of application and geography, and the visible light communication VLC market, in terms of value, on the basis of component, transmission type, application, and geography
• To forecast the size of the FSO and VLC market, in terms of value, on the basis of 4 main regions—the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), and Rest of the World (RoW)
• To strategically analyze micromarkets with respect to individual growth trends, prospects, and contributions to the FSO and VLC market
• To provide detailed information regarding the major factors (drivers, restraints, opportunities, and industry-specific challenges) influencing the growth of the FSO and VLC market
• To analyze opportunities in the market for stakeholders and details of the competitive landscape for market leaders
• To provide a detailed overview of the value chain pertaining to the FSO and VLC market
• To analyze competitive developments such as expansions, collaborations, contracts, acquisitions, partnerships, and product launches, along with research and development (R&D) in the FSO and VLC market
• To strategically profile key players of the FSO and VLC market and comprehensively analyze their market ranking and core competencies

Critical questions which the report answers:

• How is Li-Fi secure than other wireless technologies?
• How the industry players are investing in technology and product innovation?
• What are the key inorganic growth strategies being adopted by the industry players to grow in the VLC market?
• What are the key opportunities to grow in the FSO and VLC market?

The Research Methodology used to estimate and forecast the FSO and VLC market begins with capturing data on key vendors through secondary sources such as Visible Light Communications Consortium (VLCC), IEEE Spectrum, Li-Fi Consortium, and IEEE Photonics Society among others. Moreover, vendor offerings are also considered to determine the market segmentation. Top-down and bottom-up procedures have been employed to arrive at the overall size of the FSO and VLC market on the basis of the revenues of the key players in the market. After arriving at the overall market size, the overall market has been split into several segments and subsegments, which have been verified through primary research by conducting extensive interviews with key officials such as CEOs, VPs, directors, and executives. The market breakdown and data triangulation procedures have been employed to complete the overall market engineering process and arrive at the exact statistics for all segments and subsegments. The breakdown of the profiles of primaries is depicted in the following figure:

To know about the assumptions considered for the study, download the pdf brochure

This report provides valuable insights on the FSO and VLC ecosystem, which includes research, design, and development; original equipment manufacturers (OEM); software service provider; network service provider; technology integrator; and end users. Organizations involved in the R&D of VLC are Ecma International (Switzerland), Fraunhofer HHI (Germany), University of Strathclyde (UK), IDeTIC (Spain), Nakagawa Laboratories (Japan), Smart Lighting Engineering Research Center (US), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (US), Visible Light Communications Association (Japan), University of California (US), Oxford University (UK), and University of Edinburgh (UK), among others. Major OEMs of FSO are Wireless Excellence (UK), Communication by light (Germany), fSONA Networks (Canada), LightPointe Communications (US), PAV Data (UK), Plaintree Systems (Canada), Optelix Wireless (South Africa), and Canon (Japan). OEMs of VLC are Oledcomm (France), Lucibel (France), Acuity Brands (US), General Electric (US), Signify Holding (Netherlands), LG Innotek (South Korea), LightBee (Spain), Outstanding Technology Company (Japan), pureLiFi (UK), Supreme Architecture (US), IBSENtelecom (Norway), Fujitsu (Japan), and Panasonic (Japan). Companies developing applications for VLC are General Electric (US), Signify Holding (Netherlands), Oledcomm (France), Fujitsu (Japan), and Panasonic (Japan). Signify Holding (Netherlands), Acuity Brands (US), General Electric (US), and LVX System (US) are some of the well-known network service providers of VLC.

Major players in the FSO market are LightPointe Communications (US), fSONA Networks (Canada), Wireless Excellence (UK), Plaintree Systems (Canada), and Trimble Hungary (Hungary). Key players of the VLC market are Signify Holding (Netherlands), Oledcomm (France), Lucibel (France), pureLiFi (UK), Acuity Brands (US), General Electric (US), Fraunhofer HHI (Germany), LVX System (US), Panasonic (Japan), and IBSENtelecom (Norway).

Key Target Audience:

• Raw material and manufacturing equipment suppliers
• Electronic design automation (EDA) and design tool vendors
• Product manufacturers and suppliers
• Component manufacturers
• Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs)
• Integrated device manufacturers (IDMs)
• Original design manufacturers (ODMs)
• ODM and OEM technology solution providers
• Assembly, testing, and packaging vendors
• Technology, service, and solution providers
• Intellectual property (IP) core and licensing providers
• Suppliers and distributors
• Government and other regulatory bodies
• Technology investors
• Research institutes and organizations
• Market research and consulting firms

The study answers several questions for the stakeholders, primarily, which market segments to focus on in the next 2–5 years (depending on the range of the forecast period) for prioritizing the efforts and investments.

Report Scope:

In this report, the FSO and VLC market has been segmented based on the following categories.

FSO Market, by Application

• Mobile Backhaul
• Enterprise Connectivity
• Disaster Recovery
• Defense
• Satellite
• Healthcare
• Security
• Engineering and Design
• Others (Redundant link, storage area network, last-mile access, and metropolitan area network)

FSO Market, by Region

• Americas
• Europe
• APAC
• RoW

VLC Market, by Component

• LED
• Photodetector
• Microcontroller
• Software

VLC Market, by Transmission Type

• Unidirectional
• Bidirectional

VLC Market, by Application

• Smart Store
• Street Light
• Consumer Electronics
  • Residential
  • Commercial
• Defense and Security
• Vehicle and Transportation
  • Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) Communication
  • Location-based Service (LBS)
  • Intelligent Transportation System (ITS)
• Aviation
• Hospital
  • Asset Tracking
  • Patient Tracking
  • Data Monitoring
• Underwater Communication
• Hazardous Environment
• Others
  • Museum
  • Digital Signage
  • Hotel and Casino
  • Logistics

VLC Market, by Geography

• Americas
• Europe
• APAC
• RoW
• Competitive Landscape
• Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies in the FSO and VLC market

Available Customizations:

• Detailed analysis and profiling of additional market players on the basis of various blocks of the value chain

Table of Contents

1 Introduction (Page No. - 18)
    1.1 Study Objectives
    1.2 Definition
    1.3 Study Scope
           1.3.1 Markets Covered
           1.3.2 Years Considered for the Study
    1.4 Currency
    1.5 Limitations
    1.6 Market Stakeholders

2 Research Methodology (Page No. - 22)
    2.1 Research Data
           2.1.1 Secondary Data
                    2.1.1.1 List of Major Secondary Sources
                    2.1.1.2 Key Data From Secondary Sources
           2.1.2 Primary Data
                    2.1.2.1 Primary Interviews With Experts
                    2.1.2.2 Key Data From Primary Sources
                    2.1.2.3 Key Industry Insights
                    2.1.2.4 Breakdown of Primaries
           2.1.3 Secondary and Primary Research
    2.2 Market Size Estimation
           2.2.1 Bottom-Up Approach
                    2.2.1.1 Approach for Capturing the Market Share By Bottom-Up Analysis (Demand Side)
           2.2.2 Top-Down Approach
                    2.2.2.1 Approach for Capturing the Market Share By Top-Down Analysis (Supply Side)
           2.2.3 Market Ranking Estimation
    2.3 Market Breakdown and Data Triangulation
    2.4 Research Assumptions

3 Executive Summary (Page No. - 35)

4 Premium Insights (Page No. - 40)
    4.1 Attractive Opportunities in the FSO and VLC Market
    4.2 VLC Market, By Component
    4.3 FSO and VLC Market, By Application
    4.4 VLC Market, By Transmission Type
    4.5 FSO Market, By Region
    4.6 VLC Market, By Region

5 Market Overview (Page No. - 44)
    5.1 Introduction
    5.2 History and Evolution of OWC
           5.2.1 Overview of Ronja Device
    5.3 FSO Market
           5.3.1 Introduction
           5.3.2 Working
           5.3.3 Market Dynamics
                    5.3.3.1 Drivers
                               5.3.3.1.1 Last Mile Connectivity
                               5.3.3.1.2 No Licensing Required
                               5.3.3.1.3 Alternative Solution to Overburdened RF Technology for Outdoor Networking
                    5.3.3.2 Restraints
                               5.3.3.2.1 High Installation Cost
                    5.3.3.3 Opportunities
                               5.3.3.3.1 Affordable Extension in Existing Fiber Network
                               5.3.3.3.2 Increasing Number of Space Research Programs
                               5.3.3.3.3 Replacement of Old Technologies With FSO Technology for Enterprise Connectivity
                    5.3.3.4 Challenges
                               5.3.3.4.1 Reliability Issues Due to Fading of Signals During Propagation
    5.4 VLC Market
           5.4.1 Introduction
           5.4.2 Working
           5.4.3 Market Dynamics
                    5.4.3.1 Drivers
                               5.4.3.1.1 Faster and Safer Data Transfer Than Other Competing Technologies
                               5.4.3.1.2 RF Spectrum Bandwidth Crunch
                               5.4.3.1.3 Less Energy Consumption
                    5.4.3.2 Restraints
                               5.4.3.2.1 Dominance of Competing Technology
                               5.4.3.2.2 Applicable Only for Short-Range Communication Applications and Requirement of Direct Los
                    5.4.3.3 Opportunities
                               5.4.3.3.1 Global Acceptance of Bidirectional VLC By Different Industry Verticals
                               5.4.3.3.2 Emergence of New Applications Such as IoT and 5g
                    5.4.3.4 Challenges
                               5.4.3.4.1 Lack of Technological Awareness
                               5.4.3.4.2 Lack of Common Standards
    5.5 Value Chain Analysis

6 Free Space Optics Market (Page No. - 66)
    6.1 Introduction
    6.2 FSO Market, By Application
           6.2.1 Mobile Backhaul
           6.2.2 Enterprise Connectivity
           6.2.3 Disaster Recovery
           6.2.4 Defense
           6.2.5 Satellite
           6.2.6 Healthcare
           6.2.7 Security
           6.2.8 Engineering and Design
           6.2.9 Others
    6.3 FSO Market, By Region
           6.3.1 Americas
           6.3.2 Europe
           6.3.3 Asia Pacific
           6.3.4 Rest of the World

7 Visible Light Communication Market (Page No. - 84)
    7.1 Introduction
    7.2 VLC Market, By Component
           7.2.1 Light Emitting Diode
                    7.2.1.1 Phosphorus LEDs
                    7.2.1.2 Red Green Blue (RGB) LEDs
                    7.2.1.3 Resonant Cavity LEDs (RCLEDs)
                    7.2.1.4 Organic LEDs (OLEDS)
                    7.2.1.5 Microlens LEDs
                    7.2.1.6 Near-Infrared Or Ultraviolet LEDs
           7.2.2 Photodetector
                    7.2.2.1 Photodiode
                    7.2.2.2 Image Sensor
           7.2.3 Microcontroller
                    7.2.3.1 Modulator and Demodulator
                               7.2.3.1.1 Modulation
                                             7.2.3.1.1.1 Pulse Width Modulation (PWM)
                                             7.2.3.1.1.2 Pulse Position Modulation (PPM)
                                             7.2.3.1.1.3 Variable Pulse Position Modulation (VPPM)
                                             7.2.3.1.1.4 Pulse Amplitude Modulation (PAM)
                                             7.2.3.1.1.5 Color Shift Keying (CSK)
                                             7.2.3.1.1.6 Frequency Shift Keying (FSK)
                                             7.2.3.1.1.7 Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex (OFDM)
                                             7.2.3.1.1.8 Spatial Modulation (SM)
                               7.2.3.1.2 Demodulation
                                             7.2.3.1.2.1 Diode Detector
                                             7.2.3.1.2.2 Synchronous Detector
           7.2.4 Software
    7.3 VLC Market, By Transmission Type
           7.3.1 Unidirectional Transmission
           7.3.2 Bidirectional Transmission
    7.4 VLC Market, By Application
           7.4.1 Smart Store
           7.4.2 Street Light
           7.4.3 Consumer Electronics
                    7.4.3.1 Residential
                    7.4.3.2 Commercial
           7.4.4 Defense and Security
           7.4.5 Vehicle and Transportation
                    7.4.5.1 Vehicle-To-Vehicle Communication
                    7.4.5.2 Location-Based Service
                    7.4.5.3 Intelligent Transportation System
                               7.4.5.3.1 Advanced Traffic Management System
                               7.4.5.3.2 Advanced Traveler Information System
                               7.4.5.3.3 Vehicle-To-Infrastructure Communications
                               7.4.5.3.4 Advanced Public Transportation System
           7.4.6 Aviation
           7.4.7 Hospital
                    7.4.7.1 Asset Tracking
                    7.4.7.2 Patient Tracking
                    7.4.7.3 Data Monitoring
           7.4.8 Underwater Communication
           7.4.9 Hazardous Environment
           7.4.10 Others
                    7.4.10.1 Museum
                    7.4.10.2 Digital Signage
                    7.4.10.3 Hotel and Casino
                    7.4.10.4 Logistics
    7.5 VLC Market, By Geography
           7.5.1 Americas
           7.5.2 Europe
           7.5.3 Asia Pacific
           7.5.4 Rest of the World

8 Competitive Landscape (Page No. - 138)
    8.1 Overview
    8.2 Market Ranking Analysis
    8.3 Competitive Scenario
           8.3.1 Product Launches and Expansions
           8.3.2 Collaborations and Contracts
           8.3.3 Acquisitions and Partnerships

9 Company Profiles (Page No. - 147)
    9.1 Introduction
(Business Overview, Products Offered & Services Strategies, Key Insights, Recent Developments, MnM View)*
    9.2 FSO Market Key Players
           9.2.1 Lightpointe Communications
           9.2.2 FSONA Networks
           9.2.3 Wireless Excellence
           9.2.4 Plaintree Systems
           9.2.5 Trimble Hungary
    9.3 Key Players in the VLC Market
           9.3.1 Signify Holding (Formerly Philips Lighting)
           9.3.2 Oledcomm
           9.3.3 Lucibel
           9.3.4 Purelifi
           9.3.5 Acuity Brands
    9.4 Other Key Players in the VLC Market
           9.4.1 General Electric
           9.4.2 Panasonic
           9.4.3 Fraunhofer HHI
           9.4.4 LVX System
           9.4.5 Ibsentelecom
    9.5 VLC Market Key Innovators
           9.5.1 Vlncomm
           9.5.2 Firefly Wireless Networks
           9.5.3 Nextlifi
           9.5.4 Lightbee
           9.5.5 Velmenni

*Details on Business Overview, Products Offered & Services Strategies, Key Insights, Recent Developments, MnM View Might Not Be Captured in Case of Unlisted Companies.

10 Appendix (Page No. - 178)
     10.1 Discussion Guide
     10.2 Knowledge Store: Marketsandmarkets’ Subscription Portal
     10.3 Available Customizations
     10.4 Related Reports
     10.5 Author Details

List of Tables (102 Tables)

Table 1 LED vs Laser
Table 2 Ronja Models
Table 3 IRDA Standards
Table 4 FSO vs Other Competing Technologies
Table 5 Advantages and Limitations of FSO
Table 6 RF vs FSO for Space Programs
Table 7 Power Loss in FSO System Due to Environmental Interference
Table 8 VLC vs RF Technology
Table 9 VLC vs Wi-Fi
Table 10 FSO Market, By Application, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 11 Technologies in Mobile Backhaul
Table 12 Capacity of Various Mobile Backhaul Technologies
Table 13 Advantages of FSO as Mobile Carrier Backhaul
Table 14 FSO Market for Mobile Backhaul Application, By Geography, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 15 FSO Market for Enterprise Connectivity Application, By Region, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 16 FSO Market for Disaster Recovery Application, By Region, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 17 FSO Market for Defense Application, By Region, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 18 FSO Market for Satellite Application, By Region, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 19 FSO Market for Healthcare Application, By Region, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 20 FSO Market for Security Application, By Region, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 21 FSO Market for Engineering and Design Application, By Region, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 22 FSO Market for Other Applications, By Region, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 23 FSO Market, By Region, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 24 FSO Market in the Americas, By Application, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 25 FSO Market in Europe, By Application, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 26 FSO Market in APAC, By Application, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 27 FSO Market in RoW, By Application, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 28 VLC Market, By Component, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 29 Comparison Between LED, Incandescent, and Fluorescent Lamps
Table 30 Characteristics of Phosphorus LED
Table 31 Characteristics of RGB LED
Table 32 Characteristics of RCLED
Table 33 Characteristics of OLEDS
Table 34 VLC Market for LED, By Application, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 35 Comparison Between Ccd and Cmos Sensors
Table 36 VLC Market for Photodetector, By Application, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 37 VLC Market for Microcontroller, By Application, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 38 VLC Market for Software, By Application, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 39 VLC Market, By Transmission Type, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 40 VLC Market, By Application, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 41 List of Some Major Pilot Deployments of VLC in Smart Store
Table 42 VLC Market for Smart Store Application, By Component, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 43 VLC Market for Smart Store Application, By Region, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 44 List of Some Major Pilot Deployments of VLC in Street Lights
Table 45 VLC Market for Street Light Application, By Component, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 46 VLC Market for Street Light Application, By Region, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 47 VLC Market, By Consumer Electronics Application, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 48 VLC Market for Consumer Electronics Application, By Component, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 49 VLC Market for Consumer Electronics Application, By Region, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 50 VLC Market for Residential Application, By Component, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 51 VLC Market for Residential Application, By Region, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 52 VLC Market for Commercial Application, By Component, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 53 VLC Market for Commercial Application, By Region, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 54 VLC Market for Defense and Security Application, By Component, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 55 VLC Market for Defense and Security Application, By Region, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 56 VLC Market, By Vehicle and Transportation Application, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 57 VLC Market for Vehicle and Transportation Application, By Component, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 58 VLC Market for Vehicle and Transportation Application, By Region, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 59 VLC Market for Vehicle-To-Vehicle Communication Application, By Component, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 60 VLC Market for Vehicle-To-Vehicle Communication Application, By Region, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 61 Comparison of Position Detection With Various Technologies
Table 62 VLC Market for Location-Based Service Application, By Component, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 63 VLC Market for Location-Based Service Application, By Region, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 64 VLC Market for Intelligent Transportation System Application, By Component, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 65 VLC Market for Intelligent Transportation System Application, By Region, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 66 VLC Market for Aviation Application, By Component, 2015–2022 (USD Million)
Table 67 VLC Market for Aviation Application, By Region, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 68 List of Some Major Developments of VLC in Hospitals
Table 69 VLC Market, By Hospital Application, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 70 VLC Market for Hospital Application, By Component, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 71 VLC Market for Hospital Application, By Region, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 72 VLC Market for Asset Tracking Application, By Component, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 73 VLC Market for Asset Tracking Application, By Region, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 74 VLC Market for Patient Tracking Application, By Component, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 75 VLC Market for Patient Tracking Application, By Region, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 76 VLC Market for Data Monitoring Application, By Component, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 77 VLC Market for Data Monitoring Application, By Region, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 78 VLC Market for Underwater Communication Application, By Component, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 79 VLC Market for Underwater Communication Application, By Region, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 80 VLC Market for Hazardous Environment Application, By Component, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 81 VLC Market for Hazardous Environment Application, By Region, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 82 VLC Market, By Other Applications, 2015–2022 (USD Million)
Table 83 VLC Market for Other Applications, By Component, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 84 VLC Market for Other Applications, By Region, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 85 VLC Market for Museum Application, By Component, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 86 VLC Market for Museum Application, By Region, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 87 VLC Market for Digital Signage Application, By Component, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 88 VLC Market for Digital Signage Application, By Region, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 89 VLC Market for Hotel and Casino Application, By Component, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 90 VLC Market for Hotel and Casino Application, By Region, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 91 VLC Market for Logistics Application, By Component, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 92 VLC Market for Logistics Application, By Region, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 93 VLC Market, By Region, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 94 VLC Market in the Americas, By Application, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 95 VLC Market in Europe, By Application, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 96 VLC Market in APAC, By Application, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 97 VLC Market in RoW, By Application, 2015–2023 (USD Million)
Table 98 Ranking of Top 3 Players in the FSO Market, 2017
Table 99 Ranking of Top 5 Players in the VLC Market, 2017
Table 100 15 Most Recent Product Launches and Expansions in the VLC Market
Table 101 10 Most Recent Collaborations and Contracts in the VLC Market
Table 102 10 Most Recent Acquisitions and Partnerships in the VLC Market

List of Figures (47 Figures)

Figure 1 FSO and VLC Market: Research Design
Figure 2 Process Flow
Figure 3 Market Size Estimation Methodology: Bottom-Up Approach
Figure 4 Market Size Estimation Methodology: Top-Down Approach
Figure 5 Market Breakdown & Data Triangulation
Figure 6 Assumptions of the Research Study
Figure 7 FSO Market for Healthcare Application Estimated to Grow at the Highest Rate During the Forecast Period
Figure 8 Software Component and Bidirectional Transmission Type Would Hold the Major Share of the VLC Market By 2023
Figure 9 Hazardous Environment, Hospital, and Vehicle & Transportation—Three Most Promising Applications of VLC
Figure 10 APAC to Witness Highest Growth Rate for FSO and VLC Market During the Forecast Period
Figure 11 Standardization of Technology—Need for VLC
Figure 12 Software Component Expected to Hold the Largest Share of the VLC Market During the Forecast Period
Figure 13 FSO’s Mobile Backhaul Application and VLC’s Smart Store Application to Hold the Largest Market Shares in 2018
Figure 14 Bidirectional VLC Technology Would Dominate the Market By 2023
Figure 15 Americas is Expected to Account for the Largest Share of the FSO Market in 2018
Figure 16 VLC Market in APAC is Expected to Grow at the Highest CAGR During the Forecast Period
Figure 17 Characteristics of OWC Technologies
Figure 18 Overview of the OWC Technology
Figure 19 Ronja Device Outlook
Figure 20 FSO Provides an Alternative Solution to the Overburdened RF Technology for Outdoor Communication
Figure 21 Data Flow Process
Figure 22 Global Acceptance of Bidirectional VLC Technology By Different Industry Verticals is an Opportunity for the VLC Market
Figure 23 Value Chain Analysis: Major Value is Added During the Research, Design, and Development and Original Equipment Manufacturing Phase
Figure 24 FSO Market for Healthcare Application Expected to Grow at the Highest Rate During the Forecast Period
Figure 25 Geographic Snapshot: FSO Market
Figure 26 Americas: Snapshot of FSO Market
Figure 27 Europe: Snapshot of FSO Market
Figure 28 APAC: Snapshot of FSO Market
Figure 29 RoW: Snapshot of FSO Market
Figure 30 Photodetector Expected to Be the Fastest-Growing Component in the VLC Market During the Forecast Period
Figure 31 Bidirectional Transmission Expected to Register A Higher Growth Rate During the Forecast Period
Figure 32 Hazardous Environment Expected to Be the Fastest-Growing Application in VLC Market During the Forecast Period
Figure 33 The VLC Market for Residential Application to Grow at the Fastest Rate During the Forecast Period
Figure 34 Vehicle-To-Vehicle Communication Application to Lead the VLC Market for Vehicle and Transportation Application During the Forecast Period
Figure 35 VLC Market for Asset Tracking Application to Grow at the Highest Rate Between 2018 and 2023
Figure 36 VLC Market for Logistics Application to Grow at the Highest Rate Between 2018 and 2023
Figure 37 Geographic Snapshot: VLC Market
Figure 38 Americas: Snapshot of VLC Market
Figure 39 Europe: Snapshot of VLC Market
Figure 40 APAC: Snapshot of VLC Market
Figure 41 RoW: Snapshot of VLC Market
Figure 42 In the VLC Market, Collaborations and Partnerships Were the Key Growth Strategies Adopted Between January 2016 and June 2018
Figure 43 Evaluation Framework: VLC Market
Figure 44 Plain Tree Systems: Company Snapshot
Figure 45 Signify Holding: Company Snapshot
Figure 46 Lucibel: Company Snapshot
Figure 47 Acuity Brands: Company Snapshot

The free space optics (FSO) market is expected to grow from USD 0.27 billion in 2018 to USD 1.45 billion by 2023, at a CAGR of 39.58% between 2018 and 2023. Factors driving the growth of the FSO market include last-mile connectivity, no licensing, and alternative solutions to overburdened RF technology for outdoor networking. The visible light communication (VLC) market is expected to grow from USD 2.56 billion in 2018 to USD 75.00 billion by 2023, at a CAGR of 96.57% between 2018 and 2023. Key factors driving this growth are faster and safer data transfer, RF spectrum bandwidth crunch, and less energy consumption.

The VLC market has been segmented into different components LED, photodetector, microcontroller, and software. Software is the major component of the VLC system, and it is expected to dominate the VLC market during the forecast period. This is mainly because the two-way communication by VLC technology would allow all the electronic devices to communicate with each other and would require efficient software support. The market for photodetector is expected to grow at the highest CAGR between 2018 and 2023. This growth is attributed to the commercialization of bidirectional VLC. Photodetector will enable Li-Fi to function as a bidirectional communication system (like a conventional broadband and Wi-Fi).

The bidirectional VLC, which was commercialized in late 2017, is expected to succeed the unidirectional market and is expected to grow at a higher CAGR during the forecast period. The full utilization of special features of VLC is possible only with bidirectional transmission; hence, the technology will be adopted by all major verticals. The market will grow tremendously and surpass the unidirectional transmission type market.

The FSO and VLC markets have also been segmented on the basis of application. Among all the major applications of FSO, the mobile backhaul application is expected to account for the largest share during the forecast period. The VLC market for consumer electronics is expected to hold the largest share by 2023. The FSO and VLC markets for healthcare and hazardous environment applications are expected to grow at the highest rate during 2018–2023.

The Americas is expected to hold the largest share of the FSO and VLC market during the forecast period. This is due to the huge investments in telecom infrastructure, government funding, and increasing military expenditure in FSO technology; and the government funding and deployment of several VLC systems in public and commercial places. The FSO market in APAC is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during 2018–2023. Increasing manufacturing facilities, advanced infrastructure, and the growing computer-aided design (CAD) industry are driving the FSO market in APAC. The VLC market in APAC is expected to grow at the highest CAGR due to recent developments and increased expenditure on VLC-related R&D activities in APAC.

The hazardous environment application is expected to be the fastest-growing application in the VLC market during the forecast period. Underwater communication, vehicle and transportation, and hospital applications are expected be among the fastest-growing applications in the VLC market by 2023. In 2015, one-way communication based on the VLC technology was commercialized for applications such as street light, smart store, and museum. In 2017, two-way communication based on the VLC technology, that is, Li-Fi, was commercialized for hospitals, offices, and several other indoor applications.

Consumer Electronics

Consumer electronics used in homes and offices can be interconnected with the help of VLC technology to realize the concept of IoT in smart homes and smart offices. All consumer electronic products with LEDs such as smart phones, tablets, laptops, PCs, TVs, cameras, and others can be used as connected devices and made to communicate with each other with the help of LED lighting. Indoor networking or home networking is possible with the help of other wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi, 3G, and Wimax among others. Li-Fi acts as a complement to Wi-Fi technology and can be implemented in the existing communication system with very low additional expenditure.

Defense and Security

Given the requirement for secure communication technology, VLC is emerging as the ideal technology for the defense and security application. As VLC can operate within LoS and the data cannot be detected on the other side of the wall, this technology is a secure way of communication. Especially in the defense sector, there is a requirement for secure data transmission that cannot be intercepted by any intruder or enemy troops, for which VLC proves most useful. Apart from the security feature, the high transmission speed of VLC systems is another feature that makes it useful for the defense and security application.

Vehicle and Transportation

VLC can be used in vehicle- and transportation-related applications such as vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, location-based services (LBS), and intelligent transportation systems (ITS). For vehicle and transportation applications, there is a requirement for both one-way and two-way communications, based on the use cases. VLC helps reduce the cost of automotive applications such as ITS, as the installation cost of VLC system is comparatively lesser than that of other technologies. This is because of the existence of lighting in infrastructures, vehicles, streets, and signals. VLC can also avoid the problem of electromagnetic compatibility in ITS, which is a serious issue in RF technology.

Hospital

VLC caters to many parts of the healthcare industry. There are many benefits of using VLC in hospitals, such as asset tracking, patient tracking, and data monitoring. As other technologies such as RF cannot be used in operation theaters and near magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners due to harmful frequencies, VLC technology is gaining traction in hospitals. VLC can be used for this purpose because it neither generates any harmful waves nor causes electromagnetic interference.

Hazardous Environment:

Communication has always been a major problem in hazardous environments such as mines, petrochemical plants, and oil ridges. The use of RF or any other wireless communication technology is not possible in such environment as it poses a threat of explosion. However, VLC uses LEDs for the purpose of transmission, which is naturally safe for both communication and lighting purposes.

High installation cost of FSO technology-based devices is a hindrance for the wide level adoption of FSO systems. Furthermore, for the FSO market, reliability issues due to fading of signals during propagation act as a challenge.

The dominance of competing technologies and requirement of direct LOS inhibits the growth of the VLC market. Furthermore, for the VLC market, lack of awareness about the technology and lack of common standards are the challenging factors.

Major players in the FSO market are LightPointe Communications (US), fSONA Networks (Canada), Wireless Excellence (UK), Plaintree Systems (Canada), and Trimble Hungary (Hungary) among others. Key players of the VLC market are Signify Holding (Netherlands), Oledcomm (France), Lucibel (France), pureLiFi (UK), Acuity Brands (US), General Electric (US), Fraunhofer HHI (Germany), LVX System (US), Panasonic (Japan), and IBSENtelecom (Norway).

Critical questions would be:

• How Li-Fi will change the consumer electronics industry?
• Which applications would adopt Li-Fi technology drastically in the coming future?
• Will Li-Fi be an alternative to Wi-Fi or beacons?
• For which applications the companies can leverage the Li-Fi technology?

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