Faculty and students from Ball State's Institute for Wireless Innovation (IWI) are installing free-space optics (FSO) communications equipment developed by fSONA, a provider of optical wireless solutions for the military, homeland security and service provider markets. IWI and fSona, which has its headquarters in Richmond, British Columbia, recently entered into a research agreement.

"The project will allow students to determine the viability of using lasers to transmit broadband communications between businesses in nearby locations," said Steve Jones,  IWI's director. "FSO communications are much cheaper and faster to install than fiber optics — which require installing lines across blocks or miles — yet they provide very high bandwidth, up to 1.5 gigabits per second. FSO technology has the potential to greatly lower the cost and time of deployment for broadband communications."

FSO communications, also called free-space photonics (FSP) or optical wireless, refers to the transmission of modulated visible or infrared beams. Like fiber optics, FSO uses lasers to transmit data, but instead of enclosing the data stream in a fiber-optic band, it is transmitted through the air. FSO transmits invisible, eye-safe light beams using low-power infrared lasers.

FSO systems can function over distances of several miles. As long as there is a clear line of sight between the source and the destination and enough transmitter power, FSO communication is possible.

"fSONA's SONAbeam  products represent a proven solution for broadband communications," said Sunny Taylor, fSONA's chief executive officer. "In addition to the deployment at Ball State, a number of universities worldwide are using SONAbeam to connect their campus buildings with secure, high-speed wireless networking."

For more information, visit www.fsona.com or www.free-space-optics.org.

(Note to editors: For more information, contact Jones at sjones@bsu.edu or (765) 285-1889.)