On 20 March 2025, TITAN Director Professor Harald Haas delivered a 20-minute keynote on “Recent Advances in Light-Based Wireless Networking,” at a prestigious workshop titled Free Space Optical Communication: Opportunities,…
On 20 March 2025, TITAN Director Professor Harald Haas delivered a 20-minute keynote on “Recent Advances in Light-Based Wireless Networking,” at a prestigious workshop titled Free Space Optical Communication: Opportunities, Challenges, and Use Cases in 4G/5G Cellular Networks & Li-Fi Access Points organised by the Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC) at India’s Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications.
Professor Haas, the pioneer of LiFi, offered valuable insights into the evolution of LiFi and free-space optical (FSO) technologies at the event where policymakers, government officials, industry leaders, and researchers convened to discuss the latest advancements in optical wireless communication.
Professor Haas’ talk explored how recent advancements in these technologies are shaping the future of 4G, 5G, and beyond, and addressing challenges such as interference mitigation, deployment scalability, and integration with existing telecom infrastructure. Professor Haas’ research has played a pivotal role in driving global standardisation efforts and demonstrating the vast potential of light-based wireless networking in real-world applications.
Optical wireless communication, including free-space optical (FSO) technology and LiFi, has gained traction as a transformative solution for high-speed, secure, and cost-effective wireless connectivity. FSO plays a critical role in non-terrestrial networks (NTNs), where it enables robust data transmission across vast distances, bridging connectivity gaps in rural and remote regions. Meanwhile, LiFi—using the visible light and infrared spectrum—has emerged as a complementary technology to radio frequency (RF) solutions, promising enhanced network efficiency and improved quality of service for indoor users.
The TEC workshop underscored India’s commitment to technological standardisation and innovation in the telecom sector, ensuring the country remains at the forefront of next-generation communication networks. With participation from government agencies, academia, and industry experts, the event aimed to foster critical discussions on the fundamental principles and network architectures of free-space optical (FSO) communication:
Professor Haas’ participation in this prestigious forum underscoreed the growing importance of optical wireless communication and research hubs like TITAN in the global telecom landscape. As nations work towards building more resilient, high-speed, and secure networks, light-based wireless technologies are poised to play an integral role in shaping the next era of digital transformation.
TITAN is part of the Federated Telecoms Hubs (FTH) alongside CHEDDAR, HASC, and JOINER. Together, we conduct world-leading R&D and create a new knowledge-sharing framework, roadmap technology, develop skills, and engage with standards while instilling a commercialisation-focused mindset across academia.
If you have any questions about the contents of this article, please contact titan-enquiries@eng.cam.ac.uk
