The market for FSO is in the growth phase, while the market for VLC is currently in the introductory phase; both the markets are expected to grow further in the coming years. The FSO market is expected to grow from USD 116.7 million in 2015 to USD 940.2 million by 2020, at a CAGR of 51.8% during the forecast period. The VLC market is expected to grow from USD 327.8 million in 2015 to USD 8.50 billion by 2020, at a CAGR of 91.8% between 2015 and 2020. The factors driving the FSO market are last mile connectivity, license-free, and alternative solution of overburdened RF technology for outdoor networking. On the other hand, the growth of the VLC market is driven by the factors such as faster and safer data transfer than other competing technologies, RF spectrum bandwidth crunch, no bandwidth limitation, less energy consumption, and greener, cleaner, and safer technology.
Breakdown of profile of primary participants:
• By Company Type: Tier 1 – 55 %, Tier 2 – 20% and Tier 3 – 25%
• By Designation: C level – 60%, Director level – 25%, Others – 15%
• By Region: North America – 10%, Europe – 20%, APAC – 40%, RoW – 30%
Commercialization of the technology for two-way communication is the key opportunity for the VLC market:
The ongoing research for overcoming the problem of signal fading due to environmental interference can generate new opportunities for the FSO market such as affordable extension in existing fiber network, increasing number of space research programs, and replacement of old technologies with FSO technology for enterprise connectivity. However, factors such as global acceptance by the electronic devices manufacturers, commercialization of the technology for two-way communication, and government funding can generate huge opportunities for VLC market in the near future.
