Feasibility Analysis for Deployment of Free Space Optical Links in Urban Coastal Environments

ABSTRACT Optical Wireless Communication (OWC) is a highly congruous communication system for the emerging Fifth Generation (5G) and Sixth Generation (6G) communication environments. The authors have discussed the efficacy of a terrestrial Free Space Optics (FSO) link in the coastal urban environments. Performance metrics such as received signal power and Link Margin (LM) are determined and hence used to judge the effectuation of the FSO model under consideration. Fog‐Evoked Signal Degradation (FESD) is the indispensable contributor to atmospheric attenuation. Various models have been taken into account for the computation of FESD considering four consecutive months (November to February) for six consecutive years from 2018 to 2023. Mathematical analysis has been carried out from the real‐time measured visibility data and wind speed values. Also, the altitude of the location has been considered for computing the scattering and Turbulence‐Induced Attenuation (TIA). The LM is derived uniquely for summer and winter seasons to determine the feasibility for the establishment of the FSO link. For the purpose of the performance analysis, all three of the optical window wavelengths 850, 1300, and 1550 nm have been taken into account. Both the simulation results and mathematical estimates are used to compute the effective maximum achievable link range, link availability, and minimum visibility requirement for the specific geographic location under consideration.