Aircision and TNO hit 10 Gb/s in long-range FSO tests

After announcing last year that the two sides were teaming up to advance free-space optics (FSO) technology for use in 5G connectivity, TNO and Aircision are now announcing the successful completion of their field tests. In the tests, conducted over a distance of 2.5 km between the tower of TNO’s laser communications facility at the Oude Waalsdorperweg in the Hague and the Luchtwachttoren in Scheveningen, the duo managed to reach its goal of a wireless link of 10 gigabits per second, a benchmark widely acknowledged as the measure for potential use in the 5G infrastructure.

Now that the duo has reached this mark, both parties have ambitions to develop FSO ground-to-ground systems that can deliver 100 Gb/s at distances of 10 km and beyond in an effort to secure broadband connectivity all over the Netherlands, Europe and the world – including remote areas where the current infrastructure fails to reach. “This field test is crucial for our mission to build high-performing FSO systems that meet the demand for worldwide connectivity,” says Aircision CEO Luis Oliveira. “By demonstrating that our technology works at 10 Gb/s and 2.5 km, we’re on our way to outperform the technical specifications set by current E-band solutions.”