Converged 5G and Fiber-Wireless Access Networks Enhanced with Visible Light Communications and Steerable Infrared Beam

In this paper, we propose a new architecture to leverage visible light communication (VLC)and steerable infrared (IR)beam to enhance the wireless data transmission rate of indoor users in the so-called fiber-wireless (FiWi)access networks. In the proposed architecture, VLC access points (APs), referred to as light fidelity (LiFi)APs, besides WiFi APs are converged with fifth-generation (5G)cellular networks to provide ultra-reliable and low latency communication (URLLC). In the proposed architecture, steerable IR beams are utilized as backhaul links of LiFi APs, as well as multi-beam VLC link are implemented by using the on chip optical phased array. In this paper, we highlight potentials and benefits of this architecture and outline future research directions to address the challenges.