Future of Free Space Communication Systems (FSCS): An Overview

Wireless communication systems become more demanding in the current era due to new bandwidth hungry applications: video-on-demand, online streaming, online sale, and purchase and cloud computing. High data rates applications increase the requirements for wireless capacity. The available radio and microwave frequency bands are dense enough to be used for launching additional high bandwidth applications. There is a dire requirement to have such a technology, which can fulfill the current demands. Optical communication is an emerging technology being used to overcome the scarcity of radio frequency (RF) spectrum. Optical technology has been vulnerable by its deteriorating links over long distances due to atmospheric turbulence and severe weather conditions as well as signal attenuation by external noise. In the paper, the focus is given on the detailed review of the free-space communication system (FSCS) and to evaluate the performance and to recommend for future communication systems. An analysis of the signal behavior affected by weather attenuation and atmospheric turbulence under different turbulent models is also developed. The main contribution of the article is to highlight the research gaps in the area of wireless communication and recommend FSCS as a future promising communication technology among the individual's optical and RF technologies.