Coverage Aspects of Indoor VLC Networks

Abstract

Achieving both illumination and data reception with probability almost one inside a specific indoor environment is not an effortless task in visible light communication (VLC) networks. Several factors such as error probability, transmitted power, dimming factor, or node failure affect coverage probability to a large extent. To assure reliable signal reception, a dense transmitting network is required on the ceiling. In this paper, we investigate how the key factors contribute to a network deployment with a reliable degree of coverage at a specific horizontal plane. Considering that VLC is set to be one of the most challenging technologies for domestic applications in 5G networks, the analysis on coverage issues discussed herein is of particular interest in practical scenarios. © 2015 IEEE.