The potential for optical wireless communications to augment the
inadequacies of radio frequency
By Michael Abad-Santos, Senior Vice President
of Business Development and Strategy at BridgeComm
The rapid increase in 5G network connectivity is not
without cybersecurity risks, particularly as it expands in use with IoT
devices. The susceptibility of these networks is partly due to the complex web
of technologies, infrastructures and operations that make up 5G. Bad actors can
gain access and destabilize an entire system merely by hacking a connected
sensor or an application programming interface (API), as was the case in the
SolarWinds affair. Considering the sheer expansiveness of IoT devices - from
smart cities to doorbells - 5G security risks will have societal-wide impacts.
Moreover, while radio frequency (RF) remains the standard for wireless
communications, IoT network signals and the sensitive information they carry,
which can often include payment-related data, will be vulnerable to interception
and potentially decryption.
Resolving the Network Security
Issues of RF and 5G
Winning the shadow arms race of cybersecurity
necessitates that security schemes constantly evolve. Unfortunately, this arms
race won't end when one side taps out; as long as there is sensitive
information, bad actors will try to steal it. Outwitting threat actors and
resolving the network security issues of RF and 5G network communications will
require a more secure method, one that works to avoid the base signal from ever
being intercepted. Such a method exists through optical wireless communication
(OWC), which has cost-effective solutions and services that support the demands
of end-users for data, speed and security, while also possessing
high-throughput connectivity across space, air, land and sea domains.
What is OWC, and why is it a
better alternative to RF
OWC uses lasers to send information to intended
recipients through line-of-sight technology. And by transmitting data through
precise and narrow beams of light, OWC is extremely difficult to intercept and
nearly impossible to detect. Although OWC sounds like something out of a
science-fiction movie, it is a veteran technology of the private sector and a
burgeoning resource in the commercial sector, serving for decades as a critical
tool for NASA in projects such as the Laser
Communications Relay Demonstration and the Orion
Exploration Mission 2 Optical Communications.
Several government agencies in the U.S Department of Defense rely on its relatively
untraceable nature, and plenty of commercial organizations are looking to OWC
for O inter-satellite links as well as space to ground links.
License-free, wireless and unregulated, OWC has a
significant advantage over many other communication solutions when considering
the ever-increasing cost of 5G RF spectrum acquisition, which recently topped
at $81.11billion. OWC is also
eye-safe due to its use of low-powered telescopes and infrared lasers in the
terahertz spectrum. In addition to its superior security, it is faster and more
reliable than RF, already augmenting existing features of RF and fiber. While
OWC faces challenges from interference caused by rain, thick clouds and fog,
snow and dense pollution, its capabilities have not stagnated but continue to
advance with each new industry development and innovation.
Securing the Future of 5G
Despite the clear security advantages of OWC, it is
not a main part of the 5G discussion because of its relative newness to the
commercial space. Nevertheless, the problems associated with the insufficient
perimeter surrounding the billions of IoT devices and the preference of
Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile for RF millimeter wave (mmWave) for backhaul
will not get resolved without organizations, both private and commercial,
leveraging OMC.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael Abad-Santos is senior vice
president of business development and strategy at BridgeComm, bringing more than
20 years of experience in the telecommunications and satellite industries with
a focus on the government market sectors, both domestic and international.
Prior to BridgeComm, Michael served as chief commercial officer at satellite
communications solutions provider Trustcomm, Inc. before joining LeoSat
Enterprises as senior vice president, Americas, overseeing commercial
activities, strategy development and execution in the Americas region as well
as government activities worldwide. In addition to helping secure pre-series A
investments of $20 million, he helped secure two strategic investment partners
and more than $2B million in pre-launch memorandums of understanding (MOUs) for
commercial services.