Visible light communications based on street lighting

Modern street lighting represents the pervasive utilization of light-emitting diode (LED) lamps to illuminate urban and rural areas. In addition, LED-based lighting sources can also be utilized for outdoor data communications and localization. The replacement of traditional street incandescent and fluorescent-based lights by highly efficient LED lights is taking place on a global level. This chapter highlights the main features of LED public lighting systems that could be used for visible light communications (VLC). First, a description of state-of-the-art street lighting, including its main functions, control systems, and typical parameters, is provided. Then, the main aspects associated with lighting performance and aging are outlined. The remainder of the chapter is devoted to recent studies on public lighting for VLC purposes, focusing on ray tracing simulations, noise parameters, and delay profiles among other topics.