Abstract—Wireless communication is the need of the hour. In the present fast paced life, there is a strong urgency for the improvement in the means of communication. A Wireless network using Visible Light Communication (VLC) is a newly emerging trend that can easily pave the way for a comfortable wire-free future. The usage of light as a source of communication is an innovative and not-yet commercialized technology. Such a technology is useful to envision a smarter personal wireless network, underwater communication and also in applications that provide mobile services. This paper aims to explain the concept of VLC through its application to provide Wireless Internet. It elaborates the use of Low Power Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) for transmission and reception along with the current and future prospects of this technology. It also deals with the technical specifications for constructing such a network for real-time purposes. Index Terms—Visible Light Communication, Low Power, LEDs, Wireless Communication. I. INTRODUCTION Light is an indispensable part of our lives. It’s a part of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visible to the human eye. Artificially created as well as naturally available light is abundant and has never been truly exploited for its value. It lies in the frequency range of 400-790 THz and the wavelength range of 380-750nm. Since the advent of the incandescent light bulb, till today, the concept of lighting is constantly in a phase of growth. From the original Tungsten (Wr) filament light bulbs to the fluorescent light bulbs, and also to the present Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs), there has been nothing but a great surge of development. Considering the tremendous speed of light (3x10 8 meters per second), it is a useful tool for high speed requirements of communication especially over very large distances. The medium for such a communication is an optical fiber. A hair-line thin tube is the channel to transport light from one point to another. Light always propagates linearly but at the instance of a change in medium, there is a deviation of the light rays. This property of refraction is the basic nature of communication. But if the light deviates, the complete information transmitted is not sent to the receiver. So the concept of Total Internal Reflection comes into picture. This is the main idea behind Optical fibers. The angle of incidence of the light from the beginning of the fiber to the nearest boundary is lower than the critical angle which causes the light to reflect back into the inner surface rather than being transmitted away from the fiber. Such reflections maintain the entire stream and thus Manuscript received September 20, 2011. Akassh. A. Mishra is working with Hewlett Packard, Bangalore, India (e-mail: akassh.mishra@gmail.com). Neelesh S. Salian is pursuing his Bachelor of Engineering from St Francis Institute of Technology, University of Mumbai, India. (e-mail: nss7790@gmail. com). Optical fiber communication is possible. II. WIRELESS COMMUNICATION The 21 st century has seen a growing demand for wire-free technology considering the extreme data requirements and the need for mobility. Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN) have resolved the issues of mobility and high speed data transmissions. Moreover they are useful in the applications where wired technology is impractical. Wireless communication has thus been uplifted to a utility-like status considering the immense dependency. These networks are scaled to private home networks, organizational private networks and even a larger metropolitan area network for an entire city. Wireless data transmission is achieved through the electromagnetic waves, specifically radio waves (spectrum range for wireless communication: 9 kHz to 300GHz). The transmission can wirelessly occur because of microwave communication for long-range communication and even using Infrared (IR) for short-range communication like remote control. A. Advantages 1) Any type of data can be wirelessly transmitted to another suitable device. Audio, video, internet, text are easily transmitted over the wireless medium to a compatible device (receiver) 2) The term ‘wireless’ suggests the lack of any physical wiring required between communicating devices. Thus it proves to be a cost effective measure. 3) The infrastructure for radio transmission has spanned the globe and hence the technology can be implemented anywhere. The cellular base stations with radio masks have already been set up and with the availability of wireless communicating devices; this spectrum can be easily exploited. 4) Wireless communication sees no physical hindrances. The radio waves can transmit through walls and thus a entire household can answer to a single network. 5) Portable wireless devices require the consistent and high speed data on the move and thus wireless technology has made it easier to access data. B. Disadvantages 1) Transmission Capacity: Wireless communicating networks utilize radio waves which has a limited bandwidth for transmission and reception. The current demand for wireless data is exceeding as we speak and considering the frequency limitations, the spectrum seems insufficient. Though this technology provides mobility, it restricts the usage considering the spectral availability. 2) Energy: The depleting energy resources only provoke the world to become wary of the excessive use of energy. So any new technology is carefully monitored to avoid Internet using Visible Light Communication Akassh A. Mishra and Neelesh S. Salian IACSIT International Journal of Engineering and Technology, Vol. 3, No. 5, October 2011 577