HYBRID RADIO-OPTICAL COMMUNICATION TO IMPROVE INDOOR TELECOMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS

This work experimentally proposes a hybrid system that combines Radio Frequency and Visible Light Communication technologies to mitigate signal non-uniformity in indoor environments. Additionally, an experimental study on the degradation of the signal-to-noise ratio of a commercial broadcast signal at a frequency of 103.5 MHz is presented. This analysis was carried out at different levels of the ITM University Institution in Medellín, including basements 1 and 2, and focused exclusively on signal reception. The results were compared with the initial measurements taken, showing that the pure RF signal, captured conventionally, had an average signal-to-noise ratio of 4.93 dB. After implementing the hybrid system, the average signal-to-noise ratio increased significantly to 36.9 dB. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of the technological convergence proposed in this study to improve signal quality in multiple demanding application scenarios, such as the Internet of Things, Smart Cities, Indoor Positioning, Sustainable Mining, Marine Monitoring, and others.