The ongoing development of data networks includes improving wireless access to useable bandwidth. Wireless access, for example, enables mobile communication and more concentrated management of operator-maintained physical network infrastructure assets. Wireless data networks that use radio frequency (RF) technologies (e.g., cellular networks, WiFi) are often bandwidth limited within defined bands of spectrum. In an area with a high concentration of client devices relative to a bandwidth allocation managed by an access point (e.g., a cellular base station), each client device can be restricted to a few kilobits (kb) of data throughput. Additionally, the frequency spectrum bands designated for cellular data traffic are typically licensed to operators that pass on the licensing costs to subscribers.
Free space optics (FSO) is a wireless technology that utilizes optical frequencies. A FSO data link can provide orders of magnitude more bandwidth than a RF data link. However, previously available FSO transceivers are restricted to point-to-point links because of the high directivity of the light beams used to transmit data. In turn, previously available FSO data links include a discrete FSO transceiver at each end of a point-to-point link. In order to increase the number of data links a single FSO transceiver can service scanning systems have been proposed that include mechanically changing the transceiver sighting and using active beam deflectors to track moving clients, and/or systematically connect to a sequence of several clients in their view. However, previously available FSO transceivers are large and rely on precise sighting, and in turn, the scanning systems are costly, delicate, slow, cumbersome, mechanically complex, and power hungry. Alternatively, previously available multi-beam FSO endpoint assemblies include a curved-surface that is tessellated with an array of discrete FSO transceivers. Each FSO transceiver covers a solid angle of space emanating from a respective point on the curved-surface. Such an assembly is large, expensive, difficult to assemble and repair, and difficult to align so that individual beams are transmitted or received from the intended points on the curved-surface. In view of the aforementioned issues, the scalability of FSO networks using previously available multi-beam FSO transceivers is quite limited.
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