range: inter-building connections, also called free-space optical communications (FSO). Ultra-long range: Laser communication in space especially for inter-satellite links and establishment of satellite constellations. Recent trends In January 2015, IEEE 802.15 formed a Task Group to write a revision to IEEE 802.15.7-2011 that accommodates infrared and near ultraviolet wavelengths, in addition to visible light, and adds options such as Optical Camera Communications and LiFi. At long range OWC applications a 1 Gbit/s - 60 km range link between ground to aircraft at 800 km/h speed has been demonstrated, "Extreme Test for the ViaLight Laser Communication Terminal MLT-20 – Optical Downlink from a Jet Aircraft at 800 km/h", DLR and EADS December 2013. On consumer devices and short-range OWC applications on phones; Charge and receive data with light at your smartphone: TCL Communication/ALCATEL ONETOUCH and Sunpartner Technologies announces the first fully integrated solar smartphone. March 2014. On ultra-long range OWC applications the NASA’s Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration (LLCD) transmitted data from lunar orbit to Earth at a rate of 622 Megabits-per-second (Mbps), November 2013. The Next Generation of OWC / Visible Light Communications demonstrated 10 Mbit/s transmission with Polymer Light-Emitting Diodes or OLED. On OWC research activities there is a European research project action IC1101 OPTICWISE of the COST Programme (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) funded by the European Science Foundation, allowing the coordination of nationally funded research on a European level. The Action aims to serve as a high-profile consolidated European scientific platform for interdisciplinary optical wireless communication (OWC) research activities. It was launched in November 2011 and will run until November 2015. More than 20 countries represented. The consumer and industry OWC technologies adoption is represented by the Li-Fi Consortium, founded in 2011 is a Non-profit organization, devoted to introduce optical wireless technology. Promotes the adoption of Light Fidelity (Li-Fi) products. An example of Asian awareness about OWC is the VLCC visible light communication consortium in Japan, established at 2007 in order to realize safe, ubiquitous telecommunication system using visible light through the activities of market research, promotion, and standardization. In the USA there are several OWC initiatives, including the "Smart Lighting Engineering Research Center", founded in 2008 by the National Science Foundation (NSF) is a partnership of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (lead institution), Boston University and the University of New Mexico. Outreach partners are Howard University, Morgan State University, and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. References Further reading Optical