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Wireless infrastructure specialist Ruckus announced the expansion of its line of Smart 802.11ac ZoneFlex access points (APs) with the launch of four models.
The expanded lineup includes the ZoneFlex R500 and ZoneFlex R600 indoor dual-band (2.4/5 GHz) mid-range models, and two ZoneFlex T300 Series outdoor 802.11ac APs, the T300e omnidirectional model, which includes support for optional external 5 GHz antennas, and the T301s 120 degree beam model with a sector adaptive antenna.
The indoor and outdoor 802.11ac APs integrate the company’s BeamFlex+ technology for interference mitigation in challenging radio frequency (RF) environments, as well as ChannelFly dynamic channel management technology for predictive channel selection based on real-time capacity analysis of all RF channels.
“These new models improve upon the past by proliferating 11ac technology across a large swath of price and performance bands within the indoor portfolio and bringing to market a high capacity and industry-leading lightweight and compact form factor to outdoor deployments,” Greg Beach, vice president of product management for Ruckus, told eWeek. “The main value proposition is around optimizing the client and user experience with the best performing WLAN. Second to this, is offering this best-in-class performance at the lowest total cost of ownership.”
BeamFlex+ can enhance the user experience by helping to ensure a consistent wireless signal, and also provides a stronger device signal by adapting to a mobile device’s orientation and location.
The R500 indoor 802.11ac AP has a suggested price of $645, and the R600 indoor 802.11ac AP is listed for $795.The ZoneFlex T300e outdoor 802.11ac AP has a suggested price of $1,395, while the ZoneFlex T301s outdoor AP is $1,495.
In addition, the company’s ZoneDirector-managed and standalone availability, and SmartCell Gateway (SCG) 200 and virtual SmartCell Gateway (vSCG) support for all four of the ZoneFlex APs will occur worldwide in the fourth quarter of the year.
All of the ZoneFlex APs also support Ruckus Smart Wireless Services for expanded deployment flexibility and management options.
These cloud-based Smart WiFi technologies include Smart Positioning Technology (SPoT) service, a cloud-based Smart positioning location-based service (LBS), and the Smart Access Management Service (SAMs) for better enabling public WiFi hotspots.
“Access to WiFi wherever people and sensors congregate is important – indoors or outdoors. Wifi is an increasingly relevant means of connectivity for user experience and economics, IoT connectivity, operator offload, and operator subscriber retention,” Beach said. “It is also enables enterprises and SPs alike to better understand footfall traffic and leverage for user engagement. While outdoor deployments are certainly picking up wider interest, Ruckus has always excelled in outdoor deployments as they have a bias to be right in the middle of a challenging RF environment – the Ruckus sweet spot.”