Chinese powerhouse Huawei has launched its enterprise-level 802.11ac Wi-Fi access point (AP) products, which offer Gigabit wireless access for business WLANs to support the ever-increasing proliferation of mobile handsets and tablets in the workforce, both company-issued and on a bring-your-own-device (BYOD) basis.
The APs, which offer enough throughput to replace a wired LAN installation, are now globally available through Huawei’s partners and VARs.
“The rapid growth and development of smart devices, mobile networks as well as the increasing trend towards BYOD has brought about tremendous change in enterprise business models of work and operations,” said Fan Hongwei, WLAN product director for the Huawei Enterprise Networking Product Line. “In line with our dedication to customer-centric innovation, the launch of the 802.11ac APs are a reflection of Huawei Enterprise’s commitment to developing and providing cutting-edge technologies, so as to provide a better way for enterprises to improve connectivity and optimize their businesses.”
The launch involves two models, AP7030DN-AC and AP7130DN-AC. Both support throughput of up to 1.3Gbps at the 5G frequency, and 1.75Gbps at dual frequency. That means that they can support high-bandwidth applications like HD video streaming, multimedia activities and cloud desktop access.
802.11ac, sometimes called Wi-Fi “5G,” is a new IEEE standard for super-fast Wi-Fi that debuted in July 2012. Some consumer options have already hit the market, but enterprise releases have been slow to make it to market. Huawei demonstrated its Gigabit-level flow rate for enterprises for the international audience at Interop Mumbai in October 2012.
