Carrier Wi-Fi Gets Smarter?

New Technologies Assuage Customer Dissatisfaction

On top of the 9dBi signal gain achieve through focused beamforming of Wi-Fi signals that concentrates the energy in a given direction, this noise cancelling feature, available only in intelligent antenna array systems, can add up to -17 dB in gain from rejecting unwanted interference.

Think of it this way. Imagine a huge ballroom with 1000 people crowded around. When you enter the ballroom you call to me at the other end, but I can’t hear you. There’s too much noise. If you were to speak into a tube and I were to put that tube over my ear, voilà. This makes communication much more reliable between us. Simply put, this is how Smart Wi-Fi systems eliminate much of the noise that causes the technology to be so unreliable.

The Time Is Now

Smart Wi-Fi couldn’t have come at a better time. Businesses of all shapes and sizes have been looking to adopt Wi-Fi in a big way but haven’t taken the plunge because of their concerns over Wi-Fi’s reliability, cost and ease of use.

Ironically, two of the major tenants of the Wi-Fi religion have been the technology’s low cost and ease of use. But for businesses, Wi-Fi has been anything but cheap and easy.

While installing a single access point at home is fairly straightforward, installing a network of access points is not. IT staff don’t have the time to perform lengthy Wi-Fi site surveys and RF planning every time there’s a change.

Another saving grace with Smart Wi-Fi is a concept called Smart Meshing. Meshing allows a Wi-Fi access point simply to be plugged into a power source without any connecting network cables. The access point uses the smart antenna system to establish a reliable and resilient backhaul connection with another access point that DOES connect to a wire while repeating the signal to provide connections to nearby clients.

Smart Meshing means huge cost and time savings for any hotel, school or hospital that doesn’t have Ethernet jacks on every wall or doesn’t want the disruption, time and cost to run cable everywhere.

The combination of Smart Wi-Fi technology, 802.11n and wireless meshing now enables enterprises to deploy a pervasive wireless LAN in half the time, at half the cost and three times the performance. In an economically downturned world, that’s real value.

So What Is the Point?

Wi-Fi must evolve to become more like a wire. With millions of expensive new Wi-Fi-enabled devices hitting the streets every year, coupled with more sophisticated HD video applications, the pressure is on. But despite advances that speed Wi-Fi up, reliability and range must be improved.

Fortunately, Smart Wi-Fi addresses neglected physical layer issues that have held it back – opening the door to a world of new applications. Smart Wi-Fi is breathing new life into an old technology, enabling it to become the ubiquitous, reliable and easy to use utility that everyone wants. And it’s about time.

David Callisch is the vice president of marketing at Ruckus Wireless.

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