General21.02.2012

Ruckus Delivers Operators More Capacity and Performance with Higher Density 802.11n AC-Powered Outdoor Wi-Fi Access Points

With Integrated AC Power, Optional Fiber Interface and Support for Up to 500 Clients, the ZoneFlex 7762-AC is Ideal for Operators Looking to Offer Public Access, Data Offload, and Wireless Backhaul

Ruckus Wireless has announced the immediate availability of the ZoneFlex 7762-AC, and the ZoneFlex 7762-S-AC, the industry’s first 802.11n outdoor AC-powered Wi-Fi access points (APs) that integrate Ruckus-patented BeamFlex adaptive antenna array technology for unmatched range and reliability.

The 7762-AC line is ideal for mobile operators’ looking to provide more ubiquitous, reliable, high-capacity Wi-Fi coverage, improve the subscriber experience, and support a growing number of smartphones and mobile devices connecting to their networks. With AC power support, the 7762-AC offers fast and easy mounting to street lights, traffic controls, and other street furniture, to quickly light up outdoor metropolitan and other high-density areas with high-performance Wi-Fi.

In addition to public access services, the 7762-AC is well suited for small cell wireless backhaul and mobile data offload, and is designed to be co-located with small cell base stations to minimise expensive site acquisition.

“With so much data traffic clogging cellular networks, operators are looking to re-architect by offloading data traffic to Wi-Fi and certain core processing functions to the edge of their mobile networks,” said Michael Fletcher, Sales Director for Ruckus Wireless, Sub-Saharan Africa. “While unlicensed Wi-Fi was widely considered unreliable and uncontrollable by carriers, with recent advances in the technology, it is now being embraced by operators worldwide as one of the most economical tools for adding capacity, coverage and performance to support a new class of higher speed subscribers.
 
“Our new 7762-AC access points solve these problems with easy deployment anywhere AC power is available,” Fletcher continued. “And with a full range of patented Smart Wi-Fi technologies integrated into each device, the 7762-AC offers the industry’s best range, reliability and capacity over other 802.11n outdoor AP alternatives at a much more attractive price point.”

Product Details
The ZoneFlex 7762-AC series is a family of two-stream, 3×3, dual-band 802.11n access points capable of delivering up to 12dBi of signal gain and 15dB of interference rejection and 600 Mbps of capacity. The hardened outdoor AC-powered, 802.11n APs (IP-67 rated) are ideal for high-density user environments such as stadiums, convention centers, shopping malls, and other public areas, and can support up to 500 clients per access point.

The ZoneFlex 7762-AC is available in two models: the 7762-AC, which integrates a 360° directional smart antenna array; and the 7762-S-AC, a sectorised array model that focuses Wi-Fi coverage within 120° beam width. Additionally, the ZoneFlex 7762-AC supports a number of advanced features designed to increase the performance and stability of carrier-class Wi-Fi networks and to simplify deployment. These include:

• Optional, field-installable fiber interface for easily adding backhaul capacity supporting EPON, GEPON, CWDM, and 1000Base-LX,

• 802.3af, power over Ethernet output to drive attached devices such as IP surveillance camera,

• Patented multi-element adaptive antenna array technology that automatically extends signal range and increases link reliability by selecting the best signal path for each client,

• Smart Mesh support for reliable and adaptive long-range, non-line of site backhaul,

• Predictive channel optimisation using ChannelFly technology to maximise network capacity and client throughput in high-density, noisy Wi-Fi environments,

• An “Any Angle” mounting bracket to simplify installation, providing maximum flexibility.

Designed in an ultra small form factor that weighs less than 2.2 kilograms (5 lbs.), the 7762-AC features separate radios for access and backhaul traffic to deliver optimal throughput to clients throughout the network. The 7762-AC can be deployed stand-alone or centrally managed through the Ruckus ZoneDirector controller or wireless services gateway.

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