Aruba Networks announced two new deployments of next-generation Wi-Fi technology. The company said its 802.11ac equipment is being used at both Stony Brook University and the Australian Catholic Education Office in Sydney.
Aruba said the latter is one of the largest installations of 802.11ac to date, with more than 30,000 students, teachers and administrators using the service at 39 secondary schools in Sydney. The installation was done with system integrator Matrix CNI.
The Catholic Education Office had an 802.11n network in its Sydney diocese that had been running for five years. But access was restricted to notebooks that could access 802.11n at 5 GHz; now, users can connect up to three devices.
“Since that time, the demand for Wi-Fi across our network has grown exponentially among our students, teachers and administrators. We have also seen a significant shift in both the type and number of devices seeking access to the network,” said Milton Scott, CTO of the Catholic Education Office.
At Stony Brook University, which is part of the state university system in New York, Aruba has deployed 802.11ac in select parts of campus, which already has an 802.11n system from Aruba with 3,000 access points. However, the school needed more capacity in high-traffic areas including its Javits Lecture Center, which encompasses 10 lecture halls that are used by about 17,000 students weekly.
“We’ve seen a remarkable increase in mobile and wireless devices on campus and this has resulted in extraordinary demand on our wireless network,” said James Hart, director of network services at Stony Brook University. “With nearly 1,000 mobile devices accessing the network from Javits Lecture Center alone, and this number expecting to increase, it was clear that we needed to make the move to 802.11ac in high density areas to support our students’ and faculty’s use of the network.”
The Lecture Center now has 44 of Aruba’s AP-225 802.11ac access points to support interactive classroom activities. Stony Brook has already completed design plans for expanding 802.11ac in its sports complex and is in the planning phase for extending the new network to residence halls.
–New Wi-Fi network installations at some of MGM Resorts International’s big-name Las Vegas properties have been completed, with work from Mobilitie LLC and Cisco.
The roll-out includes the Monte Carlo, New York-New York, Luxor and Excalibur, and the installations cover the low-rise public areas including pools, casinos, lobbies and restaurants.
The installations at Bellagio, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay and The Mirage were all completed last year; and MGM said that the Wi-Fi network at Aria, Vdara and The Shops at Crystals has been integreated with the new system to provide seamless connectivity as people move between properties.
The Wi-Fi connectivity is complimentary in public spaces, with the option to upgrade to higher bandwidth.
—Ubiquiti Networks Inc. unveiled its next-gen airMax, airFiber and EdgeMax products for fixed wireless access at last week’s WISPapalooza 2013 in Las Vegas. The new products are expected to ship this quarter. airMax is used for point-to-point and point-to-mulitpoint fixed wireless access; airFiber is the company’s point-to-point wireless backhaul platform; and EdgeMax is its switching and routing platform for the network edge.
“We believe fixed wireless access technology is among the most cost effective and capital-efficient ways to bring Internet connectivity to underserved communities around the world,” said Robert J. Pera, Ubiquiti’s CEO. “With our next-generation infrastructure platform, our WISP customers can tap into a large, high growth market that is uniquely positioned to help close the digital divide and create greater social equality.”
