Ruckus ZoneFlex R710 is First 802.11ac Wave 2 Access Point

The new Ruckus ZoneFlex R710 delivers Multi-Gigabit Wi-Fi performance based on newest 802.11ac Wave 2 technology.

Ruckus Wireless today unveiled the Ruckus ZoneFlex R710 access point. The  Ruckus ZoneFlex R710 is the industry’s first Wi-Fi Access Point based on Wave 2 features of the 802.11ac standard that extends Wi-Fi to enable multi-gigabit Wi-Fi performance.

“We are at an inflection point in the industry as we deal with insatiable demand for wireless capacity and speed,” said Vijay Sammeta, Chief Information Officer for the City of San Jose. “We need to be able to plan and prepare for devices and services we haven’t even seen yet. Wave 2 represents an investment in a platform that not only meets our current needs, it will also meet those in the future that we can’t even predict. Delivering our Wickedly Fast Wi-Fi service has become a distinct competitive advantage for the City of San Jose. The Ruckus ZoneFlex R710 helps us take this to the next level.  It’s simply the best performing Wi-Fi access point we’ve ever deployed, even without multi-user MIMO clients.” 

The new Ruckus ZoneFlex R710 supports simultaneous transmission of multiple client streams to different devices over the same frequency. This new capability called multi-user multiple input/multiple output (MU-MIMO). This enables over two times the density of mobile devices versus Wave 1, and aggregate data rates exceeding two gigabits per second.

Among the first organizations to deploy the ZoneFlex R710 within a production environment, the City of San Jose, CA sees big value in the migration to new 802.11ac Wave 2 technology.

The Ruckus ZoneFlex R710 access point supports up to 4 spatial streams and 500 concurrent clients.  Additionally, each ZoneFlex R710 access point integrates the patented BeamFlex+ adaptive antenna technology, designed to enhance the operation of Wave 2 802.11ac technology by optimizing antenna coverage on a per client, per transmission basis.

With 4 discrete, dual-band smart antenna arrays, the Ruckus ZoneFlex R710 is capable of dynamically creating over 4,000 unique directional antenna patterns per radio, mitigating up to 15dB of RF interference while also reducing co-channel interference.

Dual-polarized smart antennas also allow the R710 to automatically adapt to the changing physical orientation of mobile client devices such as smartphones and tablets, thereby helping to maximize uplink performance and offer unmatched reception of weak mobile client signals.

With BeamFlex+, the ZoneFlex R710 also offers a significant increase in performance and range, delivering up to 5dB of signal gain and aggregate data rates of over two gigabits per second (Gbps), 1,733 Mbps (@ 5 GHz) and 800 Mbps (@ 2.4 GHz).  

The ZoneFlex R710 has a built-in USB port to accommodate Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons and other Internet of Things (IoT) devices. This, combined with Ruckus SPoT location-based services and analytics, enable opportunities for enterprises and Service Providers to monetize their Wi-Fi investment in public venues through rich analytics and location-based user engagement.

Available this quarter, the new Ruckus ZoneFlex R710 indoor access point has an MSRP of $1,295, and will be available through authorized Ruckus BiG DOG resellers worldwide.