Ruckus Wireless Helps Carriers Exploit Wi-Fi Advances to Explode Networks and Services Everywhere

    SUNNYVALE, Calif., Feb. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Building on experience
 supplying mission-critical Wi-Fi systems to triple-play carriers, Ruckus
 Wireless today unveiled a comprehensive Wi-Fi strategy for service
 providers and introduced an extensive range of provider-purposed products
 for applications across their hotspot, commercial and residential
 businesses.
 
     The new strategy and solutions help telecommunications carriers, multi-
 service operators (MSOs), hotspot operators and managed services providers
 meet growing demand for reliable, ubiquitous Wi-Fi connectivity while
 minimizing capital expenditure and operating costs. Easily integrated into
 existing provider infrastructures, the new Ruckus multi-service multimedia
 Wi- Fi solutions allow operators to scale capacity as needed and monetize
 their high-performance Wi-Fi networks through new revenue-generating
 services.
 
     "Wi-Fi has become too important and too pervasive for carriers to
 ignore as part of their strategy to grow and offer new services," said
 Andreas Martschitsch, product manager for Home Networking at Swisscom.
 "Advances in Wi-Fi technology have increased the reliability, range and
 performance to a point that now makes it possible for carriers to enter new
 markets that were previously closed and deliver new services that were
 difficult to monetize."
 
     Flexible, prolific and cost-effective, Wi-Fi would have been a sure-win
 for carrier infrastructure extension and operator managed services.
 However, carriers have found it to be an unreliable, unmanageable
 technology of convenience over which it is virtually impossible to deliver
 service level agreements. The new Ruckus Wireless Smart Wi-Fi products are
 the first commercial solutions to address these concerns and meet new
 service provider requirements for:
 
 
    -- A ubiquitous, secure hotspot network to support the growing population
        of Wi-Fi-enabled mobile devices
     -- Cost-effective wireless infrastructure expansion to address new
        bandwidth-hungry, media-rich mobile applications
     -- Higher profitability in managed business WLAN services by reducing
        CAPEX/OPEX as well as enabling new application services such as Wi-
        Fi/dual-mode voice, security surveillance, digital signage and
        multimedia content distribution
     -- Rapid deployment of high-definition IPTV services while reducing in-
        building cable installation costs
 
     Underpinning this service provider strategy is Ruckus-patented Smart
 Wi-Fi technology that has been deployed by service providers around the
 world for residential, commercial and hotspot applications. Proven to
 deliver extensive coverage, reliable connectivity and multimedia-class
 performance, Ruckus is expanding its Smart Wi-Fi product portfolio to add:
 
 
    -- Ruckus MediaFlex 7000 series, a new 802.11n multimedia system for
        multi-stream HD IPTV delivery throughout a home
     -- Ruckus ZoneFlex 7942,  a new Ruckus 802.11n AP (standalone or in a
        Ruckus ZoneFlex WLAN) for high-capacity hotspot and enterprise
        applications
     -- Ruckus MediaFlex 2835, a new "homespot" AP for secure, cost-effective
        expansion of hotspot footprints
     -- Software enhancements for the Ruckus ZoneFlex 2942 APs that enable
        flexible integration with hotspot traffic management and authentication
        architectures, and support more services (SSIDs)
     -- Ruckus FlexMaster, a new remote management platform designed for
        managed Wi-Fi services that is scalable to manage a massive number of
        Ruckus APs and/or controllers
 
     Building a ubiquitous, reliable and manageable public Wi-Fi access
 infrastructure
 
     Global demand for Wi-Fi connectivity is skyrocketing with the
 accelerated adoption of mobile Wi-Fi devices and high-bandwidth mobile
 applications such as video streaming, gaming and social networking. For
 carriers, hotspot coverage is no longer gratuitous. Furthermore, a
 ubiquitous, reliable hotspot network is a viable, cost-effective way to
 quickly expand mobile service coverage and offload media-intensive data
 applications from costly cellular networks. As a result, hotspot networks
 slapped together with consumer-grade APs are being re-architected and
 upgraded to improve quality, scalability and manageability.
 
     For hotspot applications, Ruckus is augmenting its ZoneFlex AP
 offerings with two new products: the Ruckus ZoneFlex 7942 and the Ruckus
 MediaFlex 2835.
 
     The Ruckus ZoneFlex 7942 is an entry-level enterprise 802.11n AP that
 can be deployed standalone in a retail hotspot to support 802.11n/g/b
 client devices, or as part of a Ruckus ZoneFlex WLAN managed by the Ruckus
 ZoneDirector in a larger facility such as a hotel, airport or shopping
 mall.
 
     Equipped with a 12-element, dual-polarized Ruckus Smart Wi-Fi antenna
 array with 9 dBi gain and up to 22 dB interference rejection, the Ruckus
 ZoneFlex 7942 selects signal paths that maximize the use of spatial
 multiplexing to increase throughput and reduce performance variability. In
 performance testing within commercial environments against the
 market-leading Cisco 1250 system, the Ruckus ZoneFlex 7942 on average
 achieved 50 percent better 802.11n performance.
 
     The Ruckus MediaFlex 2835 is an innovative, new 802.11b/g router that
 enables the creation of hotspots at home, or "homespots." It lets operators
 rapidly and cost-effectively enlarge their public access infrastructure
 footprint, leveraging subscribers' home Wi-Fi networks for hotspot and
 other services while ensuring fair bandwidth allocation and security for
 both home and guest users.
 
     Advanced traffic management and VPN capabilities on all Ruckus ZoneFlex
 APs, as well as the Ruckus MediaFlex 2835, let operators control per-user
 bandwidth usage and flexibly direct traffic on a per SSID basis. For
 example, outgoing traffic from a subscriber's home SSID on the MediaFlex
 2835 can be transmitted directly to the Internet while public traffic from
 the guest SSID is tunneled to backend authentication and billing systems.
 
     All of the Ruckus hotspot and homespot APs can be remotely managed by
 the new Ruckus FlexMaster system.
 
     Putting Management of Hotspot, Enterprise and Home Wi-Fi in Operators'
 Hands
 
     Ruckus Wireless is introducing a first-of-its-kind remote wireless LAN
 and service management platform, FlexMaster, that enables service providers
 to manage large numbers of hotspots and offer managed WLAN services for
 businesses and homes. Wi-Fi devices and services can be grouped by region,
 customer, service and other provider-specific criteria for ease of
 monitoring, provisioning, inventory, fault and security management as well
 as to support customer-specific service level agreements. Instead of
 discovering and monitoring devices using the traditional polling method
 which limits scalability, the Ruckus FlexMaster and Ruckus APs implement a
 "phone home" capability that vastly expands the number of devices that can
 be managed by a single system.
 
     Taking advantage of the DSL-Forum-developed TR-069 standard, FlexMaster
 is a Linux-based software system that can easily integrate with existing
 OSSs. It uses industry standard protocols such as SOAP and HTTP/S to access
 devices on networks that otherwise might be blocked by local firewalls.
 Devices can be managed across a private, public or hybrid IP network,
 providing total flexibility where help desk personnel are located.
 
     Accelerating Deployment of HD IPTV while Reducing Installation Costs
 
     Already the market leader in 802.11a/g wireless IPTV distribution
 systems for carriers, Ruckus is introducing the MediaFlex 7000 series, a
 new 802.11n Smart Wi-Fi system aimed at bandwidth-intensive,
 jitter-sensitive, high- definition video streaming applications at a
 consumer electronic price point. With a custom embedded Ruckus Smart Wi-Fi
 antenna array, the system is designed to deliver 40-50 mbps of sustained,
 worst-case throughput to distribute multiple, simultaneous HD IPTV streams
 anywhere within a home. It allows IPTV providers to rapidly turn up
 subscribers while minimizing installation costs associated with new wiring,
 cable retrofitting and powerline testing.
 
     Realizing the Strategic and Tactical Advantages of Wi-Fi Technology for
 Operators
 
     By all measures, whether user appeal or cold hard economics, Wi-Fi
 presents a compelling advantage for operators if only it can be made
 reliable, available, scalable and manageable. Delivering the proven power
 of Ruckus Smart Wi-Fi technologies in reliable, manageable solution
 packages for consumer, enterprise and public access applications, Ruckus
 Wireless is the first and only Wi-Fi company that focuses on taking Wi-Fi
 where revenue and cost savings opportunities exist for service providers.
 
     "With over 170 million new Wi-Fi-enabled mobile devices expected to
 ship next year, the stakes for Wi-Fi have never been higher," said Selina
 Lo, president and CEO of Ruckus Wireless. "With our Smart Wi-Fi systems
 already supporting real-time television streaming for carriers in hundreds
 of thousands of homes around the world, Ruckus is transforming Wi-Fi from a
 technology of convenience into a dependable utility. Today we are much
 closer to realizing this vision with the introduction of next-generation,
 higher capacity Wi-Fi systems and a scalable remote management system that
 address a broad spectrum of carrier businesses. They will change the game
 for service providers worldwide."
 
     Product Pricing and Availability
 
     The Ruckus ZoneFlex 7942 802.11n access point and Ruckus MediaFlex 2835
 802.11g homespot router are available immediately and priced at US $699 and
 $259, respectively. Also available immediately, the Ruckus FlexMaster
 system starts at US $5,000. The Ruckus MediaFlex 7000 Series 802.11n Smart
 Wi-Fi system becomes generally available in the second quarter of this year
 with pricing disclosed at that time.
 
     About Ruckus Wireless, Inc.
 
     Based in Sunnyvale, California, Ruckus Wireless is a next-generation
 Wi-Fi company credited with pioneering "Smart Wi-Fi" technology. Named a
 2007 Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum, Ruckus Wireless was
 formed in 2004 at Sequoia Capital. The company designs, develops and
 markets industrial- strength Wi-Fi systems that provide reliable
 distribution of delay-sensitive multimedia content and services over
 standard 802.11 technology. Its flagship product, ZoneFlex, is the first
 wireless LAN system to combine the best in centralized wireless LAN
 principles with state-of-the-art Wi-Fi advances such as smart antenna
 arrays and wireless meshing. Its MediaFlex line of multimedia wireless
 routers is used by more than 125 broadband operators around the world to
 extend digital services such as IPTV throughout the home without wires. The
 company's patented hardware and software technologies deliver predictable
 performance, extended range and real-time adaptability to changing Wi-Fi
 environments. The company has raised approximately $42 million in financing
 from premier venture capital investors, consumer electronics companies and
 broadband operators such as Motorola, T-Ventures, Telus, Sutter Hill
 Ventures, Mitsui, Sequoia and others. Ruckus Wireless is led by President
 and CEO Selina Lo. For more information, visit the company's Web site at
 http://www.ruckuswireless.com.
 
 

      Media Contacts
      David Callisch
      Ruckus Wireless
      david@ruckuswireless.com
      +1-408-504-5487 mobile
 
      Nancy MacGregor Hill
      RealTime Communications
      nancy@realtime-comm.com
      +1-510-733-6228 office
      +1-415-309-5185 mobile
 
 

SOURCE Ruckus Wireless, Inc.