SUNNYVALE, Calif., March 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Ruckus Wireless™, an innovator of advanced Smart Wi-Fi technology and one of the fastest growing suppliers of advanced wireless products, today announced that in 2010 it had shipped more Wi-Fi mesh access points to service providers around the world than any other supplier, according to the Dell'Oro Q4 2010 WLAN Report.

The new market research shows that in 2010 Ruckus garnered 41 percent of the worldwide market for unit shipments of Wi-Fi mesh nodes to service providers around the world.

"We are seeing huge interest by service providers around the globe in smarter Wi-Fi technology," said Selina Lo, president and CEO of Ruckus Wireless. "This renewed interest is being driven by higher speed standards, such as 802.11n, coupled with technical advances that deliver more effective capacity, longer range and higher reliability.  As one of the most economical wireless technologies available, the combination of these trends in the context of the Mobile Internet explosion has created a massive market opportunity."

Lo noted that the key carrier applications driving Wi-Fi adoption include mobile data offload of 3G and 4G networks, affordable and adaptive Wi-Fi for cellular backhaul and high-speed public access.  "We are now experiencing what everyone expected to happen during the metro Wi-Fi days. The difference is that carriers now have more defined business models; higher-speed, advanced Wi-Fi technology has become available; and a flood of Wi-Fi-enabled handheld subscribers is driving data traffic through the roof," concluded Lo.

Carriers are using Wi-Fi for a number of new applications. To provide affordable and reliable wireless broadband access, Tikona Digital Networks, in less than two years, has built the world's largest outdoor Wi-Fi mesh network throughout India using Ruckus ZoneFlex Smart Wi-Fi products and technology. The network spans 39 cities with tens of thousands of Ruckus Wi-Fi mesh nodes.

To offload mobile data traffic from cellular networks, broadband providers in the U.S., Europe and Asia are now using Ruckus Smart Wi-Fi to build new wholesale wireless networks that allow other carriers to lease capacity in areas where data volumes are high and traditional network infrastructure build out is expensive and time consuming.

While emerging cellular technologies such as LTE are expected to deliver a multi-fold increase in network capacity, the growth of data traffic on cellular networks is growing much faster. ABI research estimates that data capacity requirements are increasing 150 percent per year. The use of Wi-Fi to augment licensed spectrum technologies or provide an alternative mobile broadband channel is both a short-term tactic and a long-term strategy.  

Ruckus Smart Wi-Fi was specifically developed for carriers, with patented technology such as interference rejection, adaptive signal steering and self-organizing smart mesh, to dramatically increase the range and reliability of Wi-Fi transmissions. With Smart Wi-Fi, operators can now confidently deploy Wi-Fi to quickly add cost-effective capacity in high-density locations and fill in coverage holes while casting the footprint for next-generation heterogeneous networks.  

And with the introduction of the new Mobile Wi-Fi gateways, such as the new Ruckus Wireless Services Gateway (the Ruckus WSG), mobile operators can now seamlessly integrate Wi-Fi with their cellular core network as simply another wireless onramp to their services.

Ruckus will be showcasing the WSG and its Mobile Wi-Fi System at the upcoming CTIA Wireless Conference and Exhibition, taking place March 22-24, 2011, in Orlando, FL in booth #3494, South Hall.

About Ruckus Wireless, Inc.

Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Ruckus Wireless is a manufacturer of advanced "Smart Wi-Fi" technology and wireless LAN (WLAN) systems used by enterprises and carriers around the world. Ranked as the top telecom company in the 2009 Inc. 500 list and named a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer, Ruckus has developed patented technology that uniquely extends signal range and allows for consistently reliable distribution of delay-sensitive multimedia content and services over standard 802.11 Wi-Fi. Its flagship product line, ZoneFlex, is the first centralized wireless LAN system to combine state-of-the-art Wi-Fi smart antenna arrays and wireless meshing to deliver maximum range and reliable performance at the lowest cost. Leading broadband operators use its MediaFlex multimedia routers to extend wireless digital services such as IPTV throughout subscribers' homes worldwide. Ruckus has raised approximately $51 million from premier investors such as Motorola, T-Ventures, Telus, Sutter Hill Ventures, Mitsui, Sequoia Capital and others. Ruckus Wireless is led by Ms Selina Lo, president and chief executive officer. For more information, visit Ruckus Wireless at http://www.ruckuswireless.com

SOURCE Ruckus Wireless