Networking equipment vendor Linksys used the Interop conference in Las Vegas to expand its business networking lineup with two new 802.11ac access points.
The new offerings are aimed at business looking to upgrade their existing wireless infrastructure to the latest 802.11ac technology, and according to Linksys they offer up to three times faster speeds for connected devices over the previous generation of technology.
“With the proliferation of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets in business environments, the need for faster Wi-Fi and more capacity is evident. And with the Internet of Things moving into the office environment, everything will become connected going forward. It starts with notebooks and smartphones, but as we look forward, door locks, card scanners, cameras and security sensors can also be added to that list,” said Steven Lin, director of Linksys business products, in a statement. “The Linksys Wireless-AC Access Points help provide manageable dual-band high speed wireless access along with Power-over-Ethernet, bridge mode for range extension and other advanced features SMBs need today.”
Some of the features of the new products include 802.11ac Dual Band support, support as a powered device with 802.3at (PoE+), support for up to 16 different SSIDs, and advanced security including 802.1X Supplicant, SSID to VLAN Mapping, MAC Access Control and Rogue AP detection. Other enhancements include wider 80 MHz channels for greater data bandwidth in the less-crowded 5 GHz band space.
The Linksys AC1200 supports data rates up to 1200 Mbps with a MIMO 2×2 configuration, and the Linksys AC1750 up to 1750 Mbps with a MIMO 3×3 configuration.
The Linksys Business Wireless-AC Access Points are planned to roll out in April through major distributors, including D&H, Avnet, Newegg Tech Data and Ingram Micro.
The AC1200 is priced at US$329.99, and the AC1750 at US$379.99.
