Why You Need the Latest Wireless 802.11ac Wave 2
Mobile usage continues to explode.
According to a Cisco report issued in February 2016, by the year 2020 there will be 4.4 billion mobile users worldwide (up from 4.8 billion in 2015) and 11.5 billion mobile-ready devices and connections (four billion more than in 2015). http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/service-provider/visual-networking-index-vni/index.html
Many of these users are bringing their mobile devices into the workplace. More and more employees are using smartphones and tablets to perform day-to-day work functions, and the BYOD (“Bring Your Own Device”) environment has become the norm in most organizations today,
Mobile users are demanding faster speeds, too. The Cisco report estimates that by 2020, the average mobile connection speed will be 6.5 Mpbs, up from 2.0 Mbps in 2015. And, global mobile IP traffic will reach an annual run rate of 367 exabytes, up from 44 exabytes in 2015.
Once a luxury, wireless networks are now a necessity.
Given the new reality, wireless networks have become essential to the success of most companies. Today’s enterprises must have the capability to connect a diverse range of devices—everything from wireless cameras to sensors and thermostats—and manage an increasingly noisy and crowded wireless network environment.
To help companies and organizations keep pace with the ever-increasing surge in Wi-Fi traffic and the growing demands of mobile users, Cisco has developed the 802.11ac Wave 2, the first Wi-Fi standard to break the gigabit barrier. Transmitting data at speeds beyond 1 Gbps, 802.11ac Wave 2 access points support the very latest Wi-Fi standard technology, offering the performance and functionality to support mobility for customers and employees, now and in the future.
Multi-user MIMO boosts performance for every user and every device.
One key feature of Wave 2 802.11ac technology, multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO), enables an access point to transmit to multiple clients simultaneously—rather than sending data to just one client at a time. Each client device gets the amount of airtime it’s supposed to have, based on the technology it supports: 802.11ac Wave 2, Wave 1, 802.11n, or an older version of the standard. And, every device on the network enjoys the luxury of not having to share its data stream with anyone else—which is especially beneficial when a user is streaming video or using another high bandwidth application.
With MU-MIMO, your organization will be able to use more devices on your Wi-Fi at once. Internet speeds will seem faster and more dependable. And everyone will see a noticeable impact on everyday Wi-Fi use—a more stable Wi-Fi connection for every laptop, phone, tablet and computer on the network.
Prevent network traffic jams.
Cisco’s end-to-end infrastructure support and services help ensure that wireless traffic won’t face a bottleneck when it hits your wired LAN infrastructure. Cisco Catalyst Multi-gigabit switches support 1-Gbps, 2.5-Gbps, 5-Gbps, and 10-Gbps speeds on existing Gigabit Ethernet cabling to accommodate increasing Wi-Fi traffic over time and future higher-speed access point connections.
Talk to us about upgrading your wireless capacity.
The new Cisco 802.11ac Wave 2 technology is a smart investment now if you’re looking to prepare for the increasing proliferation of video and mobile apps on the horizon—and the Wave 2 client devices that will soon be coming to market. It’s also a good way to protect your existing IT investment because you’ll have access points that work with the technology you’re using today as well as accommodate technology you’ll acquire in the future.
If you’re ready to upgrade your wireless capacity, contact us today. Let Next Dimension show you what Cisco’s next generation wireless networking technology can mean for your organization.