Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company, has announced the market’s first enterprise-grade Wi-Fi 6E solution set –the 630 Series of campus access points (APs), starting with the AP-635*. The latest innovation in Wi-Fi technology, Wi-Fi 6E refers to Wi-Fi devices that operate in the 6 GHz band, which was – in the largest expansion of Wi-Fi capacity in nearly two decades – opened up in April 2020 by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for unlicensed use in the United States.
Opening the 6 GHz band more than doubles the amount of RF spectrum available for Wi-Fi use, allowing for less congested airwaves, broader channels, and higher-speed connections and enabling a range of innovations across industries. Since the FCC decision to open the 6 GHz band, 39 additional countries that are home to over 1.3 billion people have opened the 6 GHz unlicensed band for Wi-Fi 6E. (Source:Wi-Fi Alliance)
Pat Devlin, Director, Aruba South Pacific (ANZ) said, “Aruba has always been an innovator in the Wi-Fi space and we’ve made the best possible use of the standards. For a long time, our industry has been to trying to do more within the same physical boundaries and so this announcement is revolutionary for our industry. Wi-Fi 6E is the first major shift to open up spectrum in a very long-time, and it will allow us to extend the capabilities of our network in ways we’ve never seen before.”
“The 6GHz band opens up possibilities in orders of magnitude. Previous generational improvements are incremental in comparison, and we’re excited to help organisations realise the true potential of Wi-Fi 6E. We’re on the start of an incredible journey.
“We continue to work with our strategic partners, ACMA and other government authorities to ensure local regulatory approvals are in place quickly, so that our customers can quickly take advantage of this change as they transition to the latest innovation in networking technology. Device manufacturers are already bringing new clients to market, so things are moving rapidly.”
Currently, as organisations increase their use of bandwidth-hungry video, cope with increasing numbers of client and IoT devices connecting to their networks, and speed up their transition to cloud, the demand for Wi-Fi continues to rise. As a result, wireless networks are becoming oversubscribed, throttling application performance. This frustrates all network users by negatively impacting the user experience, reduces productivity, puts digital initiatives at risk, and stifles innovation.
“With connectivity demands growing exponentially, Wi-Fi 6E can take advantage of up to seven, superwide 160 MHz channels and uncongested bandwidth in the 6 GHz band to deliver unprecedented multi-gigabit and low latency connectivity,” said Kevin Robinson, SVP of Marketing at Wi-Fi Alliance. “Wi-Fi 6E will spur enhanced innovations and exciting new services. Wi-Fi Alliance is pleased to see longtime member Aruba bringing Wi-Fi 6E solutions to market that will help organizations better support critical activities like videoconferencing, telemedicine, and distance learning.”
According to leading market intelligence research firm650 Group, Wi-Fi 6E will see rapid adoption in the next couple of years, with over 350M devices entering the market in 2022 that support 6 GHz. 650 Group expects over 200% unit growth of Wi-Fi 6E enterprise APs in 2022.
The new Aruba Wi-Fi 6E solutions are part ofAruba ESP (Edge Services Platform), the industry’s first AI-powered, cloud-native platform designed to unify, automate, and secure the Edge. Able to predict and resolve problems at the network edge before they happen, Aruba ESP’s foundation is built on AIOps, Zero trust network security, and a unified campus to branch infrastructure to deliver an automated, all-in-one platform that continuously analyses data across domains, tracks SLAs, identifies anomalies, and self-optimises, while seeing and securing unknown devices on the network.
With Aruba’s new Wi-Fi 6E offerings, organisations can take advantage of the increased capacity, wider channels in 6 GHz, and significantly reduced signal interference with 3.9 Gbps maximum aggregate throughput to support high bandwidth, low latency services and applications such as high-definition video, next-generation unified communications, augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR), IoT, and cloud. Additionally, with a new ultra tri-band filtering capability, which minimises interference between the 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands, organisations cantruly maximise use of the new spectrum.
Aruba 630 Series Access Point Key Features
- Comprehensive tri-band coverage across 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz with 3.9 Gbps maximum aggregate data rate and ultra-triband filtering to minimise interference
- Up to seven 160 MHz channels in 6 GHz to better support low-latency, high bandwidth applications like high-definition video and AR/VR
- Operates on existing IEEE 802.3at standards for PoE power so there is no need to rip and replace existing power supplies
- Advanced security with WPA3 and Enhanced Open to better protect passwords and data
- Flexible failover with two HPE Smart Rate Ethernet ports for 1-2.5 Gbps, offering true hitless failover from one port to another for both data and power
- Application assurance to guarantee stringent application performance for latency sensitive and high bandwidth uses by dynamically allocating and adjusting radio resources
- Cloud, controller, or controllerless operation modes to address campus, branch, and remote deployments
“Consumer appetite for ubiquitous wireless connectivity is limitless, whether at home or travelling the world,” said Mike Kuehn, president at Astronics CSC. “As a leading global provider of advanced technologies for the aerospace and defence industries – including some of the largest major airlines in the world – Aruba’s new Wi-Fi 6E AP gives us the ability to offer compelling and unique solutions that deliver a new, enhanced and more secure wireless experience to our customers.”
“Aruba has two decades of leadership in Wi-Fi innovations, backed by an unwavering commitment to providing our customers with the reliable, fast, high capacity, and secure connectivity they need to pursue and exceed their organisational objectives,” said Chuck Lukaszewski, vice president and wireless chief technology officer atAruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company. “Since 2016 we have helped lead the advocacy effort that has led to the 6 GHz band being opened all over the world. As such, we are extremely proud to be the first vendor to bring enterprise-grade Wi-Fi 6E solutions to market so our customers can take advantage of the huge increase in capacity that 6 GHz delivers.”
