Juniper jumps into Wi-Fi 7 with enterprise switches, access points

The AP47 portfolio features a tri-band, four-radio AP with support for dual-5GHz or dual-6GHz operation, a dedicated scanning radio, and two GBPS Ethernet ports. An AI-based Radio Resource Management package is purpose built for Wi-Fi 7 to automate channel/power/multi-link operation.

The AP47s include a converged Wi-Fi/IT/OT/IoT gateway with the dual Bluetooth LE (BLE) radios and Ultra Wideband (UWB) to enable new applications, Juniper stated. 

What’s going on with Wi-Fi 7?

Juniper joins a group of vendors offering Wi-Fi 7 products, however general enterprise use of Wi-Fi 7 is still likely a couple years off.

Looking ahead, the speed and performance of Wi-Fi 7 is expected to drive the next surge in mobile and IoT devices and new use cases that demand multi-gigabit speeds. This includes high-definition video, immersive 3D training, hybrid work environments, industrial IoT, automotive applications, and emergency preparedness communication services, Juniper says. 

Some Wi-Fi 7 features make it an attractive technology. For example, it will utilize Extremely High Throughput (EHT) to deliver peak data rates of more than 40Gbps, making it significantly faster than previous generations of the Wi-Fi standard. The technology targets mostly physical (PHY) and medium access control (MAC) improvements capable of supporting a maximum throughput of at least 30Gbps, experts say.

Another feature of Wi-Fi 7 is multi-link operation (MLO), which lets devices simultaneously send and receive data across different frequency bands and channels, enhancing the efficiency of wireless connections. Additional features such as encryption and authentication over WPA3 Enterprise further strengthen Wi-Fi security.