Ruckus became the first enterprise wireless equipment vendor to roll out an 802.11ac Wave 2 access point today, with the release of the ZoneFlex R710.

The R710 features the multi-user MIMO capability characteristic of Wave 2 devices, using what Ruckus calls Beamflex technology – built around antenna polarization – to focus signals directionally, making more efficient use of available bandwidth. The company says the R710 can handle 800Mbps of throughput via the older 2.4GHz frequencies, and 1733Mbps via 5GHz.

Analyst and Network World contributor Zeus Kerravala said that the R710 is, in a very real sense, far ahead of its time.

“There aren’t any wave 2 [client] devices expected for at least 18 months,” he said. “So they are way early.”

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