For those who didn't make the Ubiquiti airMAX AC webinars that Ubiquiti did recently, here are some of the highlights of the new airMAX AC platform. Ubiquiti just released their wireless airMAX AC units that will produce 2-3 times the speed of the current airMAX "802.11n" platform.
Here is a brief run down of the the positives and negatives:
Positives:
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Ubiquiti airMAX AC radios will be TDMA with time slots
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Superior processing with proprietary airMAX ASIC engine. This will improve performance, lower latency and allow for much higher capacity.
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New AC antenna line. This will increase the density and scalability of the network. They will have 45 degree and 60 degree sector antenna and a 31 dBi dish antenna out of the gate.
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airPRISM will be on these new radios (with exception to the AC-lite version). This is a revolutionary channel filtering algorithm that Ubiquiti has developed which will greatly improve co-location and scalability while reducing interference on the radios.
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AirOS7 is the new software release for these radios that is much more efficient, has advanced RF analytics, dedicated spectral analysis right on the radio, and diagnostic tools like speed test, ping tool, and even CABLE test. This is the first of its kind that we have seen that can tell you if you have bad terminated cables.
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No added cost for software, it is FREE. Ubiquiti has made a reputation for being high in features but low in price.
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Range out to 18 miles with new Powerbeam AC models or using AC dishes.
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Beamforming antennas are available on the Powerbeam AC radios and Nanobeam AC radios which will be much more efficient and have better performance - Speed will be 2-3 times more than current airMAX 802.11n series products.
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Retail for these products will be between $99-$219. Extremely low for a product with these features.
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450 Mbps+ real throughput
Negatives:
- Increased RF channel sizes to 40 and 80 MHz which will greatly increase interference and raise the noise floor.
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Increased RF channel sizes will make these radios more susceptible to interference
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Not DFS approved yet, meaning that it currently only works in the upper 5.7-5.8 band.
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Currently will NOT interoperate with the airMAX 802.11 b/g or n lines.
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Smaller coverage area than the 2.4 airMAX radios.
