A novel message

US-based wireless firm Meru Networks is confident that its different technology proposition will find many adopters among regional enterprises.

Meru Networks, a US-based wireless networking provider which is setting up office in the Middle East, is confident that it will be able to make a mark on regional enterprises with technology that is essentially different from what is on offer from other vendors.

"There is a fundamental architectural difference in our technology from anybody else's. We have come up with a single channel virtual cell architecture where all access points (APs) in an enterprise are working on the same frequency or channel.

 

This means that users with their wireless clients - laptops or PDAs - see the network as one big access point covering the entire area," says Tushar Kothari, senior VP worldwide field operations at Meru Networks.

Most other wireless network providers in the market operate different APs on different channels. By providing only a single channel across the APs, Meru claims to increase coverage as well as prevent clashing of signals.

The company's solution comes with intelligent access points and controllers that decide which client should hook to which point, ensuring seamless, zero-handoff roaming.

"In addition to that we have something called air traffic control. We operate like a switch, while others operate like a shared hub and so if there are ten laptops connected to an AP we give each of them their fair share of bandwidth.

It manages bandwidth, gives priority to voice and data transactions and reserves spectrum for critical apps like CRM. The fact that Gartner calls our technology fourth generation wireless establishes the fundamental strength of our technology," adds Kothari.

Globally, firms which have tried first generation wireless find Meru's solution to solve all the problems faced with other products, says Kothari. However, in the Middle East, the company expects to get customers in greenfield implementations as well as those who have experienced other wireless solutions.

"At this point even if someone does not yet have a wireless spectrum, he probably has got an IT director who has had experience in wireless from somewhere else. We have a lot of knowledgeable IT professionals in the industry here now. It is much easier for us to articulate our value proposition," adds Kothari.