Wi-Fi 7 products are gradually starting to gain market attention, especially in the residential market (home consumer segment). The SMB/SME/Enterprise market traditionally lags this by several quarters due to longer validation cycles. Earlier this year, Ubiquiti Networks announced its first Wi-Fi 7 access point, the U7 Pro. Today, NETGEAR Business is launching the WBE750 Wi-Fi 7 access point (AP) as part of its Pro Wi-Fi lineup for businesses that use wireless Internet frequently.
We’ve written about the benefits of Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) in multiple articles. The relatively interference-free 6 GHz band, wider channels (up to 320 MHz wide), and technological improvements to address interference and latency make the new standard an attractive upgrade for Wi-Fi users.
Unlike the entry-level focused Ubiquiti UniFi U7 Pro (2×2 configuration with 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands), the WBE750 opts for a 4×4 configuration in each of the three bands. Correspondingly, the AP can support more concurrently connected clients (300 vs. 600) and obviously provide more bandwidth (18.4 Gbps vs. 9.2 Gbps theoretical). The price is correspondingly higher ($700 vs. $190). The WBE750 also incorporates an NBASE-T (10 GbE / 5 GbE / 2.5 GbE / 1 GbE) RJ-45 uplink port that supports PoE++. Eight SSIDs are supported per channel.
Like other networking equipment vendors in this space, NETGEAR is driving recurring subscription-based revenue from this product. The $700 purchase price includes his one-year subscription to a single-pane cloud-based management interface (NETGEAR Insight).
NETGEAR Insight is especially useful for professional installers who can manage multiple sites on the go, even from their mobile devices.
The WBE750 joins many other Wi-Fi 6/6E APs in the Pro Wi-Fi line to address a wide range of deployment requirements. Over the past few quarters, NETGEAR has introduced multiple products to its Insight-manageable product line. The result is a complete network solution (gateway/router/switch/AP) that can be managed from a single pane of glass. As part of our commitment to professionals, NETGEAR provides installers with free site design services and expert technical support. NETGEAR’s Pro WiFi Design Services (network design, product selection guide, troubleshooting, and training support) aim to be a key differentiator compared to other similar services in the SMB/SME market.
The WBE750 is powered by Qualcomm Solutions, Waikiki Wi-Fi 7 chipset built into the Networking Pro 1220 platform.
The new WBE750 AP is available now for $700.
