RUCKUS R770: Driving higher education connectivity to a whole new level with Wi-Fi 7 and 6 GHz

The RUCKUS R770 holds great promise for higher education institutions by providing faster, more reliable, and secure wireless connectivity. It not only addresses current connectivity needs but also positions these institutions to embrace emerging technologies and meet the evolving demands of students and educators in the digital age.

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Next-Level Connectivity: Introducing the RUCKUS R770

Today is a big day for us here at RUCKUS Networks. Once again, we will be taking connectivity experiences to a whole new level with the worldwide introduction of the RUCKUS R770, the very first AI-driven, enterprise-grade, tri-band Wi-Fi 7 AP (Access Point) from a US-based major technology vendor. Wi-Fi 7’s extreme speed, low latency, and increased reliability will deliver exceptional user experiences and empower an entirely new class of advanced connected devices with demanding applications.

Before you read any further, I recommend you review our RUCKUS R770 press release to get primed. Then, come back here to unpack why Texas State University is so excited about this technology!

Top 5 Benefits of Wi-Fi 7 and 6 GHz for Higher Education

It is no secret that Wi-Fi 7 and 6 GHz have a lot to offer higher education. If I were to hang my proverbial hat, I would hang it on these top 5 benefits:

Amazing student learning experiences that are digital-first or digital-only
Enhanced student safety and security
Smart campus including smart dorms that enables home-away-from-home experiences packed with comfort and services
Exceptionally reliable and efficient networks with optimized IT operations
Student recreational activities such as gaming that warrants fast, reliable, and low latency Wi-Fi connectivity

Do understand that by no means, these are the only five benefits. These are just the top 5 benefits.

Combining the Power of Wi-Fi 7 and RUCKUS Technologies

The immediate next question in your mind would (and should) be – So just how does the RUCKUS R770 deliver these benefits, uniquely?

RUCKUS R770 combines the power of Wi-Fi 7 with RUCKUS patented RF (Radio Frequency) technologies such as Beamflex+ (R) and time-tested RUCKUS AI (Artificial Intelligence) to deliver a far superior experience in higher education. Moreover, the RUCKUS R770 differentiates itself from the Wi-Fi 7 offerings of other vendors (based on the information available as of today) based on the following five key characteristics:

Superior throughput and capacity
Adaptive resilience
Reduced latency
Simplified advanced security
Built-in modern IoT (Internet of Things) stack

The RUCKUS R770 is a tri-band concurrent indoor AP that delivers 8 spatial streams (2x2:2 in 2.4GHz, 4x4:4 in 5GHz, 2x2:2 in 6GHz) and supports Wi-Fi 7 features such as Multi-Link-Operation (MLO), Preamble Puncturing, 4K QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) Modulation and 320MHz channels. It delivers industry-leading performance environments with a combined data rate of 12.22 Gbps. Furthermore, a 10Gbps Ethernet port ensures the backhaul is not a bottleneck for full use of available Wi-Fi capacity.

Superior Network Support for Higher Ed

For higher education institutions, this offers more than enough to support all those AR/VR applications and data-intensive streaming multimedia applications like 4K/8K video transmissions while supporting latency-sensitive voice and data applications with stringent quality-of-service requirements. For even more technical information on R770, here’s the datasheet.

Let’s not forget that college and university campuses often have a high density of Wi-Fi-enabled devices, including smartphones, laptops, tablets, IoT devices, and more. The cleaner frequency of 6 GHz will allow for better coverage and capacity in indoor environments, which can be especially useful in large lecture halls, libraries, and dormitories. This ensures that students have access to a strong and reliable Wi-Fi signal wherever they are on campus.

With the capacity and throughput that the R770 delivers, it can support a larger number of concurrent connections, accommodating the growing demand for connectivity on campus. With the lower latency profile of Wi-Fi 7 and RUCKUS R770, it is not a far-fetched thought for colleges and universities to be able to offer real-time audio for large lecture halls where the student can listen to the lecture through streaming IP audio.

Lastly, RUCKUS R770, with the help of our patented Beamflex+ (R) technology, will enable higher education institutions to squeeze in even more capacity, coverage, and throughput when operating in 6 GHz low-power mode.

Harnessing AI for Better Network Connectivity

As networks in higher education get more complex over time, IT is continuously looking to make their network operations more efficient. Time-tested RUCKUS AI features such as AI-driven network assurance, Hybrid Federated Machine Learning, Graph AI, AI-driven probe suppression, AI-driven radio resource management, and AI-driven Wi-Fi 7 resiliency increase the overall reliability of higher education networks and enable RUCKUS R770 to deliver far superior connectivity experiences while streamlining IT operations.

The RUCKUS R770 also helps to prepare higher education networks for the future, eliminates siloed networks, and will unify Wi-Fi and non-Wi-Fi wireless technologies into one single network by offering built-in BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) or Zigbee radios, and by expanding to any future wireless technologies through the onboard USB (Universal Serial Bus) port.

Moreover, built-in support for “Matter” (Matter is a set of protocols that enables your smart home device to communicate with many other smart devices, even if they aren’t made by the same company) and “Thread” (Thread is a networking protocol that makes Matter work better by making it easier and faster to connect smart devices to your network) will ensure interoperability among various IoT solutions. For higher education institutions, this will significantly ease the deployment of enhanced student safety and security programs, as well as enable the smart campus that brings home-away-from-home experiences that are packed with comfort and familiarity to the campus.

Multi-Layer Security Support

Lastly, the RUCKUS R770 supports a multi-layer security model that includes secure boot, TPM (Trusted Platform Module) 2.0, and DPSK3, among others. RUCKUS exclusive DPSK3 adds the power of DPSK (Dynamic Pre-Shared Key) to WPA3 (Wi-Fi Protected Access 3) combining advanced security with the flexibility and ease of use of dynamic passphrase to secure network access. Secure boot and TPM 2.0 offer hardware-level protection against malware and sophisticated cyberattacks and ensure that only trusted software can be executed on the AP. Thinking aloud, this is especially important in higher educational institutions where data security and privacy compliance are paramount.

Faster, More Reliable, And More Secure: The RUCKUS R770

In summary, the RUCKUS R770 holds great promise for higher education institutions by providing faster, more reliable, and secure wireless connectivity. It not only addresses current connectivity needs but also positions these institutions to embrace emerging technologies and meet the evolving demands of students and educators in the digital age.

Now, I will slow down so that you take a deep breath and evaluate for yourself – Is the R770 going to revolutionize the world of higher education among other verticals? I think so!

Learn the nuts and bolts of Wi-Fi 7

Learn more about RUCKUS R770