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Alcatel-Lucent looks to make Wi-Fi 7 affordable for everyday connectivity
Enterprise networking and communication services provider offers entry-level access point based on latest wireless standard to deliver advanced wireless capabilities at a cost-effective price
Since its introduction, Wi-Fi 7 technology has represented a major leap in wireless performance, and research towards the end of 2025 found almost 40% of companies are planning to roll out Wi-Fi 7 by the end of 2026, but its adoption has been limited by cost and complexity, a situation that Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise (ALE) aims to address with its access point range.
The Alcatel-Lucent OmniAccess Stellar AP1501 is an indoor Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) access point designed to deliver “next-generation” network performance, reliability and security for demanding enterprise deployments.
With the product, ALE declared it was bringing the latest Wi-Fi 7 innovation to mainstream environments – combining high performance, efficiency and reliability without the complexity or cost traditionally associated with cutting-edge wireless services.
Whether deployed as a standalone access point or as part of a broader OmniAccess Stellar WLAN offering, ALE was confident the AP1501 could deliver “robust” and scalable Wi-Fi 7 connectivity for mainstream IT environments. Moreover, it said that with the new product, high-performance Wi-Fi 7 would now become accessible to organisations that may have previously delayed adoption.
It added that the entry-level access point enables businesses of all sizes to embrace next-generation connectivity – supporting modern applications, higher capacity and the responsiveness required in the current digital era.
“OmniAccess Stellar AP1501 brings key Wi-Fi 7 innovations into an entry-level access point, offering a practical and affordable way for organisations to modernise their networks while preparing for future connectivity demands,” said Jorge Arasanz, product line manager of OmniAccess Stellar at Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise.
The launch is part of the overall ALE strategy to enable organisations and industries to accelerate operational efficiency and competitiveness. Indeed, ALE believes businesses are increasingly adopting next-generation wireless technologies to support mobile workforces, IoT devices, real-time applications and growing service density.
Read more about Wi-Fi 7
- Three in five businesses more confident in Wi-Fi investment: Research finds 60% of businesses see converged Wi-Fi and 5G as key to enterprise flexibility, with 38% planning to roll out Wi-Fi 7 in 2025/2026, while 65% say 6 GHz availability is important to their Wi-Fi business.
- Why Wi-Fi 7 is crucial for enterprise AI: Wi-Fi 7’s MLO, wider channels and improved MU-MIMO provide the speed and reliability AI systems need to train faster and generate insights more efficiently.
- Singapore Sports Hub to get Wi-Fi 7 network: Upgrade to provide faster, more reliable connections for visitors during concerts and sporting events, and will help manage crowds and improve services.
- Extreme lands enterprise Wi-Fi 7 wins: AI-powered networking automation firm reveals number of significant deployments of services based on latest wireless comms standard.
The OmniAccess Stellar AP1501 supports the IEEE 802.11be Wi-Fi 7 standard, offering enhanced throughput and improved spectral utilisation across the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands. The device is designed for mid-density environments such as branch offices, retail locations, small campuses and distributed enterprise sites.
With a 2.5 GbE multigigabit Ethernet uplink and PoE support, it ensures the wired infrastructure keeps pace with wireless performance requirements – supporting workloads ranging from video collaboration and cloud-based services to IoT and AI-enabled applications.
The AP1501 also complements ALE’s existing Wi-Fi 7 portfolio, and the company confirmed that the full OmniAccess Stellar Wi-Fi 7 lineup would continue to expand with upcoming access points designed to address a wide range of customer needs – from indoor to outdoor deployments, and from SMBs to large, complex enterprise environments.
Built on ALE’s distributed control architecture, these access points are attributed with being able to eliminate the need for a centralised controller, reducing total cost of ownership while delivering enhanced security with WPA3 and optional MACsec encryption, along with greater flexibility and scalability.
The OmniAccess Stellar access points and the Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch family can be centrally managed and monitored using Alcatel-Lucent OmniVista Network Management – a unified, AI-powered platform available in both on-premise and cloud deployments. The service is intended to simplify onboarding for users and IoT devices while enhancing automated network operations through advanced analytics and actionable insights.
