Strong demand from manufacturing sector drives sales of versatile, secure, high performance, multi-mode Wi-Fi devices beyond projections ROCHESTER HILLS, Michigan – June 8, 2006 – Azure Wireless announced that sales of its Universal Wi-Fi Gateway have surpassed 500 units since its introduction in late 2005. The Gateway includes integrated security and a high performance diversity antenna system and provides connectivity over with standards-based 802.11a, b and g wireless networks to serial or Ethernet devices that are not capable of or readily adaptable to wireless Ethernet network connections.
The Gateway is being used by these enterprises to achieve untethered connectivity with devices such as control systems, robotics, PLCs, remote terminal units, automated guided vehicles, retriever systems, sensors and video devices. Orders for the Gateway have come from automobile, consumer goods, food and beverage manufacturers, material handling systems suppliers, robotics manufacturers, control system integrators and a health services management company across the US. “The demand for the Gateway has far exceeded our expectations.
It demonstrates how the use of wireless networks can go beyond simply providing portable access to network resources and achieve mobility and agility, increase productivity and provide improved access to information with a wide range of devices that exist in the enterprise. For the most part, the clients who have selected the Gateway are Fortune 500 enterprises that are ahead of the curve in leveraging their wireless network to achieve connectivity with a broad range of devices and systems, but we are beginning to see a lot of interest from smaller companies who are beginning to understand what these innovators and early adapters are accomplishing,” said John Polakowski, president of Azure Wireless.
“The Gateway fills a need for a versatile reference design for connecting a wide variety of devices that previously were difficult to integrate into a network and allows these enterprises to gain a level of mobility, control and access to information that was not previously possible. Ethernet is gaining wide acceptance on the factory floor and wireless networking technologies have matured and stabilized to the point where enterprises are leapfrogging wired Ethernet as they migrate from proprietary means of communications and implementing wireless networks to realize some significant gains in their manufacturing environments.
The networks that we have implemented to support communications with the Gateway are very robust and meet our clients’ demanding requirements for high reliability, low latency, fast roaming and high availability for these applications and in these environments,” continued Polakowski. Supporting all three 802.11 wireless standards for comprehensive coverage, investment protection and compatibility, the Universal Wi-Fi Gateway provides interfaces to both serial and Ethernet devices, allows enterprises to segregate client connections to specific wireless networks and is capable of supporting 20 network devices when paired with a hub or switch.
The Gateway also provides the highest level of wireless network security, supporting WPA, 128 bit AES and 802.1x authentication with PEAP, as well as 64, 128 and 152 bit WEP for legacy networks. Superior performance in mobile applications and in environments that are and dynamic and challenging for wireless networks is assured through the use of diversity antenna systems and fast roaming capabilities.
About Azure Wireless
Azure Wireless provides its clients and channel partners with innovative mobile computing and wireless networking solutions that produce productivity increases, efficiency gains and operating expense reductions through untethered connectivity.