WEP-550K ushered in the era of corporate Wi-Fi 7: mass production in April

Since the middle of last year, we’ve been saying that Wi-Fi 7 would soon be available in the Eltex wireless solutions lineup. We published a detailed analysis of the standard and its global significance, finalized the development of our own solutions based on it, and shared our plans with partners and customers at in-person meetings and various events.

The time for announcements is over. Introducing WEP-550K — an enterprise Wi-Fi 7 indoor access point, entirely designed and manufactured in Russia. Mass production is set to begin in April.

"The release of WEP-550K not only marks the launch of a flagship model with Wi-Fi 7 support, but also the first step in the consistent expansion of our wireless solutions lineup. We're starting with a device that sets the bar for performance and functionality, and we plan to expand our portfolio with more affordable models for a wide range of scenarios. Outdoor solutions will be a separate area of development. In the near future, the lineup will expand to include access points for outdoor use, allowing to meet the needs of deploying wireless networks both indoors and outdoors." 
 

Aleksandr Smith, Product Manager of the Wireless department at Eltex

WEP-550K is a flagship model of new Wi-Fi 7 indoor access points by Eltex, designed for high-density environments. Open-plan offices, conference rooms, coworking spaces, lecture halls, public Wi-Fi in shopping malls, airports, and stadiums — anywhere where hundreds of user devices require a stable and fast connection simultaneously. The device’s capabilities fully address these needs.

WEP-550K operates in three bands simultaneously: 2.4, 5, and 6 GHz. Each band uses a 4x4 MU-MIMO antenna configuration. The recommended number of concurrent sessions is up to 300 clients. For comparison, our flagship Wi-Fi 6 WEP-3ax model supports up to 100 devices.

The total data rate reaches 18.6 Gbps: 1376 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band, 5765 Mbps on the 5 GHz band, and 11530 Mbps on the 6 GHz band. These numbers are impressive. Of course, the actual throughput will vary, as it is affected by interference, distance to the client, client device type, and many other factors. We conducted testing in a controlled environment, and the results are in the relevant section of this publication.

To handle this volume of traffic, the appreciate ports are required. WEP-550K has two ports: 2.5G and 10G (RJ-45) copper ports with PoE+/PoE++ support. The access point’s power supply is flexibly configured. When connected via PoE++, the device reaches its full potential and operates in 4×4 MU-MIMO mode across all three bands. If the infrastructure currently supports only PoE+, WEP-550K will operate in 2×2 MU-MIMO mode. This allows for a phased upgrade of the wireless network: one can deploy the access points right now and upgrade the PoE++ switches later, without losing functionality during the transition phase.

In addition, we listened to our customers’ requests and updated the supply package. It now includes reliable fasteners for Armstrong ceiling profiles and a mounting pin.

WEP-550K supports all key Wi-Fi 7 features:

• MLO (Multi-Link Operation) allows a supported client device to simultaneously use multiple radio bands (2.4, 5, and 6 GHz), which reduces latency, improves stability, and increases connection speed.
• MRU (Multiple Resource Units) distributes radio resource more efficiently among clients.
• QAM4096 modulation increases data transmission density by 20% compared to QAM1024 in Wi-Fi 6. This results in faster data speeds, especially over short distances from the access point.
• 320 MHz channel width in the 6 GHz band – twice as wide as the Wi-Fi 6/6E standard, significantly increasing throughput.

So, we've reached the actual performance of our new product. For testing, a shielded chamber with a near-perfect signal-to-noise ratio is used. WEP-550K throughput for the 2.4 GHz band is 1030 Mbps, for 5 GHz it's 4800 Mbps, and for 6 GHz it's 7874 Mbps. The total throughput across all interfaces simultaneously is 9541 Mbps. The results and comparison with Eltex Wi-Fi 6 access points are shown below.

WEP-550K supports management via WLC and vWLC controllers, which integrate with ECCM – unified centralized equipment management system by Eltex. This enables to deploy a large-scale wireless infrastructure and allows to conveniently managing a wide range of parameters from a single interface.

To fully realize the WEP-550K hardware capabilities, we are preparing a new generation of multi-gigabit access switches with PoE++ support and 10 Gbps copper ports – stay tuned for announcements on our website, they will be coming soon.

To learn more about the WEP-550K access points and place an order, please contact us. Contact email: foreign.sales@eltex-co.ru.