At PROMAT 2007, held in Chicago this week, Symbol Technologies, Inc. unveiled the AP-5181 Access Point, a rugged enterprise-class access point which extends corporate networks beyond the office walls.

The AP-5181 Access Point , designed for outdoor use can withstand wind, rain, lightning, extreme temperatures and power surges. An optional heavy-weather mounting kit protectd the device from windblown debris at velocities of up to 130 miles per hour.

"Organizations are extending their wireless network outside the office walls to provide real-time access to business-critical information in harsh outdoor environments such as material and shipping yards, loading bay distribution centers, refinery sites and airports," said Sujai Hajela, vice president and general manager of Symbol's Wireless Infrastructure Division. "The AP-5181 Access Point can be implemented outdoors without the added cost of installing network cable or fiber, and maintains enterprise-level network protection, security and manageability needed to support mobile applications."

The dual-radio AP-5181 Access Point is mesh-capable, allowing for the creation of self-assembling, self-healing, flexible outdoor wireless networks that can be easily-managed remotely with Symbol's Wireless Next Generation (Wi-NG) architecture.