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ADTRAN Bluesocket Wireless vs Fortinet FortiWLM comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 31, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

ADTRAN Bluesocket Wireless
Ranking in Wireless LAN
28th
Average Rating
6.6
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Fortinet FortiWLM
Ranking in Wireless LAN
10th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of ADTRAN Bluesocket Wireless is 0.8%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiWLM is 3.2%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiWLM3.2%
ADTRAN Bluesocket Wireless0.8%
Other96.0%
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer1397640 - PeerSpot reviewer
Vice President of Business and Finance at a university with 201-500 employees
Access points work but there are problems with support, scalability, and keeping technology current
Having a better dashboard management system that the client can use to access and control their environment would be a nice addition to the product. They said it was going to be part of one of their updates, but we did not get it. We thought we should have in one of the updates that we did. With that, we would have been able to control the environment if we needed to do something like adding more bandwidth in certain areas. Not getting that update became kind-of problematic for us. That was one of the reasons why we had to try to find a solution with a better dashboard management system. I think they need to get the product to the next Gen. Currently they are running on Generation 5. I know that they have a new product almost ready to come out, but they are not really ready for Gen 6 yet. Support could be enhanced as well. With any one of their solutions, they are the means that provides the client with the flexibility and scalability to help manage the product. Instead of the current system where you have to send them a support ticket and then have to go back and forth to get something done, I just think that users should have better control over the process. Their current process does not allow you to have that kind of control. That may be just my limited experience.
LuayHlaleh - PeerSpot reviewer
Information Technology Team Lead at IT Solutions AE
Offers robust network management with cost considerations for large deployments
Large enterprises typically invest in FortiAnalyzer, though our company and SMB clients don't require this analysis tool. We use Ekahau for floor planning and Wi-Fi coverage analysis rather than Fortinet FortiWLM's built-in features. Ekahau helps us perform site surveys and plan access point placement. Fortinet FortiWLM is a flexible and common solution in Dubai. It's one of the best-selling products, with Etisalat, the largest ISP, installing Fortinet FortiGate for approximately 70-80% of their clients. The solution offers different series to accommodate various needs. The triple radio model costs around $1,000 (3,500 dirham) and supports 40-50 connected devices. The 231F model suits smaller deployments of 20-25 devices. I rate Fortinet FortiWLM a seven out of ten. While it's an excellent solution, Cisco remains the market leader.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Being able to centralize the wireless environment using virtual machines and having all AP management in the same place (our data centers) is very big because now we don't have to manage multiple devices out in the field and costs also go down because now you don't have to worry about maintenance on those controllers."
"I believe the initial setup was straightforward."
"It has allowed our SMB team to provide an easy wireless solution."
"The Adtran 3448, Adtran 1531P, and Adtran 160 AP are deployed for a customer in their retail clothing environment, constituting the network infrastructure on each retail site location and supporting IP cameras, Mobile POS on iPads, people counters, and traditional POS registers."
"I was extremely surprised by the single-pane-of-glass management; you don't really realize, until you're actually working with it, how powerful it is and how much time it saves you, and how much, in the long run, by going with the Security Fabric, you get increased security cost savings, and a better view of what's going on."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to connect and broadcast to different networks without using a VLAN or a layer two switch, which allows you to easily create guest networks."
"For me, the ease of setup and the rugged nature in harsh environments are most valuable. So, durability and ease of use have been its best features."
"The solution is stable."
"Seamless roaming by leveraging Virtual Cell is a major advantage which reduces roam times and issues related to roaming. Code stability has been excellent and the hardware quality is second to none."
"We're using SD-WAN at all of our locations now, which helps increase and aggregate and lower response time and improve application performance."
"The greatest advantage is the security fabric Fortinet offers."
"The most valuable features of this solution are its speed, reliability, and integration with the firewall."
 

Cons

"Support is not really up to par in quickly addressing issues."
"Additional features other vendors have might be useful as well as an MDM integration."
"Having a better dashboard management system that the client can use to access and control their environment would be a nice addition to the product."
"The AP160 is dated and not yet integrated into the Bluesocket family and we can't run a good Bluesocket cloud solution with the router 3448."
"From my knowledge, we feel that this solution is not scalable enough for us."
"Customer Service: Moderate. Technical Support: Moderate."
"In the next release, they could improve by adding a controller-less server, or architecture that is provided in other solutions, such as Aruba. Additionally, they could improve the feature sets to be more competitive."
"The range needs some improvement and also the stability."
"One of the main features that I see as lacking in any of the Fortinet products is the reporting. If you want to have proper, end-to-end reporting, you must purchase the FortiAnalyzer... If Fortinet could offer some better, built-in reporting, that would be a point of improvement."
"The pricing model can be improved to encourage use by small business and individuals and the hardware could stand to be redesigned."
"The initial setup is complex and has room for improvement."
"They need to do more with their marketing. That's what's wrong with them. Nobody knows they do all this other stuff. I love the product. For an enterprise-level system, you never have to explain why you're recommending Fortinet, whereas you might have to do that if you want to use the Ubiquiti Professional or the new Netgear line, but you don't have to explain Fortinet. It has been remarkable to work with."
"Because of this, our experience with FortiWLM hasn't been very good, and we have not implemented any further FortiWLM solutions for other customers to date."
"The price could be reduced by 20%. In Dubai, UniFi costs 700 dirham for the UniFi Pro 7th generation. For Fortinet FortiWLM, a similar model would cost around 1,300 dirham."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It cost over $30,000 for us for 260 access points."
"In the last few years, due in part to the impact of COVID on the market, Fortinet has increased its prices by 35 percent."
"The product is highly expensive. I rate the pricing a ten."
"To save yourself from increased setup and maintenance costs, I highly recommend undertaking a proper site survey from the beginning."
"The solution is fairly priced."
"Support contracts typically cost approximately $100.00 per year."
"Licensing has become easier. There is no longer a per-AP license needed on the controller."
"Fortinet would do something with their pricing model to attract smaller business users and eliminate the mandatory service contracts."
"There is a perpetual license required for this solution and the price could be reduced."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Construction Company
13%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise5
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiWLM?
I do not have knowledge about the pricing or the cost of Fortinet FortiWLM because the license is for the package of the firewall, FortiGate.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiWLM?
Overall, I find it useful, though I have concerns because after every update, some functionality is deleted or closed. For the moment, I don't have anything else in Fortinet FortiWLM that I would l...
What is your primary use case for Fortinet FortiWLM?
I use this solution for the enterprise to segment the department.
 

Also Known As

Adtran WLAN, Bluesocket Wireless
FortiWLM, FortiAP, Fortinet AP/OAP, Meru Wireless LAN
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Thomas College, North Cobb Christian School, Archbishop Riordan High School, Dickson Public Schools, Hamilton Heights School Corporation, North Idaho College
Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Find out what your peers are saying about ADTRAN Bluesocket Wireless vs. Fortinet FortiWLM and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
914,938 professionals have used our research since 2012.