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ADTRAN Bluesocket Wireless vs Fortinet FortiWLM comparison

 

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
29th
Average Rating
6.6
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Fortinet FortiWLM
Ranking in Wireless LAN
12th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
29
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of ADTRAN Bluesocket Wireless is 0.4%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiWLM is 2.4%, up from 2.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Fortinet FortiWLM2.4%
ADTRAN Bluesocket Wireless0.4%
Other97.2%
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 TechnoPeak
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

"I believe the initial setup was straightforward."
"The most useful aspect of Fortinet FortiWLM is that you can manage all the Fortinet products from one portal, from one device."
"Having the single pane of glass, by using the Fortinet Security Fabric, allows us to tighten security, and more easily and quickly create additional VLANs to help protect data. Rules in the firewall mean we can protect data and systems so that, should anything go wrong, any security issue is held to an individual device."
"The most valuable features are central management and the many other features available."
"The solution is controlled from one device and one GUI for all devices."
"Fortinet FortiWLM is good for tracking assets, monitoring, and overall management."
"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."
"In my experience with Fortinet FortiWLM, I can rate its stability as 10; until today, I haven't had any problems."
"At the moment, particularly with the COVID-19 situation, the most valuable feature is probably the IPsec VPN, which is easy to implement with Fortinet."
 

Cons

"Support is not really up to par in quickly addressing issues."
"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."
"In terms of improvements, the price is higher than I would like. A reduction in pricing would be beneficial."
"The range needs some improvement and also the stability."
"Cost is something that could be improved, but you have to pay for what you get."
"Improving support and firmware upgrades is necessary."
"Documentation could be improved."
"Technical support is very poor. We are not satisfied with the technical support because there is not any direct person from Fortinet for any troubleshooting, which we expected."
"When using the FortiGate as the wireless controller, you cannot have automatic user registration, which is something that they should offer."
"This solution should be easier to set up in a production environment."
 

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."
"If a customer already is a FortiGate customer, the cost to go to the FortiAP is incredibly affordable, because you already have the controller."
"There is a perpetual license required for this solution and the price could be reduced."
"The product is highly expensive. I rate the pricing a ten."
"Fortinet FortiWLM's pricing is regular and competitive."
"The solution is expensive. I give the solution a one out of ten for the price."
"The solution is fairly priced."
"To save yourself from increased setup and maintenance costs, I highly recommend undertaking a proper site survey from the beginning."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Computer Software Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Healthcare Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise5
 

Questions from the Community

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiWLM?
Regarding functionality, a lower price for Fortinet FortiWLM would be better, but it's difficult. Regarding the integration with other vendors, we try to buy only products from a single vendor to a...
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiWLM?
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. If this price was reduce...
What is your primary use case for Fortinet FortiWLM?
Our customers' main use cases for Fortinet FortiWLM come from three classes. We have clients that pay attention to the cost, and we have customers that pay attention to security, such as in the DIF...
 

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: December 2025.
879,853 professionals have used our research since 2012.