No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

Alcatel-Lucent OmniAccess Stellar vs Aruba Wireless vs Cisco Wireless comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Alcatel-Lucent OmniAccess Stellar is 1.5%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Aruba Wireless is 13.2%, down from 18.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Wireless is 9.2%, down from 11.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Aruba Wireless13.2%
Cisco Wireless9.2%
Alcatel-Lucent OmniAccess Stellar1.5%
Other76.1%
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

Attila Gyalus - PeerSpot reviewer
Owner at TeloNet
An Easily Deployable and User-Friendly Solution with Rapid Installation
The support of this solution is great. The timeliness of their responses is crucial for me. When I raise an issue, I can count on receiving a prompt reply, eliminating the need for extensive online searches or phone calls. This efficiency is paramount in saving time. In the rare instances where problems arise, they are usually swiftly addressed.
UM
IT Infra Deputy Vice President at ESFB
Strong performance supports network team effectively but guest access compatibility needs improvement
We connect the network using Aruba Wireless. We connect our office network, and we use it primarily within our network team Aruba Wireless has many features, especially their state-of-the-art controller, which can be connected to the cloud. They also have an unlimited lifetime warranty, which is…
EvansEsezobor - PeerSpot reviewer
Group IT Head at Euracare
Has enabled centralized user management and improved wireless access point aggregation
To improve Cisco Wireless, the ports on the access points are all 100 Meg, not 1 gig. We have not gotten a gigabyte interface of about 1,000, but the controller we have is just 1 gig. We would prefer if we could increase the controller to a 10 gig interface because we want to connect our controller to a 10 gig interface, which currently limits us to 1 gig. When we want to move higher capacity data via wireless, it limits us to 1 gig.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We can manage all of the access points and policies from a single pane of glass."
"The solution allows you to see the SNMP packets, the DPI packets, and the SNMP server."
"There is a definite ROI with this product. This product creates a baseline of technology that will be a means to grow from five to ten years from now. By using this solution, it is an investment on the installation of that baseline."
"The solution is scalable, as it works for any size of company, no matter if it's a small business, enterprise, government, education, hospitality, or any other type of customer, and it's easy to scale as a soft controller by just adding licenses, supporting up to 4,000 access points."
"With these three types, Alcatel-Lucent can give the client a range of solutions within budget of each, and still guarantee the quality of the solution."
"We needed a solution to provide internet access for the majority of 317,68 KM square site and assure authentication, authorization and accountability compliance of users, and OmniAccess has enabled us to do so."
"The features aren't much different than those in Aruba, but deployment is easier to configure and the pricing is better."
"We deployed them in two hospitals, they benefit from the access of users via Guest Portal and the use of VoWLAN Phones for mobile internal communication."
"The most valuable feature is the client match."
"The feature I found most valuable to customers in Aruba Wireless is not a technical feature; it's more of its image, trademark, or brand as the product is very well-known in the market, and that's a good point to offer to customers."
"The support for both on-premises and cloud deployments has proven to be very effective."
"Aruba Wireless has its own protocols in the controller that are managed by the firewall of our company."
"The benefit is the constant delivery of internet bandwidth, as everybody is getting internet access properly, and when 40 - 50 people are sitting in a small area it is capable of delivering internet to them constantly."
"We had both Aruba ClearPass and Aruba AirWaves, and all the management features available from Aruba worked well together as a class of products."
"Aruba Wireless has been straightforward to set up."
"We like the centralized configuration and monitoring."
"Cisco Wireless is easy to use."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is its security"
"Our number of students increased by 35% (more than 600 students) and we used different devices (Mac OS X, Windows, Chrome OS for grade 4 through grade 12, Android, and iOS), which need a very good roaming sensitivity between access points."
"I like that Cisco Wireless is easy to implement. If you get stuck with any issues, they have ample documentation on the internet. It's easy to implement, and Cisco documentation is easily accessible."
"Setting up Cisco Wireless is pretty straightforward. It takes about an hour or two, and we can handle it in-house."
"You need to learn the technology but after that the setup is easy."
"The coverage range is far superior to the model that we were using."
"Cisco products are perhaps the most reliable on the market."
 

Cons

"The GUI is a little bit slow."
"Simplification of the configuration processes and improvement of the maintenance software OmniVista 3600."
"I would prefer to have the integrated heat map feature provided by the basic controller in the Solution instead of purchasing an external one. Accessing this capability directly within the controller's access point would be convenient."
"The current implementation of our Guest Access network in isolation for Express mode is very complicated in comparison with leading market solutions."
"It needs to be faster in order to process and transmit bigger packets."
"It needs to be faster in order to process and transmit bigger packets."
"It is not possible to integrate Alcatel-Lucent OmniAccess Stellar with third-party software like Opera, a property management system (PMS)."
"Yes, some issues are related to firmware bugs or firmware instability."
"The urgent areas of improvement would be customer support, better tuned default settings, and documentation."
"The issue is that the delivery timelines have increased."
"We have had issues with the availability of the equipment."
"I believe it would benefit from more reporting, other than just a dashboard. It needs some type of report builder so you can have PDFs to show upper management what is going on in the wireless network."
"A lot of the access point commands are in the command line interface, versus being in the GUI."
"The reliability could be improved."
"Aruba Wireless could improve the interface, it does not have a smart web interface."
"The access points could be cheaper. While the technical specifications are satisfactory, the access points are expensive."
"The product could be improved with interference reduction. Because wireless frequency interferes with microwave or Bluetooth technologies, this causes issues."
"The integration with our CM and other technologies could improve this solution."
"There is no technology without room for improvement. The main setback with Cisco solutions, not only with Cisco Wireless, is having to update the OS manually. We are now migrating to Miraki, so we've been able to work that out."
"The smaller WLAN controllers don’t grow well."
"The solution is stable but it could be improved. However, this could be because there are not enough APs."
"It's expensive because a lot of the controls come with licenses."
"The product could be improved with interference reduction. Because wireless frequency interferes with microwave or Bluetooth technologies, this causes issues."
"There are performance issues, particularly with video calls where throughput is not great."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of this product is average and it is a one-time, perpetual license."
"The tool is cost-effective, according to our sales team's feedback."
"Alcatel-Lucent OmniAccess Stellar is a mid-range solution with respect to pricing."
"We find the price comparable to other products on the market."
"The price is in the range of other brands like Cisco, maybe a little cheaper but you get the same features, facilities, and security. Licensing is something Alcatel is making changes to. A few years ago you would buy a WLAN solution from Alcatel for half the price of Cisco, but you would spend the same amount on licensing. Today this is different and the licensing is cheaper."
"At times, it appears that the solution's pricing is slightly higher. This makes it challenging to persuade customers who primarily focus on the price."
"It's pricey, but better than similar solutions."
"In terms of pricing, the pricing for Aruba Wireless is not bad for large-sized companies, but for medium-sized companies, it's on the higher end, but because Aruba has a good company image, medium-sized companies still go with Aruba Wireless."
"The pricing has increased and it was always more costly than some of the other solutions available."
"The pricing is fair and similar to other products."
"The price of Aruba Wireless is reasonable."
"​Price is fairly expensive, however it is worth it. If the “master” fails, another AP can take over the role.​"
"We have some licenses for the solution, and we need not renew licenses. But we need to pay a hundred thousand if you want to renew our subscription and renew the hardware."
"The price of Aruba Wireless could improve. It is expensive. However, I am able to reduce my costs because I do not use all the features in the controller, such as the AD integration and other enterprise features."
"The product is expensive."
"There are no subscription fees."
"Expensive."
"We are on an annual license. The license and the hardware are expensive."
"Its licensing is not simple. There are additional license costs for features, which is frustrating for us. There are some features that are included for free in the base Aruba product, but they are available at additional costs in this solution."
"We opt for a one-time purchasing fee model in our setup. Since we don't utilize a management platform or WLAN controller, there are no recurring costs. The access points we typically use, which support Cisco's wireless masters, are priced at around $250 each. Occasionally, we purchase them in packs of five or as part of extended packs at a prorated cost."
"The cost model is expensive."
"The solution does not come with a licensing fee."
"Its cost is a little bit higher than other products. Fortinet and Huawei are cheaper. If we were not a bank, I would go for Huawei or Fortinet because they are cheap, and I don't need that much security. A financial institute, a university, or a medical institute would need security to protect the customer data. That's why we buy this high-end product that has integrated security features."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Wireless LAN solutions are best for your needs.
885,667 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Comparison Review

it_user212721 - PeerSpot reviewer
President at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Mar 24, 2015
Cisco vs. Aruba Wireless Solutions
Cisco or Aruba Networks? If you are considering wireless access solutions, this is a common question that you are probably asking. You probably have sales people knocking at your door. How do you make sense of all the stories that you are presented with. If you have done any research, you are…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
17%
Computer Software Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Outsourcing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
University
7%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise1
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business77
Midsize Enterprise47
Large Enterprise75
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business78
Midsize Enterprise41
Large Enterprise73
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Alcatel-Lucent OmniAccess Stellar?
The solution allows you to see the SNMP packets, the DPI packets, and the SNMP server.
What needs improvement with Alcatel-Lucent OmniAccess Stellar?
Most customers are asking for an on-premises hardware architecture while it is available as a software-based architec...
What are pros and cons of Aruba 515 Series AP vs. Cisco Meraki or Extreme Networks?
Depends. I have personally used both Cisco and Aruba so I am familiar with them. Extreme I am not, so unless they h...
Aruba Wireless or Ruckus Wireless?
At my organization, we researched Ruckus Wireless among other solutions but ultimately chose Aruba wireless. What di...
How does Cisco Wireless compare with Aruba Wireless?
On the most basic level, Cisco Wireless can offer a rather straightforward initial setup. In the span of about three ...
Which is better - Cisco Wireless or Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN?
Cisco Wireless is very robust, very rugged, and can handle indoor and outdoor coverage extremely well. We found it to...
Which is better - Ruckus Wireless or Cisco Wireless?
Ruckus Wireless offers users the benefit of being both easy to set up and get running as well as being very user frie...
What do you like most about Cisco Wireless?
Cisco Wireless improves mobility and flexibility. The only case we are working on is with hospitals, focusing on the ...
 

Also Known As

Alcatel Lucent OmniAccess Stellar, OmniAccess Stellar
Aruba WLAN, HP WLAN, HP Wireless, Aruba Instant On AP Series Access Point
Cisco WLAN Controller
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mineola School District
Consulate Health Care, Los Angeles Unified School District, Science Applications International Corp (SAIC), San Diego State University, KFC, ACTS Retirement-Life Communities
Aegean Motorway, Baylor Scott & White Health, Beachbody, Bellevue, Brunel University London, Bucks County Intermediate Unit , Chartwell School, Children's Hospital Colorado, Cisco Live Milan, City of Biel, City of Mississauga, Dundee Precious Metals, Electricity Authority of Cyprus, Erickson Living, Goldcorp, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Grupo Industrial Saltillo (GIS)
Find out what your peers are saying about Ruckus, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Cisco and others in Wireless LAN. Updated: March 2026.
885,667 professionals have used our research since 2012.