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Alcatel-Lucent OmniAccess Stellar vs Cisco Wireless comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 29, 2026

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

Alcatel-Lucent OmniAccess S...
Ranking in Wireless LAN
23rd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco Wireless
Ranking in Wireless LAN
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.2
Number of Reviews
154
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Alcatel-Lucent OmniAccess Stellar is 1.7%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Wireless is 9.8%, down from 11.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Wireless9.8%
Alcatel-Lucent OmniAccess Stellar1.7%
Other88.5%
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.
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

"One feature that differentiates Alcatel-Lucent OmniAccess Stellar from some other vendors is the fact that on-premise OmniVista licenses are perpetual."
"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."
"I have not seen any downtime in the tool."
"The solution allows you to see the SNMP packets, the DPI packets, and the SNMP server."
"With the Captive portal to manage the Guest access is very easy, and with the Spectrum Analysis some very difficult radio issues can be solved with very little effort from my side."
"Configuring Alcatel-Lucent OmniAccess Stellar is easier than Aruba HPE."
"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."
"I have worked with different solutions in the past and switched to Alcatel-Lucent OmniAccess Stellar because of its quick installation time. It requires no additional preparation. The product is highly stable. I rate it a nine out of ten. 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."
"Wireless connectivity is the main feature. It is also securely integrated with ISE, which is valuable because, in the banking industry, we also cover the security aspect. This Wi-Fi controller integrates with the ISE system that we have. Every user that comes on the wireless needs to log in with the domain. If they don't, it will not allow the user to join the network. This is the key feature of this solution."
"The installation process is very easy."
"Cisco Wireless is scalable, and we have more than 10,000 people on-premises who are connected to the cloud using it."
"The integration with Cisco ISE is good, and together we use them to provide services."
"Cisco Wireless is easy to configure."
"The stability of the solution is good."
"The controller has a built in best practice analysis engine that will not only give your setup a best practice score, but also automatically change settings to increase the score."
"After using it for eight years, I can vouch for its stability."
 

Cons

"The solution needs to improve access for Mac and iOS devices."
"There are occasional OS bugs."
"Yes, some issues are related to firmware bugs or firmware instability."
"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."
"Most customers are asking for an on-premises hardware architecture while it is available as a software-based architecture."
"Simplification of the configuration processes and improvement of the maintenance software OmniVista 3600."
"I’d rate this product as an eight out of 10 because it is not accessible to everyone to take 100% advantage of the product."
"The current implementation of our Guest Access network in isolation for Express mode is very complicated in comparison with leading market solutions."
"I would like to see less dependency on other products such as ISE and Prime for certain implementations."
"The GUI could be made more user-friendly."
"However, I wouldn't typically recommend Cisco Wireless."
"Apple is definitely causing a lot of issues by turning on more security features on its equipment."
"I'd like to have better voice security."
"Its licensing has been very frustrating. There is also the complexity of managing the product. These are probably the two reasons why we're looking at Aruba. The way they license this product is not simple. There are some good features in the latest version, but there are additional license costs as well, which is frustrating for us. It is not really a feature issue for us. It really comes down to cost and licensing. They should make it a bit simpler to manage. We find the overall solution a little bit more complex than we would like to deal with. Its troubleshooting is a bit difficult, and it does require a high skill set. Comparatively, Aruba seems quite simple. One of the benefits of the Aruba product is that it is cloud-managed. We don't have to manage the management platform itself, whereas Cisco is on-premise. Its user interface could also be better."
"The solution could be more stable."
"A mobile app would be great to see if the system is up, and some minor tools, but not to add or remove rules."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's pricey, but better than similar solutions."
"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."
"Alcatel-Lucent OmniAccess Stellar is a mid-range solution with respect to pricing."
"The price of this product is average and it is a one-time, perpetual license."
"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."
"The tool is cost-effective, according to our sales team's feedback."
"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."
"However, when you integrate the access point and the controller with the DNAT across multiple sites, you need a DNAT cluster, which is a costly solution. Every site has a controller, and a DNAT cluster is not a good option in a global framework. It's okay for a small office or a few offices. But when you're talking about 500 offices, the cost becomes enormous."
"It is an expensive solution."
"They have simplified the licensing, now there is a single license that is required. Earlier, multiple licenses were required. Single licensing is good. As a customer, I don't need to keep an inventory of multiple licenses."
"Cisco licensing is usually provided on a yearly basis rather than monthly. You can get a hardware SLA or hardware and software SLA for a period of years. Longer terms influence the level of support that you get when it comes to Cisco SLA."
"The price of Cisco Wireless is in the high range compared to other solutions. The solution could be less expensive."
"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."
"Cost is one of the reasons why we are switching to Aruba. Aruba is significantly lower than Cisco in price. We do the licensing on a three-year basis. Cisco makes licensing very difficult."
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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
13%
Outsourcing Company
12%
Computer Software Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Construction Company
7%
Outsourcing Company
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 Business79
Midsize Enterprise41
Large Enterprise73
 

Questions from the Community

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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 be very reliable and to consistently run very efficiently. Cisco Wireless helpe...
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 friendly. This user-friendly quality also renders it easy to learn how to use and ma...
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 hours, the basic framework can be set up. Step-by-step instructions are availabl...
 

Also Known As

Alcatel Lucent OmniAccess Stellar, OmniAccess Stellar
Cisco WLAN Controller
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mineola School District
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 Alcatel-Lucent OmniAccess Stellar vs. Cisco Wireless and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,099 professionals have used our research since 2012.