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Alcatel-Lucent OmniAccess Stellar vs Cisco Wireless comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 9, 2025

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
20th
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
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
153
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Alcatel-Lucent OmniAccess Stellar is 0.8%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Wireless is 11.4%, down from 14.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

Attila Gyalus - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
GulfrazAhmad - PeerSpot reviewer
Integrates with ISE, and is secure, reliable, and easy to deploy
The main concern is the length and overlapping. We have to put on four to six access points on the same floor, and we face the issue of overlapping areas. If Cisco can extend the range of their indoor APs, we would need to install just one or two access points, and it would eliminate the problem of the overlapping area. They should provide built-in features for safe authentication. Right now, we integrate with ISE and FortiClient for this feature. We first check the NAC, and after the NAC and before the domain, a token password installed on their mobile or a physical token is required to join the network. If Cisco had built-in authentication, we would be able to eliminate one product from our network.

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 are very satisfied with the performance."
"The features aren't much different than those in Aruba, but deployment is easier to configure and the pricing is better."
"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 allows you to see the SNMP packets, the DPI packets, and the SNMP server."
"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."
"I have not seen any downtime in the tool."
"Express in default configuration mode with first turn-on is easy to set up and deploy from a medium installation standpoint."
"I like many of the features that Cisco Wireless has to offer."
"The tool's most valuable features are security, flexibility, user activity, and high bandwidth."
"The most valuable feature of Cisco Wireless is the bridging capability."
"The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it can be integrated into other solutions in a particular environment, including where there are wired and wireless connections."
"It integrates with Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA)."
"I find the tool to be 99 percent stable."
"The technical support from Cisco is good."
"The switches can even detect cable issues which quite often can be the main cause for a call-out within my business."
 

Cons

"It is not possible to integrate Alcatel-Lucent OmniAccess Stellar with third-party software like Opera, a property management system (PMS)."
"If the customers plan to go on the cloud side, they need encryption and daily communications from a security perspective."
"It needs to be faster in order to process and transmit bigger packets."
"There are occasional OS bugs."
"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."
"Alcatel-Lucent OmniAccess Stellar's radio management side could be improved."
"Most customers are asking for an on-premises hardware architecture while it is available as a software-based architecture."
"Better integration with third-party systems is what our customers are expecting in the future."
"The media stream and Mojo settings are not sufficiently supported."
"The integration with our CM and other technologies could improve this solution."
"The software quality could be improved, in particular for the new Cisco Aironet Series 2800/3800 Access Point which is pretty Linux-based."
"The technical support could be better. They aren't as helpful as they need to be when we run into issues."
"If needs to provide more visibility. It can detect and do it, but as technicians we don't have a lot of visibility into seeing exactly what's happening. It doesn't give us a lot of log information for us to troubleshoot. They probably have additional software you need to purchase to get that kind of information. But I think not all companies can afford additional software to see those kinds of details. So if the wireless controller already had, built-in, those types of things for the technician or wireless engineer, it would be more attractive for the end-user."
"Cisco is costlier relative to other solutions."
"They are a pretty expensive option."
"Requires a firewall body to improve security."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's pricey, but better than similar solutions."
"We find the price comparable to other products on the market."
"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 price of this product is average and it is a one-time, perpetual license."
"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."
"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."
"Users have to pay a yearly licensing fee for Cisco Wireless."
"The price of this product is reasonable."
"There are no subscription fees."
"I am not a fan of Cisco's software pricing model. Their management software is far too expensive."
"The pricing is a bit high."
"Pricing is a bit on the high side compared to its competitors but we have to consider the support and usages of the solution. Licensing is now RTU and smart licensing. We need three types of licenses. One for each of the: APs, HA, controller."
"There are annual subscriptions to use this solution. I have not been able to understand the licensing of Cisco. Some of the Cisco executives were not able to understand them either. When you first start out the price is zero but when it comes to a time of renewal you have to pay."
"As far as I know Cisco is very competitive, price-wise. Talk to your third-party vendor. It all depends on the company size - how many employees, how big the building is. If it's wireless, and you have only 50 employees but you're using a large building floor, in that case you need many access points. But if you have 50 employees using two or three rooms, then you probably don't need it and it's going to be high density, so there is a different design. So you need to talk to a subject matter expert. Talk to them and design accordingly."
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Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Wireless LAN solutions are best for your needs.
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Comparison Review

it_user212721 - PeerSpot reviewer
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
Computer Software Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Computer Software Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Educational Organization
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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 architecture.
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: April 2025.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.