The wireless world is going through rapid changes. 802.11ac, the fifth generation of WiFi, is poised for accelerated deployment which will dramatically change the user experience with more bandwidth, more speed and a higher number of concurrent client connections. In fact, nearly a quarter of all new access points in the enterprise are now 802.11ac, as suggested in a December 2014 Infonetics WLAN market report.

The NBASE-T Alliance panel session at Cisco Live Milan 2015 presents a rare opportunity to participate in this game-changing moment in the industry. Starting with 802.11ac wave 2, wireless networks will be able to deliver unprecedented performance (up to 6.8 Gbps) that far exceeds the gigabit LAN in common deployment today by using:

• 160 MHz bandwidth that is 4 times the maximum channel bandwidth of 802.11n
• MU-MIMO (multi-user multiple-input, multiple output) which provides multiple concurrent client connections for the first time in wireless
• beamforming that improves link robustness and overall wireless performance

The panel session will focus on the opportunities and challenges 802.11ac wave 2 may bring, as well as the new NBASE-T Alliance technology as a multigigabit solution foundation. Let me add some color for you on the panel speakers, you'll know them better.

• Hasan Siraj (Cisco, Senior Director) leads product management for all Catalyst switching platforms. He is responsible for bringing multiple networking innovations such as the flagship Catalyst 6800 series to the market.
• Peter Jones (Cisco, Principal Engineer) is chair of the NBASE-T Alliance, Catalyst access switching architect, and IEEE 802.3 and 802.1 standards participant.
•  David Chalupsky (Intel, Network Product Architect), is chair of multiple IEEE 802.3 projects. He is an industry veteran who are heavily involved with IEEE standard bodies and industry standards development.
• The customer speaker, Jan Demey (University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium), is Infrastructure and Data Center Manager. He is responsible for the network and data center operations of the hospital which is one of the most advanced medical facilities in Europe.
• The panel session is hosted by IDC's Research Director, Brad Casemore, who leads IDC's Datacenter Networks program and works closely with IDC's Enterprise Networking and other programs.

All wireless traffic needs to be carried through the wired access layer to its destination. If your network is like most customers' networks, chances are that you are facing a major challenge because your Cat 5e or Cat 6 cabling system in your access layer is not designed for 802.11ac wave 2. But if you are attending Cisco Live Milan and you join the NBASE-T Alliance panel session, you will be better prepared because you will gain insight on:

• What opportunities you can seize with the latest 802.11ac technology
• What challenges you might encounter to prepare your network for the new technology
• What solutions are being actively pursued by the industry
• How you can potentially reap the benefit as you actively participate in this journey

Get more information about the NBASE-T Alliance panel session. We will see you there!