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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
28th
Average Rating
6.6
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Fortinet FortiWLM
Ranking in Wireless LAN
10th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of ADTRAN Bluesocket Wireless is 0.8%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiWLM is 3.3%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiWLM3.3%
ADTRAN Bluesocket Wireless0.8%
Other95.9%
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 IT Solutions AE
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."
"It has allowed our SMB team to provide an easy wireless solution."
"The Adtran 3448, Adtran 1531P, and Adtran 160 AP are deployed for a customer in their retail clothing environment, constituting the network infrastructure on each retail site location and supporting IP cameras, Mobile POS on iPads, people counters, and traditional POS registers."
"Being able to centralize the wireless environment using virtual machines and having all AP management in the same place (our data centers) is very big because now we don't have to manage multiple devices out in the field and costs also go down because now you don't have to worry about maintenance on those controllers."
"The setup was easy."
"We are highly impressed with the ease of use of Fortinet."
"In my experience with Fortinet FortiWLM, I can rate its stability as 10; until today, I haven't had any problems."
"Overall, I would rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"With Fortinet, there is a feature called Network-In-Control. It's the AP controller that decides what the clients are going to connect to... Even though your phone sees, let's say, two APs, since the wireless controller has visibility into and access across all the APs, it knows the best AP for the client to connect to. This way, the controller makes sure that none of the APs is over-crowded, and the spectrum is used properly."
"The most valuable features of this solution are its speed, reliability, and integration with the firewall."
"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."
"I find it easy to use, Fortinet FortiWLM is recognized easily, and it is easy to recognize for any device to add to the network."
 

Cons

"Customer Service: Moderate. Technical Support: Moderate."
"The AP160 is dated and not yet integrated into the Bluesocket family and we can't run a good Bluesocket cloud solution with the router 3448."
"Additional features other vendors have might be useful as well as an MDM integration."
"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."
"From my knowledge, we feel that this solution is not scalable enough for us."
"Support is not really up to par in quickly addressing issues."
"The roaming of Fortinet FortiWLM could improve when comparing it to other solutions. We are missing some of the functionality in the controller. Additionally, they should offer more logs instead of using FortiAnalyzer because all the users will not be using the same thing."
"One of the main features that I see as lacking in any of the Fortinet products is the reporting. If you want to have proper, end-to-end reporting, you must purchase the FortiAnalyzer... If Fortinet could offer some better, built-in reporting, that would be a point of improvement."
"The pricing model can be improved to encourage use by small business and individuals and the hardware could stand to be redesigned."
"The range needs some improvement and also the stability."
"Sometimes we feel that we are buying the top-of-the-line technology and, six months or eight months later, we feel it is already obsolete."
"They need to do more with their marketing. That's what's wrong with them. Nobody knows they do all this other stuff. I love the product. For an enterprise-level system, you never have to explain why you're recommending Fortinet, whereas you might have to do that if you want to use the Ubiquiti Professional or the new Netgear line, but you don't have to explain Fortinet. It has been remarkable to work with."
"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."
"Improving support and firmware upgrades is necessary. Firmware upgrades and bug improvements need to be tested well."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It cost over $30,000 for us for 260 access points."
"The product is highly expensive. I rate the pricing a ten."
"The solution is fairly priced."
"Support contracts typically cost approximately $100.00 per year."
"Licensing has become easier. There is no longer a per-AP license needed on the controller."
"The solution is expensive. I give the solution a one out of ten for the price."
"For indoor access points, there is a one-time cost, upfront, whereas outdoor access points have an annual fee."
"Fortinet FortiWLM's pricing is regular and competitive."
"There is a perpetual license required for this solution and the price could be reduced."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Construction Company
14%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise5
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiWLM?
I do not have knowledge about the pricing or the cost of Fortinet FortiWLM because the license is for the package of the firewall, FortiGate.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiWLM?
Overall, I find it useful, though I have concerns because after every update, some functionality is deleted or closed. For the moment, I don't have anything else in Fortinet FortiWLM that I would l...
What is your primary use case for Fortinet FortiWLM?
I use this solution for the enterprise to segment the department.
 

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: June 2026.
908,834 professionals have used our research since 2012.