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ADTRAN Bluesocket Wireless vs Fortinet FortiWLM comparison

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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
9th
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 September 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

"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."
"It has allowed our SMB team to provide an easy wireless solution."
"I believe the initial setup was straightforward."
"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 most valuable features are the roaming profile, the mesh, and the performance."
"We innovate the business process, we innovate how employees work in their companies, and in the case of stores we are bringing new results and new income, helping them grow their sales with customers who like to go to their stores because they can access the information they need, connect to the wireless LAN, compare prices, and engage with the retail store."
"This is the only product on the market currently that supports as many access points for wifi users."
"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."
"If you do have a FortiGate Firewall somewhere in the network, you can connect the wireless controller to that... You get 100 percent visibility from a single point... You can see everything that's connected to the FortiGate, whether it's a switch or a wireless AP or a wireless controller or any other Fortinet product."
"Security is the feature we like most from Fortinet. In general, their security architecture is really great, because it involves everything: firewalls, wireless LANs, the user. Everything is really secure."
"Fortinet FortiWLM is good for tracking assets, monitoring, and overall management."
"The solution is stable."
 

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."
"From my knowledge, we feel that this solution is not scalable enough for us."
"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."
"Support is not really up to par in quickly addressing issues."
"I have used Cisco previously and I don't see any specific differences from Fortinet FortiWLM or other vendors."
"When using the FortiGate as the wireless controller, you cannot have automatic user registration, which is something that they should offer."
"Documentation could be improved."
"This solution should be easier to set up in a production environment."
"They have a business model where whatever you buy, you must make a service contract. But it seems a little bit like a moneymaking machine rather than a necessity."
"In terms of improvements, the price is higher than I would like. A reduction in pricing would be beneficial."
"There is one thing that I find extremely strange, and this something that is unique to Fortinet, and it isn't a positive at all."
"Because of this, our experience with FortiWLM hasn't been very good, and we have not implemented any further FortiWLM solutions for other customers to date."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It cost over $30,000 for us for 260 access points."
"Licensing has become easier. There is no longer a per-AP license needed on the controller."
"There is a perpetual license required for this solution and the price could be reduced."
"Fortinet FortiWLM's pricing is regular and competitive."
"For indoor access points, there is a one-time cost, upfront, whereas outdoor access points have an annual fee."
"Licensing costs are reasonable. There are so many different types of licenses with Fortinet, but the licensing and the 24/7/365 support are so reasonable that I automatically include it with every transaction. I never line item it without it. There are no additional costs."
"The solution is fairly priced."
"Support contracts typically cost approximately $100.00 per year."
"In the last few years, due in part to the impact of COVID on the market, Fortinet has increased its prices by 35 percent."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Construction Company
13%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Financial Services Firm
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: September 2026.
913,806 professionals have used our research since 2012.