Ruckus's MediaFlex NG wireless platform is designed to let carriers remotely diagnose, update, and inspect Wi-Fi hardware installed for IPTV and data purposes: The new platform tries to eliminate truck rolls and long tech-support calls by allowing an operator that's bringing in many services into the home to figure out what's going on in the home. Right now, that can be frustrating for consumers and operators alike. The MediaFlex NG platform will let service providers gather statistics and determine what the RF environment is like, among other remote diagnostics. Being able to push firmware updates prevents a user from having to follow the many, often irritating steps in that process. (It does mean that if a firmware update kills an adapter, the operator will have to be able to get a new adapter out quickly.)
MediaFlex NG supports multiple virtual SSIDs, which lets a home user have a unique virtual Wi-Fi network at the same time as the operator is using the network to distribute IP-based video and other content. Separate virtual networks let the multimedia traffic have even simpler priority over pure data. The first instantiations of the product are a one-port media adapter (MSRP $100) and a router (MSRP $160).