3Com announced a new line of modular wireless LAN access points and upgrade kits that offer customers the ability to easily bring the newer 802.11a wireless standard into their network while preserving their investment in existing wireless technology.

John Yoon, senior director, wireless and security product management said today "3Com continues to drive innovations that offer practical solutions for customers" "The modular design of our new wireless LAN access points are a perfect example: customers can now select the configuration of radios to best fit their organization while removing the need to purchase additional add-ons like power devices and antennas."

The new wireless products include:

3Com Wireless LAN Access Point 8200 with 802.11b radio
3Com Wireless LAN Access Point 8500 with 802.11a radio
3Com Wireless LAN Access Point 8700 with 802.11a and 802.11b radios.

All three access points offer two configurable radio slots so that customers can upgrade or change the radio boards to accommodate new technology or better serve the existing radio needs of an organization. The 3Com Wireless LAN Upgrade Kit is available in either 802.11b or 802.11a and comes with a radio board, an antenna board, and necessary accessories to allow the customer to easily install the upgrade into the access point.

3Com will offer support in the new access points for 40-bit WEP and 128-bit shared key encryption, IEEE 802.1x, EAP-MD5, EAP-TLS, EAP-TTLS, and PEAP Authentication. For user authentication, the access points support 802.1x and will work with any existing RADIUS authentication server.

The access points can be easily managed using 3Com Network Supervisor, a management application. The software enables network managers to configure wireless devices and distribute software upgrades simultaneous to multiple wireless devices. In addition, the access points offer Power over Ethernet based on the IEEE P802.af draft industry standard.

The new 3Com Wireless LAN Access Points will be priced as follows:

3Com Wireless LAN Access Point 8200 $ 749
3Com Wireless LAN Access Point 8500 $ 849
3Com Wireless LAN Access Point 8700 $1099
3Com 802.11a Wireless LAN Access Point Upgrade Kit $ 349
3Com 802.11b Wireless LAN Access Point Upgrade Kit $ 249

While the Access Point 8200 is available now, all other access points and upgrade kits listed are expected to ship at the end of March.