Cisco Systems has unveiled a new appliance that aims to make it easier for enterprises to manage and deploy wireless networks while adding new features to improve safety and ease of management.

Wireless networks within enterprises are on the rise, but companies often baulk at the maintenance costs.

The new Cisco Catalyst 3750g merges a company's wired and wireless networks, allowing uniform security settings while making them easier to maintain.

"Customers now see mobility as a service that they can turn on and off, not as something that they have to bolt on to the network afterwards," Alan Cohne, Cisco's senior director of mobility solutions, said at Cisco Networkers 2006 in Las Vegas.

Wireless networks are not merely an additional way for employees to use laptop computers to access the corporate network. They also enable dual-mode mobile phones that switch between the corporate Wi-Fi network when at work and a cellular network when outside the office.

Users thereby cut costs on phone bills and can access corporate services through their handsets.

Cisco also released a new version 4 of its Unified Wireless Network software, claiming that the application is the first to offer support for the forthcoming 802.11w standard, which has yet to be certified by the IEEE.

The software allows network managers to create temporary accounts, providing contractors or guests with access to the corporate wireless network for preset periods of time.

It also promises to better handle voice communications, and offers location services allowing users to pinpoint certain items that have been equipped with a wireless radio. This could be used for inventory control and theft prevention.

The Catalyst 3750g is available on 21 June and starts at $20,500. The Unified Wireless Network software is available immediately as a free upgrade through Cisco's existing support contracts.

A podcast interview on Cisco's wireless enterprise push is available on the Silicon Valley Sleuth blog.