Wireless
254 results
Wireless
254 results
Wireless networking equipment for offices, public spaces, hospitality and outdoor sites. The category covers indoor and outdoor access points across Wi-Fi 5, 6, 6E and 7 standards, hardware and cloud controllers that manage many APs as one network, and the antennas, mounts and PoE injectors that complete a working install.
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Wireless networking for offices, public spaces and outdoor sites
Wireless is no longer the exception in offices; it is the way most users connect. Done well, it is invisible: laptops roam between rooms without dropping, video calls hold steady, and dense meeting rooms work as advertised. Done poorly, it is the network IT spends most of its time defending. The right deployment depends on the site, the user count and the kind of management the team is comfortable with.
What this category covers
Indoor business access points across Wi-Fi 5, 6, 6E and 7 standards; outdoor APs with weather-rated enclosures; high-density APs for arenas, hotel ballrooms and lecture theatres; dedicated controllers and cloud-managed AP families; and the antennas, mounts and PoE injectors that complete the install.
Who this category is for
IT teams refreshing office Wi-Fi; AV integrators rolling out hospitality and education networks; warehouses and outdoor sites needing rugged coverage; and small business owners replacing consumer routers with proper business APs.
How to plan a wireless deployment
Start with a site survey
Wireless coverage is invisible until something fails. A proper survey, even a rough walkthrough with a Wi-Fi analyser app, shows where signal is weak, where channels overlap with neighbours, and where AP placement actually needs to be. Skipping the survey is the most common reason new Wi-Fi installs disappoint.
Plan AP density by user count, not by floor area
A 200 m² office with five users needs one AP. A 200 m² meeting room with eighty laptops in it needs three or four APs. AP density follows user density and the throughput each user needs, not just the floor area covered.
Pick the Wi-Fi standard for the device mix
Wi-Fi 6 is the modern baseline, well-supported by current laptops, phones and tablets. Wi-Fi 6E adds the 6 GHz band, useful in dense environments where 5 GHz is crowded. Wi-Fi 7 is appearing in business gear and adds further dense-environment improvements. Older Wi-Fi 5 is still common in legacy installs but worth replacing on new buys.
Decide on managed or standalone
Standalone APs work fine in tiny installs (1-3 APs). Managed APs (cloud or controller) are essential as soon as users roam between APs, when configuration changes need to apply to all APs at once, or when separate networks (guest, voice, IoT) need consistent enforcement everywhere.
Subcategories at a glance
Access Points and Controllers
The APs themselves and the hardware or cloud controllers that manage them across single sites and multi-site networks.
Antennas and Accessories
External antennas for outdoor and long-range installs, mounting brackets for ceiling and wall, PoE injectors for switches that lack PoE, and replacement power supplies.
What to confirm before ordering
- User count, peak concurrent devices and the throughput per user?
- Coverage area: indoor only, outdoor, or both?
- Wi-Fi standard (6, 6E, 7) matched to the device mix and budget?
- Standalone or managed (cloud, on-premise controller)?
- PoE switch already in place, or PoE injectors needed?
Frequently asked questions
How many access points do I need?
Plan one AP per 25-40 typical office users (laptops and phones), one per 15-20 users in dense meeting rooms, and one per 10-15 users in conference and event spaces. Floor area is a rough secondary indicator; user density is the primary one. A site survey or a heat map tool gives a more accurate count.
Should I upgrade from Wi-Fi 5 to Wi-Fi 6 or 6E?
For new purchases, Wi-Fi 6 or 6E is the right choice; the price premium over Wi-Fi 5 is small and the gains are real for dense environments. For existing installs that are not over capacity, Wi-Fi 5 is fine until the APs reach end of support. Wi-Fi 7 is worth specifying for new installs in 2025 and beyond.
Cloud-managed or controller-managed Wi-Fi?
Cloud-managed (Cisco Meraki, Ubiquiti UniFi cloud, Aruba Central, etc.) is easier to deploy at scale, gives central visibility across multiple sites, and removes the need for an on-site controller appliance. Controller-managed has lower recurring costs and continues working if cloud connectivity fails. For multi-site businesses, cloud is now the default; for single-site installs, either approach works.
Will mesh Wi-Fi work for an office?
Consumer mesh (Eero, Google Wifi, Deco) is designed for homes and small offices. Business-grade mesh (UniFi Mesh, Aruba mesh) supports proper VLANs, guest networks and management at scale. For offices above about 10 users, business-grade APs (mesh or wired backhaul) are the right choice; consumer mesh runs out of room.
Do I need outdoor APs for a covered patio?
If the area is fully covered and walls are dry, indoor APs sometimes work. For exposed outdoor areas, weather-rated outdoor APs are the right choice; they tolerate temperature swings, humidity and direct rain that would kill an indoor unit within a season. Outdoor APs cost more but pay back through reliability.