Wi-Fi 6, 6E and Wi-Fi 7 access points for offices, schools, warehouses and hospitality — ceiling and wall-plate mounted, outdoor rated, and point-to-point bridges for linking buildings.
You are choosing a management platform, not just hardware
Business access points are designed to be managed as a fleet, and each vendor's controller is its own world. UniFi, Omada, Meraki and Aruba Instant On each expect their own access points; you cannot adopt one vendor's AP into another's controller, and adding a second ecosystem means running a second management plane. Some platforms are licence-free once the hardware is bought, while others require an ongoing subscription per access point to stay manageable. Establish which model applies before sizing an order: it moves the five-year cost far more than the unit price does.
Check the PoE standard, not just that it says PoE
Nearly everything here is powered over Ethernet, but the standards are not equivalent. 802.3af supplies about 15 W, 802.3at about 30 W and 802.3bt more again. Wi-Fi 6E and 7 access points frequently want at or bt, and given only af they usually still boot — then quietly run with a radio disabled, a slower uplink or the second Ethernet port dead. Check the AP's requirement against both the switch's per-port capability and its total power budget.
Coverage comes from the number of access points and where they go
The headline figure on the box is the sum of every radio under laboratory conditions, and no single client will ever see it. A busy office is limited by client density rather than range, and the answer is more access points at lower power rather than fewer at maximum. The 6 GHz band used by Wi-Fi 6E and 7 is fast but travels less far and through fewer walls, so it changes placement rather than removing the need for it.
Match the form factor to the space
Ceiling mounts suit open-plan floors and classrooms. Wall-plate units fit an existing back box and are the usual answer for hotel rooms, student accommodation and cellular offices, often adding a wired port. Outdoor-rated units cover yards and car parks. Point-to-point bridges are a separate class — they link two sites and do not serve client devices.
Brands
Ubiquiti, TP-Link Omada, Cisco Meraki and HPE Aruba Networking, alongside access points from MikroTik, NETGEAR and Zyxel.
Trade pricing and business accounts are available for UK organisations, and bulk orders are welcome — request a quote.
