How many access points do you actually need?
The most common mistake in business WiFi planning is sizing on floor area alone. Area matters, but device density matters more.
A useful starting point:
| Scenario | Approximate AP count per 100 m² |
|---|---|
| Open-plan office, standard density (≤1.5 devices/person) | 0.5–0.7 |
| Open-plan office, high density (BYOD + shared devices) | 0.8–1.2 |
| Warehouse with racking (signal obstruction) | 0.8–1.5 |
| Meeting-heavy layout (many closed rooms) | 1.0–1.5 |
| Retail with high customer device load | 1.2–2.0 |
These are planning figures, not guarantees. A site survey — even an informal walk-through with a floor plan — will always be more accurate than a formula.
Ceiling vs wall mount
Mount on the ceiling where you can. A ceiling-mounted AP with an omnidirectional antenna radiates a downward cone that reaches desk level consistently across the coverage footprint. Furniture, partitions, and people absorb less of the signal than they would from a wall-mounted unit at head height.
Wall mounts are acceptable in corridors, stairwells, and rooms where a ceiling cable run is genuinely impractical. Position the AP as high on the wall as the cable allows and tilt it slightly downward if the mounting bracket permits.
Avoid mounting APs in ceiling voids above tiles or in enclosed cabinets. Both dramatically reduce effective range and make RF planning guesswork.
2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz — where each matters
2.4 GHz travels further and penetrates walls better, which sounds appealing until you realise every microwave, Bluetooth device, and neighbouring office network is on the same band. Restrict 2.4 GHz to IoT devices, handheld scanners, and legacy hardware that cannot connect on 5 GHz. Keep 2.4 GHz enabled but do not rely on it for staff laptops and phones.
5 GHz is the workhorse band for business deployments. More non-overlapping channels (up to 24 in the UNII-1/2/2e/3 ranges), much less congestion, and modern devices handle it natively. Most of your throughput planning should assume 5 GHz.
6 GHz (WiFi 6E and WiFi 7) is largely interference-free because the band is new and consumer devices are only beginning to adopt it. If you are deploying new APs now and your devices support 6 GHz, it is worth having it available — particularly in dense environments. Do not purchase 6 GHz APs and then connect them to switches that cannot deliver 2.5 Gbps uplink; the AP becomes the bottleneck.
Channel planning and co-channel interference
Co-channel interference is the single most avoidable cause of poor business WiFi. When two APs within earshot of each other transmit on the same channel, they must take turns — effectively halving usable airtime and introducing latency.
On 2.4 GHz: use only channels 1, 6, and 11. Never use channels 2–5 or 7–10 — partial overlap is worse than full co-channel overlap.
On 5 GHz: plan your channel assignments before installation. Most SMB controllers will auto-assign channels on startup, which is fine as a baseline, but review the RF heat map after deployment and override any adjacent APs that land on the same channel.
Reduce transmit power on APs in dense deployments. Lower power shrinks the cell, which reduces overlap with neighbours and allows more aggressive channel reuse.
Powering APs over PoE
Every business AP on the market draws power from its Ethernet cable via PoE (Power over Ethernet). You need a PoE-capable switch port for each AP.
Key considerations:
- PoE budget — the total watts available across all ports. A 24-port PoE switch rated at 185 W budget cannot power 24 APs drawing 15 W each (that would require 360 W).
- PoE standard — most APs use 802.3af (15.4 W per port) or 802.3at/PoE+ (30 W). Check the AP datasheet and confirm the switch port matches.
- Cable run length — PoE over Cat 6 is reliable to 100 m. Beyond that, use a mid-span injector or move the switch closer.
Our guide to choosing a PoE switch covers budget calculation and port selection in detail.
Roaming and handoff between APs
Roaming — the process of a device moving from one AP to another without dropping its connection — is where many business WiFi deployments quietly fail. The symptom is a laptop or phone that “sticks” to a distant AP with a weak signal rather than connecting to the closer one.
To get clean roaming:
- All APs should share the same SSID and passphrase, managed through a single controller.
- Enable 802.11r (fast BSS transition), 802.11k (neighbour reports), and 802.11v (BSS transition management) in the controller if the APs support them.
- Keep transmit power consistent across APs — a mis-configured AP at maximum power will attract clients from across the building and then fail to hand them off cleanly.
- Validate roaming before sign-off by walking the site while running a continuous ping or video stream.
Validating coverage after installation
Do not accept a deployment without a basic coverage walk. A WiFi analyser (NetSpot on macOS/Windows, WiFi Analyzer on Android) will show you signal strength in dBm at each point you stand. You are looking for:
- Signal at the desk: −65 dBm or better for reliable throughput
- No dead zones below −75 dBm in any area with regular use
- Noise floor ideally below −90 dBm — above −80 dBm, interference is already degrading performance
If you find gaps, either reposition the nearest AP or add an additional one. Do not simply increase transmit power across all APs — that often makes interference worse, not better.
Pricing, stock, and getting a quote
All pricing on Business IT Supply is shown GST-inclusive with the ex-GST figure alongside — no surprises at checkout. We carry verified stock on the shelf separately from supplier ETAs, and we note which category each item falls into so you know what you are actually ordering.
If you are building out a wireless network, add the APs and PoE switch to a quote together — the switch selection affects which APs are practical, and the PoE budget calculation is easier to check when both are on the same line. Browse the full range at /catalogue?cat=networking.