The Wi-Fi 7 refresh is a switching project wearing a wireless badge

A recurring conversation with organisations scoping a Wi-Fi 7 refresh: the access point budget is approved, the switching has not been discussed, and the project is four months from discovering that it needs both.

Three numbers to check before committing

Uplink speed. A Wi-Fi 7 access point behind a 1 GbE switch port cannot deliver Wi-Fi 7. 2.5 GbE is the minimum; 5 or 10 GbE in high-density areas.

Full-functionality power. Every access point data sheet quotes two figures: a minimum power requirement and a full-functionality one. On 802.3at, many tri-radio access points will boot, join the controller, report as healthy — and quietly disable a radio or drop the uplink to 1 GbE. Several vendors log this only as a low-priority informational message.

Total PoE budget. A 48-port switch advertising 802.3bt rarely supplies 60 W on all 48 ports simultaneously. Sum every connected device at its full-functionality draw, then check against the switch's total budget with redundancy in mind.

The cabling question

Cat5e carries 1 Gbps and PoE and works today. Multi-gigabit over long or poorly terminated Cat5e is less reliable, and 802.3bt Type 3 dissipates meaningful heat in a tightly packed bundle. In an occupied building, re-pulling cable costs many times the price of the cable.

Commissioning verification

After installation, pull the negotiated PoE class and actual link speed for every access point and compare against expectation. A five-minute script across the estate catches silent degradation before anyone builds a performance expectation on it.