Wi-Fi 7 in SA offices: upgrade now or wait for 2026?

1) What’s new in Wi-Fi 7 (why it matters)

320 MHz channels (6 GHz band): Big lanes for peak throughput—if clients can use them and spectrum allows.
Multi-Link Operation (MLO): Clients can use 2.4/5/6 GHz links in parallel for stability and lower latency.
4K-QAM: Higher bits per symbol = more speed at short range/clean RF.
Preamble puncturing & Multi-RU: Better use of “dirty” spectrum; fewer retries and higher efficiency in real offices.
Deterministic latency features: Smoother video calls, VDI, and Wi-Fi voice—when the rest of your stack cooperates.

Inventory first: How many endpoints are Wi-Fi 7 capable? How many are Wi-Fi 6/6E? Legacy 802.11ac?
Use case split: Laptops vs mobiles vs IoT/meeting rooms. Wi-Fi 7 wins more for high-density laptops and media/VC workloads.
OS & driver maturity: New radios often need fresh drivers/firmware to unlock MLO/320 MHz stability.
Decision guardrails:
- If <25% of clients are Wi-Fi 7 in 2025, deploy selectively (hotspots/meeting zones).
- If >50% will be Wi-Fi 7 by late-2026 (PC refresh cycles), plan a broader 2026 cutover.

ISP backhaul: A single 2 Gbps office link will cap perceived gains; aggregate per-floor consumption often bursts above WAN.
Switching/uplinks: Many Wi-Fi 7 APs want 2.5/5 GbE to breathe; 1 GbE uplinks throttle them fast.
PoE budget: Check 802.3at (PoE+) vs 802.3bt (PoE++). Full-feature radios, extra USB, or tri-band often need bt.
Cabling: Cat6A preferred for 5/10 GbE runs and future-proofing; long Cat5e may limit speeds and PoE stability.
Security/gateway throughput: Firewalls, IDS/IPS, and SD-WAN boxes must handle the new aggregate LAN speeds.
Controller/licensing: Ensure your controller (on-prem/cloud) supports MLO, 6 GHz planning, and sane license TCO.

Density & meeting rooms: Congestion, not raw speed, is the top complaint. Plan for capacity where people cluster.
6 GHz propagation: Cleaner spectrum, slightly shorter reach—more APs or tighter cell sizes may be needed.
Ceiling height & materials: Glass boardrooms, concrete cores, and metal ceilings reshape cells—validate with a survey.
Roaming paths: For MLO to shine, overlapping cells across bands must be carefully tuned (TPC, RRM, channel plan).
Noise you can control: Printers/IoT on 2.4 GHz? Segregate, rate-limit, or wire them.

Pick two hotspots: A busy open area and a boardroom cluster.
Baseline current KPIs: median throughput, p95 latency/Jitter, retries, client mix, helpdesk tickets.
Install 2–4 Wi-Fi 7 APs with mGig uplinks and correct PoE; enable MLO with conservative channel widths.
Keep a parallel SSID for legacy bands; don’t force 6 GHz on day one.
Measure again: Same KPIs plus call-quality MOS, Teams/Zoom stats, and handoff latency.
Tune: Channel widths, power, min-RSSI; test with real meetings and lunchtime congestion.
Decide: Expand to similar zones or wait for client refresh.

APs: Wi-Fi 7, MLO support, clean 6 GHz radio, WPA3-Enterprise, and clear firmware roadmap.
Switching: 2.5/5 GbE access ports where APs land; 10 GbE uplinks from access to core.
PoE: Confirm per-port bt power and total chassis PoE budget with 20–30% headroom.
Cabling: Prefer Cat6A to AP locations; certify runs.
Controller/Cloud: MLO policies, 6 GHz planning, RF automation, per-client analytics, license model.
Security: Firewall/IDS throughput with features on; WPA3/802.1X, guest isolation, micro-segmentation.
Mounting & survey: Ceiling grid mounts, aesthetics, and a pre/post heatmap survey.
AFC/regulatory readiness: Ensure the vendor path aligns with SA regulatory requirements for 6 GHz where applicable.
Support: Local RMA, spares, and SLAs that match your office hours.

Upgrade now (2025) if: You have high-density pain today, ≥30% Wi-Fi 7 laptops incoming, and you can fund mGig + PoE++ in target zones.
Wait for 2026 if: Client refresh is 12–18 months out, your WAN/firewall would bottleneck anyway, or you need time to re-cable to Cat6A.