Ignore the headline number
Every Wi-Fi 7 AP leads with a data rate in the tens of gigabits. The 730-series lists about 28.8 Gbps. No client will see that. Your uplink cannot carry it. It is the sum of radios in conditions you rarely meet.
Peak PHY rate does not decide a refresh. The useful questions are narrower. Here is how we assess whether 6E or Wi-Fi 7 is worth it.
What 6E and Wi-Fi 7 add
Two things get conflated. Wi-Fi 6E is Wi-Fi 6 with access to the 6 GHz band. That band is clean and has room for wide channels. Wi-Fi 7 adds 320 MHz channels, 4K-QAM, preamble puncturing, and Multi-Link Operation.
For most estates the biggest real gain is getting onto 6 GHz at all. The clean band and wider channels do most of the work. Access to 6 GHz depends on spectrum you may not have.
The EU spectrum reality
The US opened all 1200 MHz of 6 GHz. In the EU and UK, only the lower 500 MHz is available for Wi-Fi (5925 to 6425 MHz) at the time of writing. So you cannot lay out three 320 MHz channels here. In the lower band you get one 320 MHz channel, or a couple of 160 MHz channels, then you run out.
Design to the spectrum you have
Most Wi-Fi 7 marketing uses US numbers. In Ireland and the UK the 320 MHz figure is theoretical for now. Plan channels for about 500 MHz of 6 GHz. Assume more and the design co-channel interferes with itself as it scales.
The client gate
A standard is a handshake. You get the benefit only when the client supports it. Cover a building in Wi-Fi 7 APs and a Wi-Fi 6 laptop still connects at Wi-Fi 6. So ask what share of the devices that matter can use it, and when that changes.
A slow-refreshing fleet leaves the AP capability idle for years. A turning-over fleet, or a few high-value clients in dense rooms, makes the case now. Match the AP spend to the client reality.
The wired cost nobody quotes
This is where budgets go. A Wi-Fi 7 AP that moves multiple gigabits needs an uplink that carries it. A single 1 GbE port bottlenecks a fast AP. So you need multi-gigabit switching at the access layer: 2.5, 5 or 10 GbE.
The higher-end APs also draw more power. Your current switches may not deliver the newer PoE tiers. A wireless upgrade becomes a switching and cabling upgrade. We price the wired layer into every wireless refresh from the start.
MLO in practice
Multi-Link Operation lets a capable client use two bands at once. For steady throughput the gain is small. For latency it helps. It rides out interference on one band by using the other. That suits voice, conferencing, cloud desktops and AR/VR. Both AP and client must support it. If latency is your reason to upgrade, design around MLO.
When to upgrade, wait, or skip
- Upgrade now if you are replacing aging APs, have 6 GHz-capable clients, and need capacity or latency.
- Choose Wi-Fi 7 over 6E when you do. The price gap is small and MLO is worth having.
- Wait if the current wireless is healthy, clients are mostly Wi-Fi 6 or older, and there is no pain.
- Do high-density and latency-sensitive areas first. Let general coverage follow the refresh cycle.
How we'd plan it
We start with a survey and honest inputs. What the current wireless delivers. What the clients can use. What the access switching and PoE support. Where the pain is. Then we prioritise by where the upgrade earns its place, with the wired layer costed in.
We run wireless networks and manage them through Aruba Central. If a Wi-Fi 7 refresh is coming, start with a survey.