Wi-Fi 7 accounted for more than half of the enterprise wireless LAN market in the second quarter of 2026, according to Dell'Oro Group's report released September 10. Vendors shipped more than 10 million access points in the quarter, an industry record, and the highest number ever of access points with multi-gig and 10 Gbps interfaces. That is a sharp jump from the first quarter, when Wi-Fi 7 was 37% of indoor access points shipped. Dell'Oro named Cisco, Ubiquiti and Huawei as Wi-Fi 7 market leaders and said adoption will keep rising into 2028.
The infrastructure behind the access point is where projects get surprised. Dell'Oro noted in June that faster multi-gig access points are adding demand on campus switches. As practical guidance, an access point with a multi-gig uplink only delivers that speed if the switch port and the cable run behind it support it, and newer access points often draw more PoE power than the models they replace.
Before you buy Wi-Fi 7 access points, audit what sits behind them. Check whether your switches have multi-gig ports and enough PoE budget for the new access points at full power. Have a cabling contractor certify the existing runs to your access point locations, since older or poorly terminated cable may not hold multi-gig speeds, and price Category 6A for any new drops. Budget the switch and cabling work in the same project, rather than discovering it after the access points arrive.
Done in that order, a Wi-Fi 7 upgrade delivers what it promises instead of running at the speed of yesterday's infrastructure.
Sources
Does this affect your business?
Our advisors can help you figure out the right move, at no cost.