How many access points does an office actually need?

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Accepted Answer

Roughly one per 1,500 square feet of open space, fewer if the walls are solid, more if they are not. A rough starting point rather than a rule: one business access point covers about 1,500 square feet of open office space well. Divided space with solid walls brings that down, sometimes considerably. A 5,000 square foot office is usually three or four, not one. Three things that change the number more than square footage does: Construction. Drywall is forgiving. Concrete, brick, plaster with metal lath, and anything lead lined are not. One wall can cost you an entire room's coverage. Device count, not headcount. Everybody has a laptop and a phone, and a lot of businesses now have tablets, scanners, and payment terminals on wireless as well. Count devices. What people actually do. Video calls and large file transfers need far more than email and browsing, and a room where twelve people simultaneously join Teams calls is a different design problem from twelve people typing. More access points is not automatically better. Too many, badly configured, interfere with each other and produce worse results than fewer placed properly. Placement and channel planning matter more than count.