• Providing an economical migration path for Wi-Fi
AP upgrades: Wi-Fi network designers recognize
that Wi-Fi APs will be physically replaced every
three to five years as technology advances. Providing
a suitable mounting option that will enable a quick
and economical upgrade will help reduce costs
and provide uniformity.
• Serviceability: It is very important that the
facility has quick and easy access to the Wi-Fi AP
and the cabling components for maintenance
and management. Providing an AP mounting option
that will protect the AP and components and offer
rapid access for maintenance will help the customer
reduce time and labor costs.
• Wi-Fi AP positioning: While it is recommended
that most Wi-Fi APs with integral antennas be
positioned in the horizontal orientation, this is not
always easy to accomplish when deploying on hard
vertical surfaces. Additionally, finding space
to store and access the cabling and components
is an additional challenge. Furthermore, some
technologies, such as way-finding, require the APs
to be oriented in certain positions. The challenge
is providing the customer with a mounting solution
that will enable the positioning of the APs to be
simple and quick, simultaneously offering protection
and aesthetics.
60 I ICT TODAY
STANDARDS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
There is not a written standard for mounting Wi-Fi
APs. AP vendors offer installation instructions for their
respective products, which serves as the best practice
in limited applications. Wireless designers are now
being tasked with integrating wireless infrastructure
within and outside every facility with the requirement
to support business and operations critical data, voice,
and M2M communications. Experienced technology
professionals recognize the following factors in
wireless design:
• APs should be physically exchanged and upgraded
FIGURE 11: Example
of an in-the grid ceiling
mount with the integral
antennas unobstructed
by the ceiling tiles.
every three to five years.
• The AP’s throughput will increase by a factor
of 10X every five years.
• The AP’s power requirement, supplied by Power over
Ethernet (PoE), will increase.
• AP density will increase, requiring additional cabling
to new AP locations.
• The WLAN will provide additional services,
including Voice over Wi-Fi (VoWiFi), location-based
services, telemetry, and M2M.
• Network physical layer (PHY) and medium access
control (MAC) standards are evolving.
The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA)
and BICSI provide the following helpful guidelines
and resources:
TIA/TSB-162-A Telecommunications
Cabling Guidelines for Wireless Access Points
The specifications in this document accept an in-thegrid
ceiling mount with the antenna unobstructed by
ceiling tiles (Figure 11). The guideline further states
that it accepts wall mount deployments above or below
the suspended ceiling. The guideline also accepts PoE
to power access points, recommending that horizontal
cabling be terminated at the equipment outlet,
then the use of a patch cord to the AP.
ANSI/BICSI 008-2018 states
that “the wireless access point
infrastructure physical design
should consider consistency,
compatibility, and ease of
operational support while
lowering overall cost.”