Sportiness6B
I would go with the router, switch, AP wired backhaul. You will prefer it in the long run and it will be much, much better in terms of growing into and upgrade ability.
I have a client that wanted to get a new mesh system to utilize the latest standard. It would have been over 2k. If they wired their house and went with something like unifi. It would be about $700-$1000 for the AP’s. And that’s choosing the latest and greatest AP from Unifi. Unifi.
Docsis 3.1 is the absolutely minimum I’d get in 2023.
T-Mobile has a deal going on for their 5G home Internet.
Use your phone hotspot.
Then in the future, get a second isp.
Imho putting this in your apartment living room is going to create more problems/issues than it’s worth.
I would ditch the idea, or hire someone to set up a network and bring everything back to a closet or something. I think this is what high end mesh systems were designed for. Check out Amplifi and netgear orbis. They are the only ones I have any experience with.
If you don’t need it, I wouldn’t invest in doing it. It is an investment. I have over $5k(router, switch, rack, AP’s, UPS, patch Panel, Ethernet cables going from switch to patch panel) invested in the network. Actual networking equipment specifically for wired Ethernet is a little under half. With AP’s, it’s over half.
That being said, if you want it. By all means go for it. I want it is a valid reason to get it.
I used to get 940/840. From my ISP. Now I generally get over 1200/900 on my iPhone.