so what MQTT specific hardware does this unit contain? How does this differ from the ATOM POE? If a host is required either way, wouldn't the MQTT be running on the host and not this MQTT POE unit?

Can the MQTT POE unit be run as standalone? Or does it need to be plugged into a base? I am just trying to make a simple POE light switch hooked up to a relay and control it via MQTT through homeassistant. I originally purchased the ATOM POE assuming i could program the ESP to do MQTT. Now I see the MQTT POE unit has been released which may be a better fit for me.