How much does it cost to install Cat6a cabling?

How much does it cost to install Cat6a cabling? The answer to this question isn’t very straight forward. The total cost of your project will depend on many factors. To obtain an accurate quote, you will most likely need a survey or submit floor plans to your project manager. However, there is a common estimation method used within the industry ‘price-per-point’. Price per point is the cost of each cabling outlet. So how does it work?

How much does it cost to install Cat6a cabling? (Price Per Point)

As previously advised, to obtain an accurate quote you must have a survey or submit floor plans to your project manager. Some of our clients enquire as to how much a data cabling project is per point.  The clarification explained in the following section is a good method to know for pricing purposes. In addition, you can scale the numbers to suit your project, this will give you a good starting point for the overall costs.

The cat6a cabling cost per data point is £50 – £65, this can be used as a rough guideline. Its important to realise, the price is subject to change. Each project is specific to the building and client, depending on specifics the method and timings of installation will change. Consequently, these changes will affect the overall quotation.  So, what other factors change the overall cost for your cat6a installation?

Cat6a Cabling can be affected by the following

• Overall number of Cat6a cabling points required
• Cable classification. Is the cable euro class rated, does it adhere to the correct safety codes?
• The distance for the cat6a cable runs or cabling routes
• Building construction (false floors/ceilings)
• Building type. For example, listed building, warehouse, school?
• Project location (congestions, Parking, Travel)
• Cable density. Are they grouped or spread far & wide?
• Do you require new containment?
• Working hours. Out of hours?

What will make the Cat6a cabling average lower?

A large number of Cat6a cabling points

When installing five, ten, twenty, or more cat6a cabling outlets, the labour generally remains the same. For example, in an area where there’s a high density of cables. Pulling 20 cat6a cables to one desk is similar in labour time to pulling in 4. Of course, the termination time will increase.  However, the labour as an average reduces, the more cabling outlets there are. Therefore, 100 cat6a cables will be lower in cost on average per point in comparison to installing 50.

  The cabling routes

An office with an existing cabling route or false floors/ceilings will have a much quicker installation time compared to a building with solid ceilings and no existing cabling routes. The easier the route, the quicker the installation will be. As a result, this will lower the overall labour cost.

  

The density of the cat6a cables

As previously mentioned, pulling in a larger number of data cables to the same area will cost similar to smaller jobs. The more densely concentrated the cables are, the lower the installation time. For instance, 100 cat6a outlets in an office with 25 desks vs 100 cat6a outlets in an office with 50 desks. The 50 desks require 50 individual routes compared to only 25. Additionally, not only are the installations higher but other factors such as containment and cabling route might also increase.

What will make the Cat6a cabling average higher?

Cabling route

In a building with no cabling routes or blocked routes, installation time will increase. Without pre-existing routes, the cabling engineers will need to create a new route. as a result, the overall quote will increase. In addition, some routes will require new containment, this will also increase the overall cost. Additional containment can sometimes result in a project increasing by 50% – 100%.

Building location

The building location can also increase the overall cost of your project. Generally, buildings located in City’s will see higher quotes in comparison to a building in a small town. For instance, a project in central London will cost more for parking and congestion charges. Furthermore, the lack of access to easy parking will result in additional time to access tools and materials from the van.

Working Hours

As a basic fundamental, work out of hours (weekends & evenings) can result in a higher cost in comparison to working during normal working hours. However, depending on the project and building use, this might be the best choice. Generally, companies will opt for this option to avoid business interruption.

Unsuitable containment

Previous categories such as cat5e and cat6 have similar installation requirements when it comes to containment. Cat6a is a bigger cable, and due to its construction, it has a bigger bend radius requirement. When installing cat6a into your building, any old containment that was used for cat5e or cat6 must be replaced as it will no longer be big enough for the new cables. The requirement for new or additional containment will increase your overall cost.

Cat5e vs Cat6a

The main difference between the 2 cables is the bandwidth. Cat5e cables have a bandwidth of up to 100Mhz and Cat6a can support up to 500Mhz. In addition, over the industry specified 90m maximum link, Cat6a can support 10 gigabit in comparison to 1 gigabit supported by cat5e.

Price per Point = £35 – £50.

Cat6 vs Cat6a

Once again, the bandwidth is the main difference. Cat6 cables only support up to 250Mhz in comparison to 500Mhz from Cat6a. As discussed above, over the 90m maximum link cat6a support up to 10 gigabit. Cat6 is only able to support 10 gigabit at 55m.

Price per Point = £40 – £55.

How much does it cost to install Cat6a cabling summary

As previously mentioned, all projects are unique so having a survey is still the best option to obtain an accurate quote. In addition, certain projects will have more complicated elements to be considered, therefore, these projects will not be suitable for the average estimates. These projects either involve additional time, materials, or bespoke elements. Lastly, the building can also have difficult routes, extra height, or require a range of cabling dispersal.

Examples of these buildings

• Schools
• Construction projects
• Hotels, hostels, Apartment block
• Care homes
• Warehouses

Other related articles – Cat6a cabling FAQ’s