Material choices – cable, containment, termination hardware
Copper grade. Cat 5e remains the cheapest, Cat 6A F/UTP sits about 15 % higher, and Cat 8 can double raw cable cost – though it tends to be short in-row runs. Include shielded connectors, earth bars and larger trunking if you step up to STP. See Shielded vs Unshielded – When & Why for guidance.
Fibre class. OM4 tight-buffer pigtail trunks command roughly 30 % more than OM3; single-mode OS2 can be cheaper than OM5 thanks to hyperscale demand. Remember to add splice trays, pigtails and heat-shrink cradles.
Containment system. Steel trunking costs more than basket, and aluminium ladder adds premium if ceiling height forces long “hanging” drops. Fire-rated riser sleeves, intumescent pillows and cabling fire-safety seals can add £8-£12 per metre of penetration.
Patch panels and racks. High-density angled panels reduce cabinet count but raise part price. A tidy, labelled cabinet still pays dividends; if you skimp now, expect to call us for a Data Cabinet Tidy later.
Labour and programme – time is literally money
Installation rates. A skilled copper crew averages 35-40 terminations per engineer per day in an unoccupied shell; live workplaces drop to 18-22 as we work round staff and noise restrictions.
Shift premiums. Out-of-hours work in the City carries 1.5× to 2× labour multiplier. If you need nights, budget early; flipping at the last minute is a sure-fire budget buster.
Access logistics. Tight service lifts, security escorts and tool X-ray add hidden hours. One Canary Wharf tower charges a £150 booking fee per trolley delivery window – trivial on day one, expensive over 30 nights.
Specialised skills. Fusion splicing fibre and certifying Cat 8 require higher day rates and, occasionally, subcontractor travel cost. ACCL maintains cross-skilled teams, yet we still allocate a premium slot for Tier-2 OTDR technicians.
Compliance, testing and documentation – the unseen but non-negotiable slice
Field testing. Each copper link needs a Level Va signature; each fibre link demands bidirectional loss and length, plus OTDR for backbone. Tester rental, calibration certificates and engineer time typically equal 5-8 % of project cost.
Standards documentation. BICSI and ISO baselines insist on as-built schematics, labelled floorplans and test-result PDFs. Collating and QA-checking those files can consume the same hours as a small squad on the tools for a day. Skimp here and your manufacturer warranty – think 25 years of peace-of-mind – will not be issued.
Health & safety. RAMS, CDM paperwork and site supervision count as head office overhead in many quotes. Occupied premises may also require DBS checks, asbestos awareness and access cards.
Ancillary and lifecycle costs – often overlooked, always real
Permits and landlord approvals. Some estate managers charge a licence-to-alter or insist on third-party oversight for penetrations. Factor consultation fees early to avoid project pauses.
Waste disposal. Copper arisings have scrap value, but packaging, old trunking and pulled legacy cables incur skip hire and WEEE transfer notes. Choosing environmentally accredited cabling partners can claw back compliance time.
Post-install tidy-up. Under-desk cable furniture, Velcro wraps and desk-through glands run £18-£25 per position – but they save callouts under “my laptop cable got kicked out”. Consider ACCL’s Under-Desk Cable Management Services as an inclusion rather than a remedial.
Commissioning support. IT teams often need an engineer on standby when they light the new core at 02:00. One night of cover is cheaper in the tender than an emergency call-out later.
Contingency, inflation and value engineering
Contingency. For new shell-and-core builds we budget 5 %. Live refurbs with unknown voids call for 10 %. Document what the pot can and cannot be spent on to prevent leak-off into wish-list items.
Inflation. Copper and PVC pricing can move 3-5 % in a single quarter. Lock cable prices with the distributor or agree an escalation clause with a transparent index (e.g., LME copper).
Value-engineering that works. Dropping from Cat 6A to Cat 6 rarely saves more than 6 % yet can halve future headroom. Smarter trade-offs include switching to basket tray over ladder, opting for pre-terminated 24-core fibre (faster labour), or moving Wi-Fi APs to soffit-mount so you save floor-box drops.
