Pricing structured cabling is rarely as simple as a single headline figure, because two offices of the same size can differ wildly in cost. This guide explains the realistic ranges you can expect across Edinburgh and the North of England, and the practical things that push your quote up or down.
Most reputable installers quote by the data point (each socket outlet), not by floor area. As a rough guide across Scotland and Northern England, a single Cat6 point typically lands somewhere around £120 to £200 supplied and fitted, with Cat6a sitting higher at roughly £160 to £280 per point.
A point covers the cable run, the faceplate, termination, the patch panel connection at the comms cabinet, and testing. A small office of 10 desks with two points each (one for the PC, one spare or for a phone) is therefore around 20 points, so a realistic ballpark is £2,500 to £4,500 before any cabinet or containment costs.
The cabling itself is often the smaller part. Labour and access drive the difference. A modern open-plan space with a suspended ceiling and accessible floor boxes is quick to wire. A Georgian or Victorian building in Edinburgh's New Town, with solid walls, listed-building restrictions and awkward voids, takes far longer and costs more.
Working hours matter too. If the office is live and you need work done evenings or weekends to avoid disruption, expect a premium on labour rates.
Beyond the points, you may need a wall-mounted or floor-standing cabinet to house your switches and patch panels. A small wall cabinet with a managed patch panel and cable management typically adds £400 to £900, while a full floor-standing rack for a larger setup can run into the low thousands.
Good installers also include full testing with a certified tester and hand you the results. If a quote is noticeably cheaper than the rest, check whether testing, certification and proper labelling are actually included, because cutting those corners causes expensive faults later.
Always insist on a site survey rather than a figure given over the phone. A walk round lets the installer count points accurately, spot access problems and recommend Cat6 versus Cat6a honestly for your needs.
Ask for an itemised quote that separates points, containment, the cabinet and testing. That transparency makes it easy to compare like for like and shows you exactly where your money goes.
If you plan to stay in the building for years or expect heavy data use, the modest extra per point for Cat6a buys reliable 10 gigabit headroom. For a smaller office on a tight budget, well-installed Cat6 is perfectly adequate.
A straightforward 20 to 30 point job in an accessible building is often one to three days. Older premises, multiple floors or out-of-hours working can extend that, which is why a site survey gives the most accurate timescale.
No serious installer prices this way, because metres of cable ignore termination, testing and access. Pricing per fully tested point is the standard, and it protects you by tying the cost to a finished, working outlet.
Send Scott the details and we'll get a realistic price back to you, usually the same working day.
Tell us about the job. A photo of the cabinet or a rough cable count is plenty to get a price started.