Prices
What office network cabling costs
A realistic twenty-point office on Cat6 with surface trunking runs PKR 4,500 to 7,000 per point installed — outlet, patch panel port, testing and labelling included. Long runs, chased walls or a finished building with difficult routes push it toward the top of that range.
Written and reviewed by our networks and fiber bench · Last reviewed
Price is per point, and a point is a complete thing
One point means an outlet at the desk, the cable run, the termination at both ends, a patch panel port, a certification test and matching labels. A quote priced per point that excludes testing or labelling is not the same product, and those two are exactly what you need in a year when something fails.
What pushes a point toward the top of the range
Runs approaching the ninety-metre limit, chasing walls rather than surface trunking, working around a finished ceiling, and any route that needs core drilling. A greenfield office before plaster is at the bottom of the range; a working office where cable must be threaded around occupied desks is at the top.
What is quoted separately
The rack, the patch panel itself, the switch and patch leads. Those are hardware with published prices and they should be a separate section on the quotation rather than folded into a per-point figure, so you can price the hardware independently if you want to.
Why testing is not an optional line
Plenty of badly terminated points pass traffic at a hundred megabits and fail at gigabit, and that fault appears months later under load when nobody connects it to the installation. Certifying every point costs little at the time and is the only evidence that the work was done properly.
How much does structured cabling cost per point?
Why do cabling quotes differ so much?
Usually scope rather than rate. Ask specifically whether certification, labelling and the patch panel termination are included, and whether the run is surface trunking or chased. A quote without those three lines is cheaper because it is a smaller job, not because the contractor is better value.
We rent this floor. Is cabling worth it?
Usually yes, and surface trunking comes off cleanly at the end of a lease — landlords object to chased walls, not to trunking. The rack and switch move with you and only the cable stays, and a floor that is already cabled is easier to sublet anyway.
How many points should each desk get?
Two is the sensible default — one for the machine and one spare for a phone, a second machine or a printer. The cable is the cheap part and the labour is the same whether you pull one or two. Adding a point later costs several times what it costs during the original install.
Rather have it done?
Structured cabling gives every desk a labelled outlet running back to a patch panel in one rack, tested and certified. A twenty-point office in Islamabad runs PKR 4,500 to 7,000 per point installed, and it is what stops the network becoming a bundle of switches under a desk.
Structured LAN cabling for offices in Islamabad — prices and scope