Structured cabling in Dubai is priced per outlet, and the outlet count is set by desks, meeting rooms, access points, cameras and door access rather than by floor area. Cable grade, route difficulty, containment and certification testing move the rest. Listonics projects run from AED 2,500 to AED 30,000 depending on requirement.
What is a cabling quote made of?
Almost all of it is the outlet count multiplied by the difficulty of each run, plus the things at either end. A quote should show the number of outlets, the cable grade, the containment, the patch panel and rack work, and the certification testing.
The number that decides the total is the outlet count, and the number that decides the outlet count is not headcount. It is desks plus meeting rooms plus access points plus cameras plus door controllers plus spares.
- Outlet count: desks, rooms, access points, cameras, door access, spares.
- Cable grade, chosen for the length of the lease rather than today's equipment.
- Containment and route difficulty, which vary enormously by building.
- Termination into a patch panel, and the rack work at the comms room end.
- Certification testing, with a result per outlet handed to you.
Which decisions move the total most?
Route difficulty, first. A straight run above an open ceiling is inexpensive; the same distance through a fire-rated wall, around a structural beam or into an occupied floor is not. Two offices with identical outlet counts can differ substantially for this reason alone, which is why a quote without a site visit is unreliable.
Grade is second, and it is the decision most often made too cheaply. Cabling outlives several generations of equipment, and the Wi-Fi Alliance sets out what Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 7 adds for the access points that will eventually hang off it. Our CAT6 and CAT6A comparison covers the trade-off.
Why is timing the biggest saving available?
Cabling installed while ceilings are open during a fit-out is dramatically cheaper than the same cabling installed afterwards, because the access is free. Once the space is finished, every run means opening and making good.
The practical rule is to provision generously during the fit-out for the office you expect at the end of the lease. Spare outlets installed now cost a little; outlets added in year two cost several times more and leave visible repairs.
What do warehouses and industrial units cost differently?
An industrial unit is not an office with more floor area, and pricing it as one produces a quote that has to be revised on site. Three things change.
Distance is the first. Warehouse runs frequently exceed what copper carries reliably, which brings fibre between distribution points into the design and a second, smaller comms cabinet at the far end. Environment is the second: enclosures need to be rated for heat and dust rather than being a standard office cabinet, and that applies to any switch living outside the air-conditioned part of the building.
Access is the third and the most variable. Cable routed at high level above racking needs lift access and often out-of-hours working, because it cannot be done safely while a warehouse is operating. That is labour rather than materials, and it is the line that most often separates a realistic quote from an optimistic one.
- Fibre between distribution points where copper distances run out.
- A second comms cabinet at the far end, rated for the environment.
- Enclosures specified for heat and dust, not a standard office cabinet.
- High-level runs needing lift access and out-of-hours working.
- Survey with the racking in place, because it changes the routes.
What exclusions turn a cheap quote expensive?
Read what is not included as carefully as what is. The common exclusions are containment, making good after works, the comms room rack and power, certification testing, and building approvals.
A quote excluding certification is the one to question hardest, because without test results you have no evidence the installation met its standard and no basis for a warranty claim later. Our structured cabling page explains what certification produces.
- Containment and trunking, often quoted separately.
- Making good after ceilings or walls are opened.
- Rack, patch panel and comms room power.
- Certification testing and the results file.
- Building approvals and any out-of-hours working the tower requires.
What does a Listonics cabling project cost?
Projects run from AED 2,500 to AED 30,000 depending on requirement. A small office adding outlets in an already cabled space sits toward the lower end; a full fit-out with a comms room, containment and certification across a floor sits toward the upper end.
The quote follows a site survey and is itemised, so each line can be compared against another provider's rather than trusting a single total. Our new office IT setup cost page shows how cabling fits into the wider budget.
How do you compare two cabling quotes?
Put the outlet counts side by side first. If they differ, the quotes are answers to different questions and the cheaper one is usually cheaper because it is smaller.
Then check grade, containment, certification and making good, and ask both providers what the warranty covers and for how long. A free site survey produces the itemised quote that makes any of this comparable.
Frequently asked questions
Essentially per outlet, with the price per outlet varying by route difficulty, cable grade and what is at each end. The outlet count is set by desks, meeting rooms, access points, cameras, door access and spares rather than by headcount or floor area, so two offices of equal size can differ substantially.
Considerably, because access is free while ceilings are open and containment is already being installed. The same runs installed into a finished office require opening ceilings, working around people and making good afterwards. If a fit-out is happening, provision generously then.
A common starting point is two data points per desk position, plus outlets for meeting room screens, printers, access points, cameras and door access, and spares where desks may later appear. Cable is inexpensive while the ceiling is open, which makes generosity the cheapest decision available.
A modest line relative to the installation, and it is the line worth keeping. Certification tests each run against its standard and produces a result per outlet, which is your evidence the work met specification and your basis for a warranty claim if a link fails later.
Usually because they contain different outlet counts, different grades, or different exclusions rather than different rates. Compare the outlet count first, then check containment, certification and making good. A quote that excludes those is not cheaper, it is smaller.
Written by Srinivasan Ramachandran, Founder, Listonics · Last reviewed September 24, 2026