Cabling Equipment

Point value changed by question poster.

ICC is cheaper ; AMP is good.

Cabling is important... I'd recommend AMP even though you pay more for it.

My first thought is, what is the actual cable price difference as a percentage of the total bid?

Then, amortize the cost difference over the expected life of the network.

Is it worth a few pennies to use what may be a lesser grade of cable?How many bad runs, or re-runs would make up the difference?

I myself would request a sample of each cable (15 feet or more) and dissect them for a construction quality comparison.

What you want to look for is the quality and consistency of the:

(Shielded Wire)
Braid on the shield,
Insulation thickness,
Position of the center wire within the shield.

(UTP)
Wire diameter and consistency,
Twist quantity and consistency,
No Kinks,
Outer jacket thickness and consistency,
Quality of the stripping on the individual wires.

Chas

I suppose that I should clarify, the cabling itself will meet or exceed specs, it's more the patch pannel, punch down equipment and hardware that I am worried about.

In comparing any products requires standards as a reference.

The Electronic Industries Association/Telecommunications Industry Association published ANSI/EIA/TIA-568, Commercial Building Telecommunications Wiring Standard, to formally define the mechanical and electrical requirements for the cable and components that made up premises cabling systems.

Standards are established that specified performance requirements for components and completely installed systems, providing guidelines to:
? manufacturers of cable and connecting hardware
? cabling system manufacturers who provide warranties on components or systems
? manufacturers of hand-held field testers
? contractors who install and verify complete cabling systems

ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-A-5 is the minimum level of standards that one should adhear to.

If any of the manufactures can not certify that its products meets or exceeds the above standard with Third Party Verification/Certifications, then I would not place them into consideration.

I see both product manufactures you list, ICC and AMP are members of TIA organizations and publicly state on each's web site that their products meet or exceed the ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-A spec. ICC also states that it has an ISO9001 registration status, Another fine standard.

So with that being even, other factors such as: over all costs, levels of warranty plans cost, intergrator factors, ect.

Hope this helps.

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