The camera was never the problem. The cable was.

Most of the dead CCTV systems we get called to in Auckland have one thing in common. The cameras are fine. Good brand, decent spec, mounted in the right spots. But the footage drops out at night, one camera keeps going offline, or the whole system falls over the first time it rains. Nine times out of ten the fault is sitting inside the wall: a thin run of unbranded cable, a dodgy crimp on the connector, or a PoE switch pushing power down a cable that was never rated to carry it.

A camera is only as reliable as the cable feeding it. That is the part most installers rush, and it is the part we get right first.

What proper CCTV cabling actually involves

Modern CCTV runs on PoE, which means “Power over Ethernet”. One Cat6 cable carries both the video data and the power to the camera, so there is no separate power supply at each camera. That is tidy and reliable when it is done to standard, and it is a headache when it is not. Here is what a CCTV install needs from the cabling to actually work:

• Cat6 to AS/NZS 3080, not cheap roll cable. PoE cameras draw real current. Under-spec cable heats up, drops voltage over distance, and cameras at the end of a long run start rebooting at night when the infrared kicks in and the power draw climbs.
• Runs kept under 90 metres. Past that, both the data and the power get unreliable. In a big Auckland home or a warehouse, that means planning the cable routes and switch position before a single camera goes up, not after.
• Terminations that are tested, not guessed. A camera that “works on the bench” can still fail in the wall if the connector is crimped badly. We Fluke-test every run and hand you the printed result, so you can see the cable behind your cameras is certified.
• The right PoE switch or NVR. The switch has to supply enough power budget for every camera at once, including the hungry ones with night vision and heaters. We size it for the full system, not just today’s camera count.

Why this is the part that matters

You can buy the best Hikvision or Dahua camera in the country and it will still drop footage if the cable feeding it is wrong. Cabling is our primary trade, not a sideline we picked up to sell cameras. We have cabled 350+ Auckland sites since 2018, every cable Fluke-tested and certified to TIA/EIA and AS/NZS 3080. When we install CCTV, the infrastructure behind it is done to the same standard as a commercial data network. That is the difference between a system that works for five years and one you are calling someone back to fix within five months.

If you already have cameras and they keep dropping out, we can test the existing cabling, find the bottleneck, and quote a fixed price to fix it. If you are starting fresh, we plan the cabling and the cameras together so the whole thing is right the first time.

What it costs

CCTV cabling is quoted per camera run and per site, because a single-storey home is a very different job to a two-level villa or a warehouse with concrete walls. Every quote is fixed-price within 24 hours of a free site visit, written down in plain English, and what you sign off is what you pay. No surprise bills, no add-on creep. For full camera-system pricing including the cameras and NVR, see our home CCTV cost guide and business CCTV cost guide.

CCTV cabling FAQs

What cable is used for CCTV cameras?

Modern IP and PoE CCTV cameras run on Cat6 data cable, the same cable used for a computer network. One cable carries both the video and the power to the camera. Older analogue systems used coax (RG59), but almost every new install in Auckland is Cat6 to AS/NZS 3080.

What is PoE and do I need it?

PoE means Power over Ethernet. It lets one Cat6 cable carry both the data and the power to each camera, so there is no separate power supply or powerpoint needed at the camera. It is the standard for modern CCTV because it is tidier, more reliable, and easier to fault-find. If you are installing new cameras, you almost certainly want PoE.

How far can a CCTV cable run?

A single PoE camera run should stay under 90 metres of cable to keep both the data and the power reliable. On larger Auckland homes and commercial sites we plan the switch position so no run goes over that limit. If a camera is further away, there are ways to extend it, but it needs planning up front.

Can you fix CCTV cameras that keep dropping out?

Usually, yes. Cameras that go offline at night, drop footage, or reboot themselves are very often a cabling or power-budget fault, not a faulty camera. We test the existing cabling, find the bottleneck, and give you a fixed-price quote to fix it.

Do you do the cameras as well as the cabling?

Yes. We plan and install the cabling and the cameras together so the whole system is right the first time, with the infrastructure done to commercial standard. We can also just do the certified cabling if you have your own camera supplier.

Book a free site visit

If your cameras keep dropping out, or you want a CCTV system cabled right the first time, book a free site visit anywhere inside Auckland’s 40 km radius. We will diagnose what is going on, give you a fixed-price quote within 24 hours, and back the work with a 3-year workmanship warranty. Same-day or your call-out is free. Call 0800 222 546 or book a free site visit.