Vendors Β· Quote Analysis
DECIDED (client, 2026-07-02): keep Prowatcher β probable, subject to a survey-based fixed re-quote sanity-checked against the RFQ scope and the 5-point gate below (conditions unchanged). Competitive quotes are now optional leverage, not a mandatory tender. Internet is decided too: RISE Ded-100 primary + PLDT BB-200 backup β the client's full quote matrix and the PLDT I-Gate contract traps are in Β§6. Their January quote (old office, single AP) stays dissected below as the negotiation baseline. Hardware still orders by mid-July β the mid-August deadline does not wait for vendor politics.
1 Β· The old quote, dissected
Prowatcher Security Systems (CCTV integrator, Capitol Centrum, N. Escario St, Cebu) quoted the old office on 13-Jan-2026 β one AP, one gateway, one injector. Line prices are ex-VAT; fair-market figures are calibrated against US MSRP Γ 61.62 PHP/USD plus the observed PH authorized-channel ratio (PC Express sells the U7 Pro at 1.26Γ straight conversion). verified
| Line item | Quoted (ex-VAT) | Fair market (ex-VAT) | Ξ | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U7 Pro XGS WiFi 7 AP (MSRP $299) | β±22,700 | ~β±20,700 | +10% | padded negotiable, not egregious |
| PoE+ injector (802.3at) | β±1,500 | β | β | wrong PoE class XGS requires PoE++ 802.3bt, 29 W β PoE+ delivers only ~25.5 W at the device |
| UCG-Fiber cloud gateway (MSRP $279) | β±21,900 | ~β±19,300 | +13% | padded moot for new office β we reuse ours |
| Installation | β±7,000 | β±7,000 | 0% | call-out minimum fair for a single-AP job; must never be scaled Γ8 to the new office (~β±56k) β fair grouped 8-drop labor is β±25β45k total |
| Materials (connectors, cable, pipes) | β±380 | β±380 | 0% | plausible for 1 drop only real consumables for 8 ceiling runs: β±15β20k |
| Subtotal / VAT 12% / Total | β±53,480 / β±6,417.60 / β±59,897.60 | β | β | arithmetic checks but quote is stale β peso down 9.3% YoY and their T&Cs allow silent repricing |
2 Β· Contract terms β red flags to renegotiate
"Installation cost depends on survey"
An open-ended post-PO variable: you commit, then the price floats. Demand a fixed lump-sum price issued AFTER the survey and BEFORE the PO. Pay β±2β3k for the survey if needed and credit it to the project β never sign a quote where labor is TBD.
Price change without notice
Their T&Cs allow repricing at any time. With the peso down 9.3% YoY, a January anchor will drift upward. Require 30-day price validity locked at PO.
50/50 payment + PDC requirement
Half down via post-dated check shifts all delivery and FX risk onto us and creates a criminal-exposure instrument (BP 22) for a routine commercial payment. Negotiate 30/70 or 40/60, bank transfer on milestones, final tranche released only against the acceptance criteria. No PDCs.
Retention of title until full payment
Vendor legally owns the installed network until the last peso clears β awkward if a dispute arises after go-live. Delete, or cap it to unpaid line items only, extinguished on final payment.
12-month warranty vs Ubiquiti's 2-year
Their 12-month parts+services warranty is shorter than Ubiquiti's own hardware warranty. Require the manufacturer warranty passed through in full via the authorized channel (proof of MEC/iConnect sourcing β grey imports void RMA), plus 12-month workmanship on the cabling itself.
No deliverables defined
The old quote names zero acceptance artifacts. Write into the PO: per-link Fluke certification report (8 links), labeled patch panel + as-built drawing, controller adoption with the agreed SSID/VLAN plan, RSSI β₯ β65 dBm validation walk, and admin credentials handed to Software Club β not vendor-held.
3 Β· Keep-or-switch β DECIDED: keep (probable) β client 2026-07-02
The client has decided to keep Prowatcher, subject to the same conditions as before: a survey-based fixed re-quote checked against the RFQ scope, and the 5-point gate below as the quality bar. Competing quotes are no longer mandatory β they remain optional leverage for the negotiation.
Conditions unchanged β score the re-quote against these 5 criteria, proceed only at β₯ 4/5
- Price: new-scope re-quote within 10% of the β±183,000 VAT-inc fair benchmark estimate (benchmark scales with the locked 7-AP BOM β 4 new units only, 3 APs + gateway reused β see BOM & Costs)
- Competence: β₯ 2 reference UniFi deployments of 5+ APs β WiFi networks, not CCTV jobs
- Fixed price: accepts a firm lump-sum issued after survey, before PO
- Payment: accepts acceptance-criteria-gated final payment (30/70 or 40/60, no PDC)
- Quality proof: provides Fluke certification per link as a contractual deliverable
Pass the gate β keep them, with the renegotiated T&Cs above. Fail it β the "probable" lapses and the shortlist in Β§5 reopens as a real tender. Either outcome must be settled by Jul 14 so hardware orders go out on time.
4 Β· Legal & accreditation requirements (Philippines)
PCAB license β RA 4566 verified
The Contractor's License Law requires a PCAB-licensed contractor for construction contracting above β±50,000 β this fit-out is squarely covered. Verify any candidate in ~1 minute at pcab.construction.gov.ph/verify. Check before award, not after: the building PMO can refuse gate passes mid-project.
ECE sign-off β RA 9292 verified
Electronics/communications plans β explicitly including data/structured cabling β submitted in any building- or fit-out-permit path must be signed and sealed by a licensed Electronics Engineer. If a general fit-out contractor is engaged, ride under their permit and ECE-signed electronics sheet; otherwise budget for one.
Landlord / PMO requirements
Typical Class A/B building rules: permit-to-work, contractor certificate of insurance (COI), worker name lists + gate passes, hauling and after-hours schedules (noisy work often nights/weekends only), fit-out guidelines and sometimes a refundable bond. Request the fit-out guidelines now β permit cycles run 2β3 weeks.
5 Β· Shortlist β competing quotes now optional leverage
With the keep-Prowatcher decision, a full 3-quote tender is no longer mandatory. Keep this shortlist warm: pull 1β2 quotes as negotiation leverage on the re-quote, or activate it as a real tender if Prowatcher fails the Β§3 gate. Same one-page scope to any bidder so quotes stay comparable: 7Γ U7 Pro XGS (4 new + 3 reused), USW-Pro-XG-10-PoE, 8 Cat6A drops (~193 m), 12U wall rack, itemized ex-VAT pricing.
| Vendor | Type | Why shortlisted | What to ask for |
|---|---|---|---|
| iConnect Technologies Cebu City Β· (032) 252-1122 |
Authorized Ubiquiti distributor + integrator | The only shortlisted firm that is both a hardware source and an installer, with a Cebu office (Avenir Bldg, Archbishop Reyes Ave) β single warranty throat. | Bundled vs hardware-only pricing; written stock allocation for XGS + XG-10-PoE; PCAB no.; UniFi references. |
| HPS ICT Mandaue City |
Dedicated structured-cabling firm | Siemon certified installer β TIA-568-grade Cat6A work is their core business, not a sideline. | Labor-only price for 8 drops; Fluke cert per link included; PCAB + ECE arrangement. |
| Foxcon Total Solutions (FTSI) Cebu |
Cabling / communication-systems contractor | Established Cebu cabling contractor; credible third structured-cabling bid. | Same scope; UniFi commissioning capability or labor-only split. |
| Above Infranet Cebu |
Network infrastructure / deployment | Cebu-based, deploys across VisayasβMindanao; network-first rather than CCTV-first. | UniFi project references; RF-validation capability. |
| Prowatcher Security Systems Cebu Β· incumbent keeper (probable) |
CCTV / security integrator | Knows the account, did the old office; client decided 2026-07-02 to keep them (probable). | Survey-based fixed re-quote against the RFQ scope; must pass the 5-point gate above. |
Hardware-only fallback regardless of installer: MEC Networks (Quezon City) is the official national Ubiquiti distributor β see section 7.
6 Β· Internet β decided: RISE Ded-100 primary + PLDT BB-200 backup client 2026-07-02
The client's own quote matrix, verbatim (β±/mo, VAT-ex; EUR at their sheet's rate). Both PLDT and RISE are already in the Johndorf Tower riser β installs should be short, but ask the building whether the two feeds share a duct: path diversity is unverified.
| Plan | Class | β±/mo | β¬/mo | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RISE Dedicated 100 Mbps | DIA, symmetric, SLA | β±36,864 | β¬534 | CHOSEN β primary terminates on the UCG-Fiber SFP+/10GbE WAN |
| PLDT Broadband 200 Mbps | Best-effort broadband | β±4,500 | β¬65 | CHOSEN β backup deliberately NOT dedicated ("for economy reasons β it's backup"); 2.5GbE WAN2 |
| RISE Dedicated 200 Mbps | DIA, symmetric, SLA | β±57,600 | β¬835 | upgrade path +β±20,736/mo over Ded-100 if month-1 monitoring shows congestion β see Network Β§4 |
| RISE Broadband 200 Mbps | Best-effort broadband | β±10,000 | β¬145 | 2.2Γ the PLDT BB-200 price for the same class β and zero provider diversity vs the RISE primary |
| PLDT Dedicated 50 Mbps | DIA (I-Gate) | β±30,000 | β¬435 | worst β±/Mbps on the sheet (β±600/Mbps vs RISE's β±369) β half the speed for 81% of RISE Ded-100's price |
| PLDT Dedicated 100 Mbps | DIA (I-Gate) | β±52,000 | β¬754 | 41% dearer than RISE Ded-100 for the same speed β plus the contract traps below |
Total recurring β β±41,364/mo β β¬599/mo (VAT-ex). Dual-WAN runs in load-balance β real-time pinned to RISE, bulk spilling to PLDT; the 150-head bandwidth reality check (500β720 Mbps estimated peak vs 100 Mbps dedicated) lives on Network Β§4. 5G CPE failover is now optional (day-one bridge only).
PLDT I-Gate contract traps β why dedicated lost as backup
From the actual proposal (docs/pldt-igate-proposal-jun2026.pdf, dated 29-Jun-2026): 100 Mbps at β±52,000/mo VAT-ex + β±10,000 one-time, managed router/CPE included, 99.6% SLA β and:
- 24-month lock-in; pre-termination = 100% of ALL remaining months β a month-6 exit on the 100 Mbps plan would cost ~β±936,000
- Auto-renews for the full term unless cancelled β₯ 30 days before expiry β calendar the window
- Install lead 30β45 working days (β 6β9 calendar weeks) β a deadline risk all by itself
Why BB-200 is the right backup
- β±4,500 vs β±30,000+/mo: a backup line idles most of the time β paying dedicated-SLA money for idle capacity is waste
- Contract-light: broadband terms carry none of I-Gate's 24-mo / 100%-pre-termination / auto-renew traps β easy to resize or drop
- Provider diversity: PLDT backup vs RISE primary β one carrier's outage doesn't take both (subject to the shared-duct question above)
- 200 Mbps best-effort absorbs the bulk classes (updates, sync, streaming) in the load-balance design β it works for its keep, not just failover
- Residual risk accepted: no SLA, shared contention β real-time never rides it except during a RISE outage
7 Β· Where to buy the hardware
Distributor direct β MEC / iConnect
MEC Networks (official national Ubiquiti distributor) or iConnect (authorized, Cebu). Cheapest authorized-channel path (~β±20,700 ex-VAT target per XGS), full manufacturer warranty, VAT invoice for input-VAT recovery. Cost: split accountability β installer can blame "your" hardware, and RMA is yours to run.
Installer-bundled
One PO, one throat to choke: hardware, install, warranty and RMA all through the winning installer. Worth a premium β but only if the bundle markup over distributor pricing is β€ 10%. Above that, split the PO: hardware direct, labor separate. Never grey stock (Shopee/Lazada) β local RMA voids.
Sources & data
Pricing anchors: store.ui.com / techspecs.ui.com (U7 Pro XGS $299 MSRP, PoE++ 29 W; UCG-Fiber $279; verified 2026-07-02) Β· PC Express PH street-price calibration (U7 Pro β±14,650) Β· USD/PHP 61.62 (BSP, 2026-07-02). Legal: RA 4566 (lawphil; PCAB verify portal) Β· RA 9292 (lawphil) Β· Corebilt 2026 PH fit-out permit checklist Β· RCBC Plaza fit-out guide (PMO pattern). Vendors: prowatchersecurity.com Β· iconnecttechnologies.com Β· hpscorp.net Β· ftsi.com.ph Β· aboveinfranet.com Β· mec.ph. ISPs: client price matrix + decision batch (2026-07-02) Β· PLDT I-Gate proposal docs/pldt-igate-proposal-jun2026.pdf (29-Jun-2026) Β· rise.ph. Full source list, methodology and raw quote scans: Knowledge Base. Fair-benchmark build-up: BOM & Costs.