How much do commercial security cameras cost installed?

It depends on the install, not the camera. The per-camera price covers the camera, the mount, the cable run, the license, the labor, and commissioning. Cabling is what moves the total. A drop-ceiling office is at the low end. A 250,000 sq ft warehouse with conduit and outdoor pulls runs at the upper end. Tec-Tel itemizes every line so the cabling cost is never buried inside the camera price, and the free consultation prices it before the proposal.

Are these cameras NDAA Section 889 compliant?

Yes. Verkada, Avigilon, Genetec, Axis, Hanwha, Milestone, and Eagle Eye Networks are all NDAA Section 889 compliant per each vendor's own self-certification. We do not install Hikvision, Dahua, or Lorex on any federal-touching customer because all three sit on the FCC Covered List. The full vendor matrix with source links lives on the vendor comparison reference. If you take federal grants or subcontract to federal customers, NDAA non-compliance can disqualify the whole site.

What AI capabilities run on modern cameras?

Object detection (people, vehicles, packages), license plate recognition, behavior analytics like loitering and tailgating, occupancy counting, and anomaly detection. Cameras from the last three to four years ship with edge detectors, so alerts hit in seconds with lower bandwidth back to the recorder. Heavier analytics like multi-camera tracking run on the server or in the cloud. Camera-agnostic overlays from Intenseye and Dragonfruit can add AI to existing fleets without replacing the cameras.

How long should I keep recorded video?

Retention is a policy decision, not a hardware one. Common defaults: 30 days for small commercial, 60 to 90 days for healthcare and education, 180 days for finance, 1 year or more for transportation and government. Longer retention costs more storage. PCI-DSS suggests at least 90 days. HIPAA has no fixed number. Some state laws set minimums for casinos, schools, and dispensaries. We size the storage to your actual retention policy, not a vendor default.

What happens if I want to switch camera vendors later?

Switching cost depends on the platform. Cloud-native vendors like Verkada and Avigilon Alta lock the camera, the recorder, and the analytics into one ecosystem, so switching is closer to a rip-and-replace. Open platforms like Genetec, Axis, Hanwha, Milestone, and Eagle Eye let you swap individual cameras without replacing the VMS. Most multi-site enterprises pick at least one open platform precisely so they are not stuck. We design for portability when it is a stated priority.

Cloud or on-prem recording: which one wins?

Cloud is faster to deploy, cheaper at small scale, and gets continuous firmware updates. On-prem wins when bandwidth is constrained, when footage cannot legally leave the building, or when CMMC, HIPAA, or NDAA controls demand it. Most large multi-site customers run hybrid: cloud management for the operator console plus federation, on-prem recording for the cameras themselves. Verkada and Eagle Eye are cloud-native. Genetec and Milestone are on-prem-capable. Avigilon does both.

Do new cameras work over the existing cabling?

Sometimes. 4K cameras need Cat6 minimum and a switch with adequate PoE+ headroom. Older Cat5e runs and unmanaged switches usually cannot carry a 4K install at scale. Most camera upgrades fail because the cabling and the network cannot handle the new load. The free consultation tests what is in the wall, identifies the runs that need re-pulling, and prices the cabling line separately so it is not a surprise after the cameras arrive.

What about wireless cameras for sites where running cable is hard?

Wireless cameras work for short-term construction sites, remote yards, and temporary deployments. They do not work for a permanent commercial install at scale. Battery-powered cameras have to be visited for charging. WiFi-only cameras drop frames on busy corporate networks. PoE over Cat6 is still the production standard. We use cellular and point-to-point wireless bridges where running cable is genuinely impossible, not as the default.

How much do commercial security cameras cost installed?

It depends on the install, not the camera. The per-camera price covers the camera, the mount, the cable run, the license, the labor, and commissioning. Cabling is what moves the total. A drop-ceiling office is at the low end. A 250,000 sq ft warehouse with conduit and outdoor pulls runs at the upper end. Tec-Tel itemizes every line so the cabling cost is never buried inside the camera price, and the free consultation prices it before the proposal.

Are these cameras NDAA Section 889 compliant?

Yes. Verkada, Avigilon, Genetec, Axis, Hanwha, Milestone, and Eagle Eye Networks are all NDAA Section 889 compliant per each vendor's own self-certification. We do not install Hikvision, Dahua, or Lorex on any federal-touching customer because all three sit on the FCC Covered List. The full vendor matrix with source links lives on the vendor comparison reference. If you take federal grants or subcontract to federal customers, NDAA non-compliance can disqualify the whole site.

What AI capabilities run on modern cameras?

Object detection (people, vehicles, packages), license plate recognition, behavior analytics like loitering and tailgating, occupancy counting, and anomaly detection. Cameras from the last three to four years ship with edge detectors, so alerts hit in seconds with lower bandwidth back to the recorder. Heavier analytics like multi-camera tracking run on the server or in the cloud. Camera-agnostic overlays from Intenseye and Dragonfruit can add AI to existing fleets without replacing the cameras.

How long should I keep recorded video?

Retention is a policy decision, not a hardware one. Common defaults: 30 days for small commercial, 60 to 90 days for healthcare and education, 180 days for finance, 1 year or more for transportation and government. Longer retention costs more storage. PCI-DSS suggests at least 90 days. HIPAA has no fixed number. Some state laws set minimums for casinos, schools, and dispensaries. We size the storage to your actual retention policy, not a vendor default.

What happens if I want to switch camera vendors later?

Switching cost depends on the platform. Cloud-native vendors like Verkada and Avigilon Alta lock the camera, the recorder, and the analytics into one ecosystem, so switching is closer to a rip-and-replace. Open platforms like Genetec, Axis, Hanwha, Milestone, and Eagle Eye let you swap individual cameras without replacing the VMS. Most multi-site enterprises pick at least one open platform precisely so they are not stuck. We design for portability when it is a stated priority.

Cloud or on-prem recording: which one wins?

Cloud is faster to deploy, cheaper at small scale, and gets continuous firmware updates. On-prem wins when bandwidth is constrained, when footage cannot legally leave the building, or when CMMC, HIPAA, or NDAA controls demand it. Most large multi-site customers run hybrid: cloud management for the operator console plus federation, on-prem recording for the cameras themselves. Verkada and Eagle Eye are cloud-native. Genetec and Milestone are on-prem-capable. Avigilon does both.

Do new cameras work over the existing cabling?

Sometimes. 4K cameras need Cat6 minimum and a switch with adequate PoE+ headroom. Older Cat5e runs and unmanaged switches usually cannot carry a 4K install at scale. Most camera upgrades fail because the cabling and the network cannot handle the new load. The free consultation tests what is in the wall, identifies the runs that need re-pulling, and prices the cabling line separately so it is not a surprise after the cameras arrive.

What about wireless cameras for sites where running cable is hard?

Wireless cameras work for short-term construction sites, remote yards, and temporary deployments. They do not work for a permanent commercial install at scale. Battery-powered cameras have to be visited for charging. WiFi-only cameras drop frames on busy corporate networks. PoE over Cat6 is still the production standard. We use cellular and point-to-point wireless bridges where running cable is genuinely impossible, not as the default.

Product · IP cameras and surveillance

The right camera on every zone, coverage you can trust.

Seven formats, seven NDAA-compliant platforms, one integrator. We install what the site needs, not what pays the most.

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NDAA-compliant
Platform-agnostic
1,000+ deployments over 15 years

Commercial security cameras are IP cameras that record continuously to a network video recorder or a cloud platform, with formats picked for the install: dome and bullet for general coverage, PTZ for active monitoring, fisheye for ceiling-mount panoramas, multi-sensor for parking lots, thermal for low-light perimeter, and LPR for vehicle gates. Tec-Tel is a multi-vendor integrator. We install across seven NDAA-compliant camera platforms and pick the one that fits the lighting, the cabling reality, and the compliance posture. Free consultation.

7 platforms

NDAA-compliant, vendor-neutral

7 formats

picked by what the camera has to see

1,000+

successful deployments across the country

15 yr

nationwide integrator, every camera platform under one team

§01 What a Tec-Tel camera install covers

Everything in the scope, not just the cameras.

A camera proposal is not a pile of cameras. Most of the cost lives in the parts buyers forget to ask about: cabling, network, storage, commissioning, and the runbook.

→

Site walk We walk the site to find every blind spot, low-light zone, and cabling path before a camera is ordered.

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Camera selection by environment Dome, bullet, PTZ, fisheye, multi-sensor, thermal, or LPR picked by lighting, throw distance, weather rating, and the incidents the site cares about.

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Cable and network design Cat6 or fiber runs, PoE budget, and switch sizing so the network can carry the new load. Cabling is a separate line item, not buried in the camera price.

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Recorder or VMS sizing Storage sized to your retention policy. Cloud, on-prem, or hybrid. Not the vendor default.

→

Mounting, conduit, and commissioning Every camera labeled, every zone tested, every alert routed to the right person. Outdoor positions weather-sealed and aimed for usable footage.

→

Training and documented runbook Operations team trained. Written runbook so the system does not depend on tribal knowledge.

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Service-level agreement Response-time targets set in your service agreement. See the response-time standards reference for the industry SLA language we work from.

§02 Camera formats

Seven formats, each for a different problem.

A typical multi-site rollout uses three or four formats, not one. We pick the form factor by what the camera has to see, not what is cheapest per unit.

Dome is the default indoor format. Vandal-resistant housing, 360-degree mount flexibility, low-profile ceiling install. Used in retail, offices, lobbies, classrooms, and warehouses where the camera needs to disappear into the ceiling.

Bullet is outdoor-rated, fixed direction, a visible deterrent. Long-range optics for parking lots, loading docks, perimeters, and exterior building corners. Easier to aim once and keep aimed than a dome.

PTZ (pan-tilt-zoom) is operator-controlled or auto-tracking. One PTZ replaces three or four fixed cameras at parking gates, large warehouse aisles, hotel motor lobbies, and stadium concourses. Higher cost per unit, lower count overall.

Fisheye uses a single 180 or 360-degree lens, ceiling-mounted, dewarped in software. One fisheye covers a small retail floor, a clinic waiting room, or a hotel lobby with no blind spots. A good fit when running cable to multiple positions is expensive.

Multi-sensor puts two to four image sensors in one housing, each pointing a different direction, one cable run. Common in parking lots, building corners, and dock yards. Replaces three to four bullet cameras with one device.

Thermal detects heat, not light. Works in zero-light, smoke, rain, and dust. Used on perimeter fences, dock yards, substation boundaries, and cold-storage rooms where standard low-light cameras cannot see.

License plate recognition (LPR) uses a specialized lens, frame rate, and lighting tuned for moving vehicles. OCR runs on the camera or the recorder. Match against allow/deny lists for gate access, fleet entry, and dock yard tracking.

§03 Vendor breadth

Multi-vendor by design. NDAA-compliant across the board.

Tec-Tel is camera-agnostic. We install the platform that fits the install, not the one that pays the most. NDAA Section 889 status comes from each vendor's own compliance statement, not our say-so. The full matrix lives on the vendor comparison reference.

Verkada is the one we hand to a site with no IT staff. A facilities manager runs the whole thing from a phone. No recorder in a closet waiting to die, and firmware updates land on their own. The trade is lock-in: camera, storage, and analytics ship as one ecosystem, so the day you leave Verkada you replace all of it. Self-certified NDAA 889, San Mateo, CA.

Reach for Avigilon when a campus holds hours of footage and somebody has to find one person in it. Appearance Search is the strongest people-and-vehicle lookup we field. It earns back its cost the first time an investigator pulls a suspect off forty cameras instead of forty hours of tape. The platform prefers cloud but keeps the on-prem door open. Now part of Motorola Solutions in Chicago; self-certifies NDAA 889.

Genetec earns its place where a customer runs a real IT department across dozens of buildings. One operator watches every site, footage never leaves each building, and video and door access share one window. It is also the heaviest lift here, so we only spec it when someone on the customer side can carry the load day to day. Headquartered in Montreal, self-certified NDAA 889.

Axis is a sensor call, not a platform call. You spec it for the hard shot: a loading dock at dusk, a lot where headlights blow out the frame, a freezer mount that kills lesser optics. It records to whatever VMS the building already runs, so it drops cleanly into a mixed fleet without forcing anyone to pick a side. Built in Lund, Sweden, with a self-certified NDAA 889 statement.

Hanwha keeps a big camera count inside a real budget. When a 200-camera bid might otherwise tempt a buyer toward a banned Covered-List brand, Hanwha holds the price line and stays compliant. The form-factor range is wide and the on-board analytics clear the bar for most jobs. Korean-made, runs on-prem, self-certifies NDAA 889.

Milestone is the answer to "we already own cameras from three vendors and we are not ripping them out." Its open XProtect VMS runs all of them under one interface and lets us layer analytics on top, so hardware the customer already paid for keeps earning. Out of Copenhagen, on-prem-capable, self-certified NDAA 889.

Eagle Eye fits the remote site with a thin uplink and nobody on the ground to babysit hardware. A small on-site bridge buffers video locally and ships it to the cloud on a schedule, so a yard on a weak connection still gets playback that loads. Based in Austin, TX, with a self-certified NDAA 889 statement.

→ We do not install Hikvision, Dahua, or Lorex on any federal-touching customer. All three sit on the FCC Covered List under NDAA Section 889.
→ Cloud-native platforms (Verkada, Eagle Eye) give continuous firmware updates and faster deployment. On-prem platforms (Axis, Hanwha, Milestone) win when footage cannot legally leave the building.
→ Most large multi-site customers pick at least one open platform so they are not locked into a single ecosystem at contract renewal.

§04 AI analytics overlay

AI analytics runs on top of cameras you already own.

Modern cameras include lightweight detectors on the edge. That covers people and vehicle classification, basic line-crossing, and simple object detection. Heavier analytics like multi-camera tracking, gait detection, and incident search run on the recorder, the server, or in the cloud. AI analytics is a per-camera licensing line on top of the camera hardware.

Vendor-tied analytics like Verkada Command, Avigilon Appearance Search, and Genetec Citigraf are bundled with the camera ecosystem. Camera-agnostic overlays like Intenseye and Dragonfruit run on existing camera fleets, older systems included, as long as the resolution and framerate clear a basic threshold.

We size the analytics layer to the cameras that need it. Not every camera needs slip-and-fall detection. The full breakdown is on the AI software and analytics page.

§05 Installation reality

Cabling is the cost nobody quotes.

Most camera projects go sideways at the cabling and the network, not the cameras. A 4K bullet camera needs a Cat6 run, a PoE+ port, and switch headroom. Pulling that cable through a cement-block warehouse wall costs more than the camera itself. Pulling it across a 200,000 sq ft manufacturing floor with conduit and trapeze costs ten times more than the camera.

Recording infrastructure is the other quiet line item. A 64-camera install at 4K and 30 fps recording 30 days fills roughly 50 to 80 terabytes depending on motion. That has to live somewhere with redundancy, backup, and a service contract. Cloud subscriptions hide the storage cost in the monthly bill. On-prem recorders show it upfront but lock you into hardware refreshes.

Tec-Tel quotes cabling, switch upgrades, recording, and labor as separate line items so the camera price does not mask the rest. The free consultation catches the cabling reality before the proposal.

§06 Cost bands

Realistic cost ranges by site type.

Camera cost scales with the install, not the per-unit sticker. What moves the total is the cabling and the recording infrastructure, not the camera itself. The drivers below shape where a site lands.

→ Small retail (drop-ceiling, 8 to 16 cameras): low cabling cost, fastest to deploy, smallest total.
→ Mid-size manufacturing (conduit, outdoor pulls, 50,000+ sq ft): cabling and labor dominate the total.
→ Large multi-building campus: inter-building fiber and recording redundancy drive the cost up.
→ K-12 and healthcare: higher camera counts plus longer retention windows raise the storage line.
→ Multi-site enterprise rollout: per-site cost depends on cabling reality at each location.
→ Per-vertical, per-site-size benchmarks are on the install cost benchmarks reference.

Questions buyers ask us

FAQ

How much do commercial security cameras cost installed?: It depends on the install, not the camera. The per-camera price covers the camera, the mount, the cable run, the license, the labor, and commissioning. Cabling is what moves the total. A drop-ceiling office is at the low end. A 250,000 sq ft warehouse with conduit and outdoor pulls runs at the upper end. Tec-Tel itemizes every line so the cabling cost is never buried inside the camera price, and the free consultation prices it before the proposal.
Are these cameras NDAA Section 889 compliant?: Yes. Verkada, Avigilon, Genetec, Axis, Hanwha, Milestone, and Eagle Eye Networks are all NDAA Section 889 compliant per each vendor's own self-certification. We do not install Hikvision, Dahua, or Lorex on any federal-touching customer because all three sit on the FCC Covered List. The full vendor matrix with source links lives on the vendor comparison reference. If you take federal grants or subcontract to federal customers, NDAA non-compliance can disqualify the whole site.
What AI capabilities run on modern cameras?: Object detection (people, vehicles, packages), license plate recognition, behavior analytics like loitering and tailgating, occupancy counting, and anomaly detection. Cameras from the last three to four years ship with edge detectors, so alerts hit in seconds with lower bandwidth back to the recorder. Heavier analytics like multi-camera tracking run on the server or in the cloud. Camera-agnostic overlays from Intenseye and Dragonfruit can add AI to existing fleets without replacing the cameras.
How long should I keep recorded video?: Retention is a policy decision, not a hardware one. Common defaults: 30 days for small commercial, 60 to 90 days for healthcare and education, 180 days for finance, 1 year or more for transportation and government. Longer retention costs more storage. PCI-DSS suggests at least 90 days. HIPAA has no fixed number. Some state laws set minimums for casinos, schools, and dispensaries. We size the storage to your actual retention policy, not a vendor default.
What happens if I want to switch camera vendors later?: Switching cost depends on the platform. Cloud-native vendors like Verkada and Avigilon Alta lock the camera, the recorder, and the analytics into one ecosystem, so switching is closer to a rip-and-replace. Open platforms like Genetec, Axis, Hanwha, Milestone, and Eagle Eye let you swap individual cameras without replacing the VMS. Most multi-site enterprises pick at least one open platform precisely so they are not stuck. We design for portability when it is a stated priority.
Cloud or on-prem recording: which one wins?: Cloud is faster to deploy, cheaper at small scale, and gets continuous firmware updates. On-prem wins when bandwidth is constrained, when footage cannot legally leave the building, or when CMMC, HIPAA, or NDAA controls demand it. Most large multi-site customers run hybrid: cloud management for the operator console plus federation, on-prem recording for the cameras themselves. Verkada and Eagle Eye are cloud-native. Genetec and Milestone are on-prem-capable. Avigilon does both.
Do new cameras work over the existing cabling?: Sometimes. 4K cameras need Cat6 minimum and a switch with adequate PoE+ headroom. Older Cat5e runs and unmanaged switches usually cannot carry a 4K install at scale. Most camera upgrades fail because the cabling and the network cannot handle the new load. The free consultation tests what is in the wall, identifies the runs that need re-pulling, and prices the cabling line separately so it is not a surprise after the cameras arrive.
What about wireless cameras for sites where running cable is hard?: Wireless cameras work for short-term construction sites, remote yards, and temporary deployments. They do not work for a permanent commercial install at scale. Battery-powered cameras have to be visited for charging. WiFi-only cameras drop frames on busy corporate networks. PoE over Cat6 is still the production standard. We use cellular and point-to-point wireless bridges where running cable is genuinely impossible, not as the default.

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The free consultation covers what is installed, where the blind spots are, what the cabling can handle, and which vendor fits your retention and compliance posture.

Tell us how many sites you run and what's already in place. We'll show you what a build or upgrade looks like.
Straight answers from the team that does the work. We're platform-agnostic, so you get the system that fits your sites, not one brand's catalog.

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