How to move broadband to new house? Moving house is one of life’s most stressful experiences, but the more prepared you are – from booking the right man and van services to organizing the transfer of your utilities – the easier and faster the process will be.
For many of us, broadband is as an important utility as gas and electricity, and you want everything up and running as soon as possible.
The good news is shifting your broadband to your new home is usually quite simple, quick, and stress-free.
Here’s how you can ensure uninterrupted broadband internet when moving house.
The first thing to decide when it comes to broadband internet and moving to a new house is whether to keep your current provider or switch to another one.
The following questions will help you make the right choice:
Is your Current Provider Available at your New Home?
Broadband access varies across the country and even internationally. This means that your current provider may or may not be offering services at your new location.
If you are moving locally, within your metro area, chances are you can keep your current broadband provider.
Still, it’s important to verify its availability since they may not offer the same level of service or package deals at your new address.
Also, if you’re currently enjoying your provider’s lowest prices, it may not be the case if your new home is outside their low-cost network area.
Is there a Better Broadband Deal at your New Home?
Are you satisfied with your current broadband provider? If not, moving to a new house is a good opportunity to compare other providers and find the best possible deal.
This means one with a wider choice of fibre services and faster internet speed at the lowest price.
Are you Still within your Minimum Contract Term?
Broadband contracts typically last 12-18 months and it’s only thereafter that you can cancel or renew your contract. Early termination usually attracts a fine.
You may also be required to pay for the extra months without having to use them. Therefore, if you’re still under contract with your current broadband provider, it may be best to stick with them.
Sticking with Your Current Broadband Provider
If you decide to stay with the same service provider, it’s important to find out the procedure for shifting the connection to your new home.
Most ISPs are happy to move your broadband connection to a new location as long as you notify them ahead of time of your moving date, so find out how much notice is needed for such services.
Your provider will entirely handle the deactivation of the old service and the activation of the new.
Most charge a small moving fee but some may waive the moving fees if you upgrade your package or sign onto a new contract.
Be sure to confirm the terms and conditions before doing anything.
Additional costs may also be incurred during the move if the provider has to put in place infrastructure improvements to accommodate your new desired service.
Move Broadband to New House by Making the Switch
If you have to switch providers, give yourself enough time to find the best broadband provider at your new location.
These service providers are pretty keen on finding new customers, so much so that will offer all kinds of incentives to get you to sign up for their services.
Be sure to confirm all the costs and terms before making the final choice.
Can You Set Up The Broadband Before You Move In?
This will depend on how far you are moving to and whether or not you have access to the new house.
With that in mind, there still could be delays in the activation of broadband service if the old user has not cancelled their broadband services.
That way the line will be blocked and your internet access delayed for weeks until the provider can activate the service for you.
If you haven’t correctly cancelled your current line, the next occupant once you move will similarly face the issues.
Conclusion
Preparing several weeks, or even months, in advance is a great way to make moving house simple and smooth. Most ISPs have a process in place to shift your connection over to your new house with little to no downtime.
Whether you are keeping your current service provider or switching to a new one, notifying them early on is paramount.
If you do everything right, you should be able to have the new connection up and running the day you move in.
That being said, it’s safe to have a backup connection in case things don’t go as planned.
Read Next: Learn the steps for EE Moving Home and BT Moving Home.
Finn Wheatley holds a Master’s Degree in Computer Science from UCL, London. He helped small data science consultancy firms, helping large corporations to grow their data capabilities, deploy advanced machine learning-based analytics and troubleshoot tech-related issues. Check out more about him here.