Five Telecoms Issues To Consider When Moving Office

Don't get Blindsided...
Telecoms issues you need to consider when moving office!​
Planning to move offices can be very stressful with lots of things to consider. Often though telecoms isn't considered until last minute which can cause more stress as well as huge delays on connections and extra charge, so it is essential to consider your telecoms early on in your moving process.

Here are our five issues to consider;
​1. Don’t leave it until too late
Regardless of who you make your telecoms order through BT OpenReach has a monopoly on all line installs, which means there is a minimum wait of at least 10 working days although this can vary on your location as well. An example of this would be in Surrey where the current lead time is six weeks, could your business survive six weeks without broadband?
For larger businesses needing ISDN lines you are looking at an average wait of between six to eight weeks and for even larger data connections that require EFM, this could take 40 working days with leased lines on average being installed in 60 working days.


2. Your existing numbers
Don’t underestimate the cost of changing your businesses phone numbers. With brochures, business cards, online databases and your own website and blogs publishing your current number. On top of this where is your number placed where you haven’t thought about etc, it will be easy to tell current customers and suppliers about your change in number but what about future potential clients.

A good thing to check is whether your new office is still within the same BT Exchange, if you are crossing exchange boundaries this can lead to loss of fibre services as well as change in area codes for telephone numbers. If you are changing boundaries then there are away around possible problems that would arise. You could move your number to virtual inbound however this can be expensive if you receive a lot of inbound calls. Another solution would be to install SIP instead of or as well as ISDN, this would result in you being able to take your number anywhere.
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3. The property search
Most companies want super fast broadband which is also known as fibre and this can easily be found around the UK but there are still many horror stories of businesses moving into premises and being promised certain speeds by a supplier and then not getting those speeds, from February 2016 you will be able to terminate your contract with your supplier no questions asked if you are not receiving the speeds that you were advertised.


4. Moving your current telephone system or replacing it?
Moving to VOIP (what is VoIP?) will allow you to take your number where ever you go. If though you have recently invested in a new telephone system, it could be a costly write off that might leave you in the bad books of your accountant.
You should ask yourself three questions about your current phone system when moving. Is there life and money left in it? How old is the existing system? What is the cost of removal and installation of the system?
If you are thinking of going to SIP/VOIP it would be a good idea to check if your current systems are compatible as this would save you cost on buying new handsets. If you are considering VOIP read this article explaining further the Benefits of using VOIP >


5. Serviced offices charges
Before deciding on moving into a serviced office there are a few things to consider. The main consideration would be would you have the flexibility to bring in your own data and voice solution and if not now what about in the future. Can they add your existing numbers to their system? if they gave you new numbers would you be able to take them away with you in the future if you were to leave? Finally what are the detailed charges?

​To conclude it is of highest importance to consider your telecoms and data early on in your moving process as it often the factor that determines the earliest date you can move in. It shouldn't be left to last minute giving you less time to evaluate your options, possibly ending up either in premises with no phones or, even worse, where the lack of broadband will have a long-term detrimental impact on the business.
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