Top Tips: Are you Moving Premises?

Top Tips: Are you Moving Premises?

If you’re planning to move offices then it is essential you consider your telecoms options early in the process. Far too often they get left to the last minute. At best this can lead to added stress, or at worst long delays and increased costs.

3 Months until move date

Check if you can keep your numbers before you move – even if you are not moving far, you may not be able to keep your existing number. Telephone numbers can only be kept if they remain on the same exchange.

If you can’t keep your existing numbers, we will be able to help with services such as call forwarding or a change of number announcement. If you are currently on IP Telephony (SIP), none of the above will apply, as you can move your numbers anywhere you go.

If you’re planning on using broadband, we are happy to check what broadband service is available at the new site. You may want to consider EFM or FTTC if they are available or a leased line if a single line is too slow.

Determine how many and what type of lines you require. Do you have separate lines for your broadband, fax, alarm and PDQ? It may be worth asking us to arrange a site survey to see if you really need all the lines/channels you currently have.

Decide if your current phone system is worth moving. If it’s an older analogue system it may be time to consider upgrading to a digital ISDN system or IP Telephony (SIP).

Try to plan the layout of your new building; where your computers are going to be, the fax machine, a networked copier, PDQ and any other equipment you may have.

Check what internal cabling exists at the new site:

• Does it have CAT5?
• Does it have existing standard telephone extension cabling installed?
• Is work required to add or move any points?

2 Months to go

Now that you’ve planned what you need, place your telephone line orders immediatly! Install dates can always be pushed back if your move is delayed – bringing them forward is much harder. The more breathing space you allow, the more smoothly things tend to go.

We recommend morning appointments for any BT Openreach work. This will allow more time on the day if any work doesn’t go according to plan.

It’s always best to get your broadband line order in a week before your move in date. This will ensure you’re online from the moment you move.

If you require a leased line you will need to allow at least 3 months lead-time.

• 90 working days – Ethernet
• 45 working days – EFM

Other things to consider at this stage

• Provisionally book an engineer if you have a telephone system to move
• Arrange for any work to be done on your internal wiring
• If you’re having a new system, think about the features you would like such as hunt groups and voicemail; do you have homeworkers and mobile workers, etc. Make a plan.
• Organise a site visit , so you can determine where the lines will go, and check on any cabling requirements

Moving Day

Make sure you have someone on site early to meet with the BT Openreach engineer.

‘AM’ appointments run from 8am to 1pm, ‘PM’ appointment from 1pm to 6pm. Ensure your site contact knows where you want the lines to be installed so they can advise the Openreach engineer, if they don’t already know.

Once your phone system has been moved and/or your new line installations have been completed, ensure that you make test calls both ways. Check the calls are routing as expected and any additional line features, such as a presentation number, are working.

Contact us today if you are looking to move premises!