Ensure a smooth move with this NBN business relocation guide

Staying connected throughout your relocation is critical for minimising the potential disruption to your business. Here’s how to ensure a seamless service switch under the NBN, and who you can turn to for help.

Make a timeline

As with any major project, getting the ball rolling on your business relocation can be one of the hardest parts. But even sitting down to write a ‘to do’ list is a good first step, as it will help you get a sense of the all the different components of the job, while breaking it down into more manageable tasks that you can tick off one by one.

For example:

• Taking an inventory of your products and stock;
• Deciding what needs to be packed, disassembled or thrown away;
• Organising any new equipment, furniture and packaging supplies you need;
• Informing your customers, suppliers, and so on about your change of address;
• Switching over your telco services and utilities.

Working backwards from when you have to vacate your current address and can access the new property is important so create a timeline and moving schedule with realistic deadlines that accommodate all of the activities you have to manage.

Make your business transition smooth by talking to the experts at Commander.

Give ample notice to your provider

To make sure you’re not left out of the loop at your new location, give your telco provider as much notice as possible. At a minimum, that’s four weeks to allow for individual circumstances at each business, says Henry Liddell, general manager of customer activations at Commander.

This is because the complexity of your connection will depend on what NBN infrastructure technology is available in the area, and in most cases a technician will have to do a site visit.

“It’s not just flicking a switch,” Liddell explains, “there’s many moving parts and many carriers, and it depends on the infrastructure of the new location.”

To find out about the technology at your new premises, you can check the address here. Alternatively, outsource the investigative work to your provider.

“If you give us the new address, we can check what is on offer and that will then determine everything else,” Liddell says. “So, for example, if we’re going from a traditional or a copper-based set-up at Location A to an NBN service at Location B, we’d be able to talk to you about your NBN options, what speed and what IP voice offering you’d like, and how we get that installed for you. You just need to tell us when you’re going to move, and to give us ample lead time to get that organised for you.”

NBN Co has an online application form for anyone planning to alter, relocate or remove NBN infrastructure.

Allow extra time for troubleshooting

If you’re planning a relocation, remember to check out the connectivity and communications set-up of your new premises – otherwise you may be in for some unpleasant surprises.

“Be careful about your leasing agreements and supply of internet,” cautions Stephen Leonard, founder and principal consultant of Geeks on Tap. “We find serviced offices are a real problem for our clients, because a lot of times they have very brittle or rigid internet situations. They say, ‘We want to put a telephone system in and it doesn’t work in this serviced office’, or they have to use the existing system and some things don’t work.

“Even new estates might be really poorly provisioned for telecommunications – we’re having to run one client up in Newcastle off 4G at the moment, which is good but expensive per gigabyte.”

Potential complications with the technology at your new address is another good reason to provide plenty of advance notice when you need to organise a service relocation, as it leaves more time to find solutions or alternatives, if necessary.

Get back to business

Relocations can be a stressful, emotional time, but getting assistance from an NBN specialist will at least take one big job off your plate.

“If you talk to Commander, a relocation specialist will take you through the transfer of your telco services in a painless, seamless manner,” Liddell says. “We have local technicians, so we can get everyone to work together to get the whole thing done for you, which means you can spend your time telling your customers that your address is changing and doing all the things you need to do.”