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Before Moving Office, Plan Your Internet Connection in Advance

June 8, 2022

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Highlights

Moving into a new office comes with lots of optimism and stress, so it is easy to leave or forget about getting your internet connection installed until the last minute.

You may think this can be organised after you have moved in but leaving your connectivity until this late stage can have some upsetting consequences for your finances, productivity and sanity.

That is why you should consider how you will be connected several months before moving day; not during the weeks after. In this post, we are going to cover the perks of preparing for your connection in advance and the painful drawbacks of not doing so.

Moving Day

Picture the scene: you are a couple of weeks away from moving into a bigger and better office. With your company growing rapidly, you could not have picked a better time to move. This action tells the world you are attracting talented employees and prestigious clients, and you have got the ambition to match them. After all the stress that came with finding a place in the right location, that fits within your budget, you are finally ready to reap in its rewards.

As the day gets closer, you have been ticking off the items on your moving day to-do list: who sits where, who gets which office, where the printer goes and so on. But there is one item you have not crossed off yet: your internet connection. You may have assumed you can take care of this after you have settled in. Connectivity is everywhere these days, so how hard can it be to set up? As it turns out, this is not always a straightforward process.

Fibre connections, which provide the speeds most people expect, take around 30 - 90 working days to install. Roads have to be dug up in order for the cables to be laid down and connected to your building. And before that can happen, you have to get permission from the relevant authorities. It is an administrative headache and one you do not need after you have just settled into your new workspace.

Connectivity Chaos

Here is the situation you will be dealing with: you will move into your new office, only to find there is no connection. Or there might be, but it is far from suitable for how your employees need to use it. We have seen this happen plenty of times and the consequences are always punishing. One company we know had to move into a temporary workspace while they were waiting for their connection to be installed. So they ended up paying for two offices, one of which they could not even use for a couple of months.

Their phone lines depended on this connectivity too. So the delay in moving meant they were uncontactable as well. And the ripple effect that came with no phone connection was drastic. Productivity began to plummet, as did the amount of revenue they were bringing in. Pile this on top of the costs they had already paid for moving - twice - and as you can imagine, they were feeling pretty stressed.

But this horrible situation is totally avoidable. With some careful planning and research in the months before you move, you can install the connection you need to run your business on a day-to-day basis. A good conversation or two with your new building’s landlord can go a long way in helping you to be prepared and avoid any connectivity chaos.

Plan, Plan, Plan

Before you even consider signing for a new office, you should find out what kind of internet connections it can support. And what kinds of connection it cannot. Cost and location become irrelevant if you cannot run, or have to pause, the day-to-day activity of your business while you wait for the internet to be connected.

Once you know what your options are, your next step is to find out how long it will take for it to be connected. Like we said before, most fibre connections take around 30 - 90 working days to install. wibre™, our signature wireless internet service, can be installed in as little as 7 working days. Timing has to be part of the equation before you move, in order to avoid a connectivity disaster.

Get Connected In Time

You cannot just assume your new office will support the connection you need and come with an easy install. Plan for it in advance and you can avoid suffering unnecessary stress and extra financial costs.

We have got several connectivity options at Optimity and we can help you find the right one for your business. We will get to know what you do and how you use the internet, so that we can recommend the best connection for you. Take a look at our full range of connectivity services.

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Why a wayleave isn’t always needed for fibre installations

For many landlords and building managers, the word “wayleave” feels like the responsible route whenever a fibre circuit is being installed on their property. It sounds formal and safe – a neat legal box to tick.

In many cases, however, a wayleave adds unnecessary complexity and delays, frustrates tenants, and can expose landlords to long-term legal risks.

At Vorboss, we’ve connected thousands of office spaces across London without a wayleave, keeping landlords in full control and getting tenants online faster.

What is a wayleave?

A wayleave is a written agreement between a landowner and a telecoms operator. It gives the operator permission to install and keep equipment on private property.

What many people don’t realise is that signing a wayleave also activates “Code rights” under the Electronic Communications Code. These rights go beyond simple permission, they give the operator legal powers to stay on the property indefinitely, access it when needed, and even refuse removal of their equipment in certain situations.

For a typical connection into a commercial building in London, a wayleave can make the fibre installation process slower, more expensive, and limit the landlord’s flexibility long term.

Why a wayleave isn’t required for standard in-building fibre connections

For a standard in-building fibre connection serving a tenant, a wayleave isn’t a legal requirement. Important protections, like building access, fire safety, repairing any damage, and removing equipment, are already covered by the tenant’s lease and usual building rules.

If no wayleave is signed, no Code rights are triggered, meaning the landlord retains full control and the installation exists under a simple, fully revocable licence.

In practice, this gives landlords far more protection and flexibility:

No legal lock-in – the telecoms operator has no long-term rights to stay or refuse removal.

Landlords keep full control – equipment can be moved or removed when the building changes.

Faster fibre installation – no time lost in drafting contracts or solicitor reviews.

Happier tenants – connections go live quicker; tenants get to move in faster.

By contrast, signing a wayleave and granting Code rights introduces a complex and expensive legal process for any fibre removal or relocation. This can take at least 18 months, plus potential court or tribunal proceedings, making it slower, and far less flexible for the landlord.