All You Need to Know About Moving Home and Broadband

With so much of our time spent online, the speed of the internet within your home is crucial.

If you are thinking of moving home, then the speed of broadband in your new area could even be one of the deciding factors on where you choose to live.

In fact, according to www.zoopla.co.uk, 89% of people moving home would reconsider moving to a certain area if it had slow broadband.

In this home moving blog, we will look at all things internet speed-related and help you find the answer to every question you may have about broadband speeds in the area you are moving to.

We will find out how easy it is to move broadband to a new home, and all your other internet speed/home moving-related questions.

Where Has the Fastest Broadband in the UK?

The fastest internet in the UK is provided by a company called Hyperoptic which provides a lightning fast 1Gbps service.

Although coverage of the Hyperoptic service is limited, these are the towns and cities in the UK that benefit from this superfast broadband.

• Greater London
• Cardiff
• Bristol
• Brighton
• Reading
• Hull
• Manchester
• Leeds
• Liverpool
• Sheffield
• Birmingham
• Glasgow
• Newcastle
• Nottingham

You can find out if the area you are thinking about moving to gets this superfast broadband by entering your postcode here.

You might also like to read: Is now a Good Time to Move to the City? You will see from the list above that cities are predominately where the fastest broadband coverage is. In this guide, we examine whether now is a good time to be moving to a city.

Which is the Fastest Broadband Provider in the UK?

Nationally, Virgin Media provides the fastest broadband services, but currently only covers about 50% of the country.

The M500 package offers an average speed of 516Mb

The M350 package offers 362Mb

These fast broadband services are significantly quicker than the offerings from BT, Talk Talk, Sky, or Vodaphone whose download speeds are on average 67Mbps.

You can enter your postcode here to find out which providers service the area you are thinking of moving to and the speed of the service they offer.

How Do I Move My Broadband to a New Home?

To find out if you can move your broadband to another house you will have to contact your current provider as they may not provide a service at your new address.

Many providers have a page on their website dedicated to home movers.

Make sure that you notify your provider within plenty of time if you wish to move or cancel your subscription as they will require notice to be able to transfer the service to your new home.

Check the wording in your contract carefully as you may incur a cancellation fee if you are within your contracted period, even if the broadband provider does not offer a service in your new area.

An advantage of moving to another place is that you may now have access to a provider that did not cover your old area.

It is worth shopping around and reading reviews of other less well-known providers as they often provide outstanding service at great prices.

Here are the contact details for all the major broadband providers in the UK and the minimum notice you should give them that you are moving home. The links will take you to the providers’ home moving page.

• Virgin Media Minimum notice: 30 days
• Sky Minimum notice: 30 days
• BT Minimum notice: 15 days
• Plusnet Minimum notice: 30 days
• EE Minimum notice: 3 weeks
• Talk Talk Minimum notice: 14 days
• Hyperoptic Minimum notice: 30 days
• Vodaphone Minimum notice: 30 days
• Glide Minimum notice: 30 days
• KCOM Minimum notice: 30 days
• Zen Internet Minimum notice: 2 weeks
• AAISP Minimum notice: 30 days
• Uno Minimum notice: 30 days
• Pulse8 Minimum notice: 30 days
• Community Fibre Minimum notice: 30 days
• Cloudscape Minimum notice: 10 days
• IDnet (you cannot transfer your service between properties)

You can also enter your postcode here to find out what providers there are in your new area.

You may also like to read: Home Moving Calendar and Checklist. Ensuring you have broadband at your new home is just one of the dozens of home moving tasks. So that you do not forget any important home moving task we have created a home moving calendar and checklist for you.

FAQ Questions About Broadband and Moving Home

• Can you move your broadband to another house? Most providers will allow you to do so as long as they provide coverage in the area you are moving to, although you may incur some charges for doing so.
• Can I cancel my broadband if I move home? Check your contract carefully as you may end up paying for the full term of your contract if you cancel early.
• Can I move my broadband router to another home? Providing you are using the same provider, with the same service, then it should not be a problem, but check with your provider first.
• How long does it take to get broadband installed at a new address? If you already have a line installed in your new home then your internet could be up and running in a couple of days, but a new line could take a couple of weeks to install.
• How do I get internet at a newly built house? Often the postcode databases that are used to check what services are available in your new area do not have the latest postcodes, so it may be a case of finding out who provides an internet service locally and calling them directly. Note that many people experience very long delays when trying to get their internet connected to new builds, so if you need internet for work then have a plan B.

You may also like to read: The Ultimate Change of Address Checklist. It is essential that you notify all your utility providers and any other company that you have dealing with of your new address. Here we have created a comprehensive list of people who you may need to contact with your new address details.

How to Speed Test Your Internet

You can use this broadband speed test to see just how fast your internet is, just connect to your router using the cable for the most accurate results.

Internet Speed Postcode Checker

You can use this postcode checker from www.uswitch.com to see what the internet speed is at the postcode you intend to move to.

What to do About Slow Internet in Your home

Often you will find that your internet connection is not as fast as you expect.

The advertised speeds of a broadband package are the theoretical maximum speeds that you can expect and only need to apply to 10% of customers.

But fear not, if you have slow broadband, there are a few steps you can take to speed up your internet connection:

• Test the speed of your connection: The first step is to check that the speed you are getting is what you are paying for. You can use sites such as www.broadbandspeedchecker.co.uk to check your connection. It may be that the service you are paying for is not fast enough for your needs, so you may need to upgrade to a better package. If you have a good service plan but your connection is still too slow, then there are a few fixes you can try:
• Check all your computers: Check whether other computers in your home are running slow too. It may be a problem with just one computer, rather than the network speed.
• Are you using old hardware? It could be that you have a super-fast network or router but your computer itself just is not fast enough, in which case you may need to upgrade your laptop or computer.
• Reset the router and modem: If all the computers in your home are running slow then try restarting the router and modem by turning them off and then back on again.
• Reposition your Wi-Fi: It could well be that the signal from your Wi-Fi is weak because of where the unit is sited. Ideally, your router should be high up and in the middle of the home, so that the signal is evenly spread throughout the house.
• Do you need a faster router? It is the router that gets the signal from the provider to your device, so it may be that the router is not fast enough. If you are using a ‘wireless-n’ or ‘wi-fi4’ router, then it may be time to upgrade to the latest ‘wireless-ac’ or ‘wi-fi5’ routers which are significantly quicker.
• Create a mesh network: A wireless mesh network is a series of routers that boost the Wi-Fi signal throughout your home ensuring you get the best signal coverage possible. Each router, or node, amplifies the signal from the last node to eliminate dead zones. It is especially useful to have a mesh system in a large home.
• Use a hotspot: It may be that using an internet dongle or your mobile as a hotspot is a solution to speed up your connection at busy times. However, be sure to check you have enough data on your phone if doing this or you could incur some hefty bills.
• Time matters: Plan to do your less bandwidth-sapping tasks at busy times of the day, and the tasks that require a lot of speed at quieter times of the day. You may find that you need to organise your work time differently or limit the watching of Netflix for example, the more devices connected to your Wi-Fi, the slower it will be for everyone.
• Turn off HD: HD streaming uses a huge amount of bandwidth, so just by switching this off you should get an improved internet speed.
• Use a cable: Using a cable from the router directly into your laptop, for example, will provide a quicker connection than if you use the wireless Wi-Fi signal.

What Are Your Consumer Rights Regarding Slow Internet Access?

• Maximum connection speeds: As we mentioned above, the speeds advertised by broadband providers are the theoretical maximum speed you could receive, and are by no means guaranteed to every customer. You should check your contract to see the exact wording regarding connection speed from your provider.
• Minimum connection speeds: There will, however, be a guaranteed minimum speed specified on your contract. You need to know what that figure is so you can see if the service you are receiving is below that number.
• Test your broadband speed: You can use this online tool to see what speeds you are actually receiving.
• Keep a log: Make a note of times, dates, and recorded speed of your broadband in case you do decide to raise a complaint with your provider.
• Contact your provider: Having tried all the fixes in the previous section, and now armed with a log of the connection speeds you are actually getting, contact your internet provider. There is a full list of internet providers and links to their websites in the first section of this guide.
• Be patient: Allow a reasonable period of time for the provider to resolve your problem, this can be difficult to do, so you may have to be patient whilst they conduct their inquiries.
• Ofcom Voluntary Code: Many broadband providers have signed up to the Ofcom voluntary code of practice. This code of practice states that 1) the provider must give you the expected range of maximum line speed at the point of sale, 2) that they help resolve any speed issues you may experience, and that if you regularly experience slow internet speeds that you be allowed to terminate your contract penalty-free, or at a reduced monthly fee.
• CISAS and Communications Ombudsman Services: You can also raise a dispute with the Communication & Internet Services Adjudication Scheme or the Ombudsman Sevices: Communication if you so wish.

Having a good internet connection is vital for many people, so ensure that you organise this aspect of your home move well in advance of moving day.

Sorting out your broadband service when moving home is just one home-moving task, there are many many more. Be sure to visit our home moving blog section to find out how to move quicker, cheaper, and easier.

Good luck with your home move.