A good, fast Internet connection is among the most important basic services for me. That isn’t just because the Internet is an integral part of modern life, but also because as a telecom expert, there’s an element of occupational pride involved. It was only natural then that I would try for a seamless Internet transition during my recent move. But it was not without its hiccups.
While I was viewing the apartment, after it was clear that I was accepted as the new tenant, I immediately snapped a shot of the optical fiber socket with my phone. Doing this is generally a good idea, whenever an optical fiber connection is available, because you then have the OTO number. By sending the number of your soon-to-be home’s socket to your Internet service provider – along with the date on which you will move – your connection can be transitioned seamlessly to your new home. Depending on the service provider you use, you may be able to carry your existing subscription, or you may have to get a new one. Getting informed about your service provider’s rules in this regard at an early stage is recommended.
In my case, I had to order a new Internet subscription using the OTO number of my future home’s optical fiber socket, and add a footnote explaining that I am moving and that the new plan needs to replace my existing plan. My service provider confirmed the order, and let me know which of my new apartment’s four OTO sockets would be used.
Not long after getting this confirmation, my existing Internet connection suddenly became inactive. My first reaction was to suspect that my ISP had cut off my old connection too soon. As it turned out though, the cut had nothing to do with the move at all. The culprit was damage to telecom lines during construction work, which ended up leaving part of the neighborhood offline for several days. I found out through a notification on my service provider’s website. Luckily, the disruption only lasted for a few days, and the connection was up again and running like clockwork when moving day came around.
It’s a shame that the construction-induced Internet problems had to coincide with the days leading up to my move, because my ISP did everything exactly the way I hoped they would: After the long, stressful moving day, I simply plugged the cable into my new home’s optical fiber socket and it worked like a charm right from the start.
That seamlessness is not something I take for granted. The last time I moved homes, things did not go that smoothly. Although I had clearly stated that I was moving homes, the telecom company sent all the documents to my future address long before I had moved there, instead of sending them to my existing address. Since I was not yet living in my future home, the post office obviously could not deliver the documents to that address.
Tip: Moving always presents a good opportunity to review your Internet plan and switch to a plan that suits your current needs. Also take the chance to think about what kind of TV plan you need, and whether or not your still need a landline phone plan.
Another very important point: If you do not use cable connections (like those from UPC), make sure to tell your landlord or property manager. Nowadays, landlords generally charge the ongoing base fees for cable connections automatically, often without your knowledge. These fees are simply added to the other supplementary charges which you pay along with your rent.
An interesting side-thought: It’s kind of surprising that online real estate platforms like Homegate have not really entered the optical fiber age: There’s no option for filtering homes based on whether or not they have optical fiber connections. That’s a filter that many house-hunters could likely make good use of.
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