The Complete Office Move Telecom Checklist

Moving Your Office Without Losing Your Mind (or Your Phones): Part 8 of 8

This final post consolidates everything from the series into a single reference. It's organized as a timeline, starting months before the move and ending a few weeks after. Print it, put it in a spreadsheet, or hand it to whoever is managing the move. The individual posts in this series explain the "why" behind each item. This post is just the "what" and "when."

3 to 4 months before the move

Check internet availability at the new address. Contact multiple providers, including regional carriers. Don't rely on a single provider's website. Understand what connection types are available (cable, fiber, dedicated, fixed wireless) and what the installation timelines are.

Evaluate the building's infrastructure. Check the existing cabling. Determine the pathway from the building's demarcation point to your suite. Ask about any exclusive provider agreements or access restrictions. Verify roof access if you plan to use fixed wireless.

Address telecom considerations in the lease. Negotiate the right to use your preferred ISP. Confirm pathway access for cable runs. Clarify any fees for riser access or roof access. Get construction permission in writing if fiber needs to be built.

Order the internet connection. For dedicated fiber with construction: order now. For dedicated fiber where infrastructure exists: order now. The sooner you start the process, the more buffer you have for delays.

Decide whether to upgrade equipment. Evaluate your current phones, switches, router, and PBX. Decide what's being carried forward and what's being replaced. If upgrading the PBX or switching to a cloud provider, start that planning as a parallel workstream.

2 to 3 months before the move

Order internet connection if not already done. For cable or shared fiber, this is the latest you should order to have a comfortable buffer.

If switching VoIP providers, begin the number porting process. If you're staying with the same hosted VoIP provider, no porting is needed. Your numbers live with the provider, not the location. If you are switching providers, gather all required information: account numbers, authorized name, PIN, billing address. Submit the Letter of Authorization to your new provider. Track the port request status weekly.

Order new equipment if upgrading. Phones, switches, routers, and any other hardware. Allow time for shipping, configuration, and testing.

Hire a cabling contractor if needed. If the new building needs new network cabling, schedule the work to complete at least two weeks before the move. This gives time for testing and corrections.

1 to 2 months before the move

Internet installation should be complete. If it's not, escalate with the provider. You need the connection active with enough time to test before the move.

Configure the router and firewall at the new location. Install the production router, configure all rules, VLANs, QoS settings, VPN configurations, and DHCP. Test with a laptop and a phone.

Test the internet connection thoroughly. Speed tests at different times of day. Ping and jitter tests to your VoIP provider. Test calls from a phone connected at the new location.

Cabling should be complete and tested. Every run should be certified. Patch panels should be labeled. Wall jacks should be labeled to match.

New equipment should be configured and tested. If you bought new switches, get them racked and configured. If you bought new phones, provision them and verify they register. Label each phone with the user's name and extension.

2 to 4 weeks before the move (overlap period begins)

Start the overlap period. Pay for service at both locations. This is your safety net.

Set up the complete network at the new location. Switches, wireless access points, and any other infrastructure. Everything should be production-ready.

Move a small group to the new location for real world testing. Have them work there for a few days. Collect feedback on call quality, internet speed, WiFi coverage, and any issues.

Resolve any issues found during testing. Adjust QoS settings, move access points, update firewall rules, or contact the ISP about connection quality.

If porting numbers, confirm the port status. If the port hasn't completed yet, check with your new provider on the expected date. If it's cutting close to the move, plan for temporary numbers. If you're staying with the same hosted VoIP provider, this step doesn't apply since your numbers move with you automatically.

Prepare fallback plans. Know how to forward calls to mobile phones. Know how to direct your team to the old office if the new one has a critical failure on move day. Have the ISP's and VoIP provider's support numbers written down (not just saved in a phone that might not work).

Move day

Verify internet first. Plug in a laptop, test connectivity, run a speed test.

Verify the network core. Router, firewall, switches, DHCP, VLANs. Everything should be working from the testing period, but confirm it hasn't reset or lost configuration.

Connect phones in stages. Start with two or three at key positions. Test registration, inbound calls, outbound calls, and audio quality before connecting the rest.

Test critical workflows. Auto attendant, ring groups, call queues, conference calling, voicemail, fax, intercom, paging, and any other features your team relies on.

Test remote access. VPN, remote desktop, and any other external access to the office network. Update the public IP address in any configurations that reference it.

Update your E911 address with your VoIP provider. Do this on move day, on or immediately before the day people start working at the new location. Do not update this weeks or months in advance. The E911 address tells emergency responders where to go when someone dials 911 from your office phones. If you update it early while people are still working at the old office, a 911 call from the old location would send responders to the new address instead. Update it at the point of cutover so the registered address always matches where people are actually working.

Have key contacts available. IT/network person on site. ISP support number ready. VoIP provider support number ready. Building manager reachable.

First week after the move

Monitor call quality daily. Listen for reports of choppy audio, one way audio, echo, or dropped calls. These may not appear until the full team is using the connection simultaneously.

Monitor bandwidth utilization. Watch for upload saturation during peak hours now that the full team is active.

Check WiFi coverage with the office fully occupied. Walk every area and verify signal strength and speed.

Resolve device conflicts. Update static IP addresses on printers, servers, cameras, and other devices to match the new network.

Update SIP trunk IP address if using IP authentication. Verify outbound calling works and caller ID displays correctly.

Verify E911 address. Call your VoIP provider (or check their portal) to confirm the 911 registered address shows the new location. This is a safety issue. Don't skip it.

Second week after the move

Gather feedback from the team. Ask about call quality, internet speed, phone features, and anything that's not working as expected.

Address any remaining issues. Persistent call quality problems, WiFi dead spots, features that aren't working correctly, or remote access problems.

Cancel old location services. Once you're confident everything works at the new location, cancel the internet, phone lines, and any other services at the old address. Return any rented equipment.

Document the new setup. Record ISP account details, router and firewall configurations, switch port assignments, phone system configuration, WiFi settings, VLAN assignments, IP ranges, and static IP allocations.

Update external records. Google Business Profile, online directories, business cards, website, invoices, marketing materials, vendors, clients, and anyone else who has your address on file.

File the final bills from old providers. Keep records of cancellation dates and confirmation numbers.

The principle behind the checklist

Every item on this list serves the same goal: reducing the number of unknowns on move day. The businesses that have smooth moves are the ones that test aggressively before the move, build in time for things to go wrong, and treat move day as a deployment of proven infrastructure rather than a day of experimentation.

Start early. Test thoroughly. Maintain the overlap. Document everything. And when something goes wrong, because something always goes wrong, you'll have the fallback plans and the knowledge to resolve it quickly.

This is the final post in the Moving Your Office series. For deeper coverage of the topics referenced throughout, the Getting the Internet Right series covers ISP selection, the VoIP From the Ground Up series covers voice fundamentals, and the When Your Phones Sound Bad series covers troubleshooting specific symptoms.