Moving office - downtime and ADSL

Just checkiing to see if the story I'm being fed about the inevitability of
days of service loss is not only ludicrous but is also true!

I am moving my small office (around 10 staff) into bigger premises on the
next floor up in an office block. The place we are going is, of course,
unoccupied so I am having, amongst other things, new BT voice lines
installed there. One of these will also be ADSL. I am taking my existing
numbers with me. I have ADSL on one line in my current location.

I explained all this to my ISP weeks ago but my emails seems to have
disappeared into null space. Eventually, I get the following story:

a) ISP provider cannot even place an order with BT wholesale for ADSL
connection until the PSTN line is installed;
b) In fact, BT's systems won't register the new line for 24 - 48 hours
after installation;
c) It will then take 7 - 10 days for the ADSL install to be completed (by
BT again). A miracle might reduce this period to 4 days.

I have brought forward the installation of one of the new lines to Wednesday
this week. According to the scenario above, the earliest date for placing an
order would be Thursday and the probable earliest install would be the
following Thursday. I am moving Friday so I lose connectivity for a minimum
of 4 days.

Again, according to this story, this down time is completely inescapable
unless you can install the necessary lines and numbers a week or more before
you move.

Have I understood this right? If so, how does any business manage the
transfer of ADSL without significant service discontinuiity? I think this
can only be possible by keeping a PSTN solely for data traffic so the number
is irrelevant. You then have to be able to get early access to your new
premises (or delay the move) and get the PSTN line(s) destined to be the
ADSL vehicle installed with new numbers (so as to continue service on the
old one). Then twiddle your thumbs for 48 hours, then place the ADSL order
and wait a further 7 - 10 days before actually moving.

Have I got this right or is there some way to accelerate the process? BTW, I
am so not interested in solutions which involve doing something completely
different 3 weeks ago!

Paul
Coventry

Paul Crisp wrote:

> Have I got this right or is there some way to accelerate the process? BTW,
> I am so not interested in solutions which involve doing something
> completely different 3 weeks ago!

As you are moving to the next floor in the office block, is it possible to
put a temporary link between the old and new floors so that you can access
the old line in the meantime? A Wireless LAN if the Landlord might take
exception to phone cable strung between the windows...
--
Dave