UK ISP TalkTalk has today announced the launch of a new “HomeMove Squad“, which as the name suggests reflects a dedicated team of “Wi-Fi moving experts” that can provide a single point of contact, simplifying the process of transferring services and ensuring customers are connected from day one in their new home.
According to a new online survey of 2,000 UK adults who have moved home and have Wi-Fi, which was conducted during late July 2025 and commissioned by Axicom on behalf of TalkTalk, some two-thirds of home movers allegedly consider that not having Wi-Fi on Day One of their move is considered the most stressful part of the entire process.
The average home mover also faces six days without internet after moving into their new home, and 26% say they endure over a week in the digital dark – highlighting the need to plan their Wi-Fi switch before they move. In addition, 73% of home movers now view Wi-Fi as a fundamental utility they expect to ‘just work’ (we assume they mean ‘broadband’) and this digital downtime prevents 30% from fully setting into their new homes.
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On top of that, the survey claims that 23% of respondents “mistakenly” believe their internet connection will automatically transfer to their new address (this does in fact vary depending on network, location and ISP choice etc.), while 17% expect the setup to take only a few hours.
Neil Smith, Chief Operating Officer at TalkTalk, said:
“Moving home is one of the most stressful things we do. It should be about new beginnings, not digital disruption, especially as eight in ten people say Wi-Fi makes a house a home.
We spotted an opportunity to go above and beyond for our customers by creating a HomeMove Squad who manage the process from start to finish, helping alleviate connectivity headaches during what we know is a stressful time.
We’re calling for people to prepare ahead of time and make sure they’re thinking about their Wi-Fi when making plans to move home. That way, we can make sure everything is up and running as early as possible.”
We’d generally agree with TalkTalk’s call for home movers to “pre-plan their Wi-Fi transfer ahead of time” (even though they should be talking about ‘broadband’), but such things are often easier said than done.
In reality, the rapid pace of property change can sometimes make it difficult to do time everything correctly and, strictly speaking, you shouldn’t be ordering a new broadband service until you’ve gained full legal control of the property. Likewise, there’s always the potential for a clash with an existing service that may not yet have been fully cancelled or ended, which is more likely to occur if the same underlying network is involved.
Finally, it’s worth noting that most of us no longer live in areas where the absence of a live fixed broadband service means no access to the internet. For example, 4G/5G based mobile broadband services and other solutions (e.g. Starlink) often exist to act as an effective temporary remedy.
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A company that sells broadband, talking about it by calling it “wi-fi” deserves everything they’re currently struggling with.
Promoting things in a dumb/watered down way maybe “helpful” initially, but it just adds confusion and increases support burden longer term.
As someone who fields a lot of requests from normal people.. it’s seen as “Wi-Fi” by them too.
People don’t understand how it works, they just know they look on their iPhone or iPad and go to WiFi for the internet to work. Therefore you need a wifi service to be able to internet.
I agree that it’s a dumbed down way of seeing it, but if that’s what customers are using; it’s only going to annoy people when attempting to correct them.
Powered by Patel Ai no doubt.
Should really be Broadband moving experts, that’s if TalkTalk have any? Seem to be catering for the customers who call their internet connection, “Wi-Fi” Will these experts be in the UK i Wonder?
I hate to say it but Talktalk customers are a certain stereotype and I’m not surprised they’re using dumbed down language like referring to broadband as “wifi”. They’re playing to their audience.
What a condescending comment. So, the isp one chooses is a reflection on their IQ? Ridiculous!
I have lost count of the number of times home move has been fixed and lost count of the number of times Ofcom complaints have been reduced. Still winning the most complaints cup. Be more Zen.
You do realise Zen use PXC (as does TalkTalk) for their network. It’s literally the same core infrastructure
Talktalk would be the first ISP to launch a movers team for supporting customers trying to leave rather than joining!