Moving home is one of those life events that we try to forget because it’s always so painful. Something always goes wrong when you’re moving home, especially when transferring utility accounts. And why is it always the bloody internet? Over the weekend, I had to move, and despite it being relatively smooth, I had the honour of being in charge of the utilities, aka electricity and internet/NBN.
Technology has made it easier for us to pack up our lives and move places with a few clicks, but something always goes awry, and for me, it had to do with the internet. The problem was something I didn’t know was an actual problem.
The internet is a utility, and for me, someone who has an Internet-based job and writes a lot about the internet, it’s a necessity.
Transferring the internet over with our provider (who will remain nameless) seemed easy and straightforward, we were promised internet the day we moved in. When I plugged in our NBN box and the router, all the lights were green, except the status light, which was a glaringly painful red.
I was getting a signal on my phone and laptop, but just no connection.
Naturally, I ranted to my colleagues about the issue, one of them even used their nepo connections to see if they could help me. I explained the issue, and they pointed out that it was actually a big faux pas on my behalf, not the internet provider.
When moving home, I took the NBN box and cord. A big no-no. (Sorry, NBN).
When you’re moving home, you’re not supposed to take the NBN box, in fact, NBN says on its website: “Any NBN supplied equipment needs to stay at your current address – please do not take it with you. This is a legal requirement.”
Asking people in the office if they knew this, not many people did, one of my colleagues said he did the exact same thing as me.
So it looks like I’m not the only one.
The NBN urges customers to keep their equipment at home because it is registered to a specific address and will not work in other homes.
The equipment includes the connection box, cabling and the wall plates and sockets.
“You won’t be able to use it at your new address, and it cannot be re-sold as it is property of NBN,” the broadband provider said.
It also added this little tidbit that makes me feel a tad guilty, “Additionally, by removing the NBN-supplied equipment, you may make it harder for the new owner or occupant of the premises you’re moving from.”
While I apologise for my small misdemeanour, I would like to point out that I didn’t know you were not allowed to take the box with you. When transferring over my internet, the provider didn’t mention it. And to top it all off, the home we moved into didn’t have the box, only the cord.
The silver lining to all of this is that the NBN will replace our NBN box with one that is made specifically for our home, and we won’t have to pay a cent. Plus, to be good citizens, my housemate and I will give the other one back to the old place.
So there you go, leave all NBN paraphernalia at your home when you move otherwise you could be like me and use patchy mobile reception.
Image: Fox/NBN