Switching internet providers: what NZ businesses need to know

Sep 07, 2026 Important Broadband

Changing internet or telecommunications providers probably isn’t high on most business owners’ to do lists.

Sometimes you choose to make the move. Maybe you’ve outgrown your current setup, aren’t getting the support you need, or have found something that better suits your business. Other times, the decision is made for you. With the closure of NOW Broadband, for example, a number of New Zealand businesses are currently having to consider what comes next.

Either way, one of the things that can stop businesses shopping around is the assumption that changing providers will be complicated, disruptive or require someone internally to manage the whole thing. Organising new connections. Phone numbers to move. Hardware to think about. Potential downtime.

It can sound like a lot.

But with some planning and an experienced provider, switching doesn’t need to become another project for you to manage. Here’s what to consider before you make the move.

Step 1: Work out what you’ve already got

Before you start comparing plans, it helps to understand what your business is actually using today.

That could include your internet connection and speed, phone numbers and users, static IP addresses, routers or other hardware, multiple business locations, call flows and any other services connected to your current provider.

Don’t worry if you don’t know all of that off the top of your head. You don’t need to be a telco expert to change telcos.

A good provider should be able to ask the right questions, help you understand your existing setup and identify anything that needs a little more attention before the move.

Step 2: Decide what actually needs to come with you

Switching providers doesn’t necessarily mean recreating your existing setup exactly as it is.

Businesses change. Your team might be bigger than it was when you first signed up. You might have more people working remotely, rely more heavily on cloud services, take more calls, have opened another location, or simply be paying for things you no longer need.

If you’re making a change anyway, it’s a good opportunity to ask:

Does what we’ve got still make sense for how we work today?

You might need exactly the same thing with a different provider. Or it could be an opportunity to simplify your setup, increase your internet speed, move to a more flexible phone system, or make sure your services can scale with you.

The goal isn’t to change things for the sake of it. It’s to make sure what you move to actually fits.

Step 3: Plan the move

Once you know what’s moving and what the new setup looks like, your new provider can plan how to get you there.

For some businesses, that’s relatively straightforward. For others, particularly those with multiple sites, phone numbers or more complex network and voice requirements, there may be a few more moving parts.

That’s where having an experienced team matters.

At Voyager, we’ll work through what needs to happen, in what order, and what we need from you along the way. Depending on the services you’re moving, we can also coordinate the transfer with your existing provider.

With a good providere, you should know what’s happening without having to manage every technical detail yourself.

Step 4: Keep disruption to a minimum

For most businesses, this is the big question:

Will we lose internet or phones while we switch?

The answer depends on what you’re moving and how your existing services are set up, which is why planning matters.

A straightforward broadband transfer is very different from migrating multiple sites and a business phone system with a number of users and call flows.

Rather than promising that every migration will be completely disruption-free, the aim should be to understand the risks upfront and plan the change to minimise the impact on your business.

Voyager has managed business migrations where connectivity transfers involved only a brief interruption, as well as more involved migrations requiring a planned path across broadband and VoIP services.

The important part is that you know what to expect before anything changes.

Step 5: Move your business phone numbers

If your business phone number has been on your website, vehicles, signage and customers’ contact lists for years, understandably, you probably don’t want to lose it.

In many cases, an existing phone number can be ported to your new provider rather than replaced with a new one.

If you’re also changing your phone system, this can be a good time to look at how calls are actually handled across your business, and if your chosen provider can offer an alternative or solution.

Do you need the same number of users? Could calls be handled differently? Do your people need to answer calls away from the office? Are there opportunities to simplify how calls are routed? Have you noticed an increase in calls outside of hours?

For example, Voyager offers a modern business phone system Voyager Voice that is cloud-based and can scale by adding users as a business grows, rather than relying on a traditional on-site PBX setup. It also connects to VAIA, our Voice AI Agents to help ensure your business never misses another call.

Again, it’s not about adding technology for the sake of it. It’s about making sure the setup you’re moving to works for your business now.

Step 6: Check everything before calling it done

Once the move is complete, it’s worth checking that everything has landed where it should.

Internet working?
Phones ringing where they’re meant to?
Important numbers successfully moved?
Team able to connect and work as expected?

It’s also worth checking with your previous provider that there aren’t any additional services or charges sitting on your old account that weren’t part of the transfer. Some services may need to remain with your existing provider or be dealt with separately.

Then, ideally, you can stop thinking about your internet provider and get back to running your business.

Thinking about switching?

Maybe you’re actively looking for something better. Maybe your current contract is coming to an end. Or, like businesses affected by the closure of NOW Broadband, maybe a change you weren’t expecting has put choosing a provider on your agenda.

Whatever brought you here, you don’t need to have everything figured out before talking to us.

Tell us what you’ve got today, what matters to your business and where you’re heading. Our team can talk you through your options and help work out what you actually need and help make the switch easy, something they’ve done for thousands of NZ businesses.