What happens at a Truespeed installation (2026)

Truespeed says its network was built in rural areas and underserved communities and that availability depends on your address, so start with its postcode checker. The original build covers parts of the rural South West; the former County Broadband network adds parts of Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk; and since 6 August 2026 homes on Freedom Fibre's network in the North West and West Midlands can order Truespeed too (its pages don't say whether every installation detail is the same there, so ask). If you moved across from County Broadband mid-contract, Truespeed's legals page says your County Broadband terms stay valid until that contract ends.

Besides 'ready to order', the checker can say Truespeed is live in your area but a local issue needs fixing first: if you pre-order, it says it will fix the issue within 90 days at no cost to you, then call to book, and you pay nothing until you're connected. It can also say more surveying and engineering work is needed before it can plan your connection (no orders yet, but you can register), that an issue outside its control is in the way, or that you're not close enough to the network.

A separate rule applies if Truespeed tells you it doesn't yet provide service in your area and connection depends on enough take-up. Its terms make such an order binding: apart from the 14-day right to change your mind, you can only cancel without its written agreement if it hasn't connected you within nine months of accepting the order, and you're free to use another provider meanwhile. If its build is some way off, see rural broadband options and compare deals at your postcode for what's live today.

Truespeed's support page says BDUK and Gigabit vouchers can make installation free, but GOV.UK says the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme closed to new project submissions on 31 August 2026 and only premises in existing voucher projects can now qualify (updated 2 September 2026). If a voucher is mentioned, ask whether your address is in an approved project, and reply to the government emails: Truespeed says it can claim the funding only once you answer the second one, sent after you're connected (Project Gigabit explained).

You pick a preferred installation date when you order, which Truespeed says can be a few weeks or a couple of months ahead, useful if your contract still has a while to run. Where it's already live it aims to connect you within 21 days, usually less, with morning or afternoon appointments Monday to Friday. Once the order is processed it calls to confirm the date and normally offers One Touch Switch then. You set up a direct debit to complete the order but aren't charged until you're connected, and you're told before any payment is taken.

Decide about a phone line now. The February 2026 terms say that if you don't take one at the point of order, Truespeed won't be able to provide one after installation, yet its phone line page says a line can be added 'at any point after' sign-up, and its switching page says a landline can be added later. As they don't agree, add the line when you order if you might want one (the terms set a one-off £20 activation fee, plus £15 if you port your number). To move the appointment, call with at least 24 hours' notice; otherwise the support page says you may be charged £40.

Usually a week or two before your date, someone assesses the outside of your property; the terms call this pre-proving and allow it up to two weeks ahead. It may be a contractor or Truespeed staff, carrying Truespeed ID, and the terms say no work is done on your property without your express permission. The visit checks nothing will get in the way, such as an overhanging tree or a blocked underground duct (the buried pipe that carries cables); chooses the least disruptive route, overhead or underground; does external work there and then if it can; and leaves a coil of fibre at the planned entry point. You needn't be in, though it helps to leave side gates unlocked and dogs indoors. Truespeed's pages don't offer to time the visit around you, so if you'd like to be there, ask when it calls to confirm.

Permissions: whose land and whose building?

The terms need the landowner's consent for the cable route, including ducts and poles on the land and the pre-proving visit, and the building owner's consent for equipment fixed to the property; by ordering you confirm you have both. They also let Truespeed use what it installs to serve surrounding properties. If you rent, get your landlord's written agreement first (broadband for renters covers how to ask); if the route crosses a shared drive, a neighbour's land or a private road, read wayleaves: when broadband needs permission.

The terms define a standard installation as one using any existing or planned overhead infrastructure, unless usable underground routes to the property are already in place. So with a pole nearby, expect the fibre overhead; if a duct already runs to your house, Truespeed may use it. Its Standard Installation document, linked from its legals page, adds the detail below, but it is dated August 2021, before Truespeed's mergers, so treat it as a description of the original network at the time.

The document says the route is planned in advance and you may be charged if you want a different one, but that Truespeed expects to know before the day whether extra work is needed and to discuss it with you. If a blocked duct or missing pole stops the job, see what happens when a full fibre install is blocked; if reinstatement isn't done properly, engineer damaged your home?.

Expect reminder texts and an 'on our way' message; Truespeed's pages differ on timing (two days before on its installation page; the day before and that morning on its support page). On the day:

1. Permission and an adult at home. The engineer checks Truespeed has permission and that someone over 18 is there; the terms require an adult authorised to make decisions for you to be present for the whole installation. If the engineer can't get in at the agreed time, the terms allow a £50 call-out fee and you must rebook.
2. The hole in the wall. With your permission the engineer drills a small hole to bring the fibre in. The entry point can be within ten metres of where the coil was left, so you have some say over which room it lands in.
3. The termination unit. The fibre goes into a small box Truespeed usually calls a termination unit (other networks say ONT; see full fibre equipment: the ONT and your router). Truespeed's 2021 document says it is fixed to the inside wall over the hole, with the router connected to it by ethernet cable and both needing a power socket. Its current support page says that sometimes an adapter sits between phone and router, or the termination unit and router are one box.
4. Agreeing the location. The terms say the equipment position is agreed beforehand and moving it later can cost extra, so decide where the router goes before the engineer arrives.
5. Phone. A Truespeed phone line connects to the router; the 2021 document adds that Truespeed doesn't provide extension sockets or connect into BT or other providers' sockets.
6. Testing and go-live. The engineer runs installation acceptance testing; under the terms your service is activated then, and billing runs from activation.

Current pages say the visit usually takes under an hour, or about an hour in total; the 2021 document gave engineers 90 minutes, so allow up to an hour and a half. Very occasionally problems found on the day mean a return visit, one reason to keep your existing service until the new one is live.

Your router, Wi-Fi and the app

Truespeed supplies its Hub 7 router, which uses Wi-Fi 7, with optional Mesh 7 units; if you take mesh at switching, the engineer sets up the first node and you position any others. The 2021 document says a standard install only covers setting up a router, so if Wi-Fi coverage worries you, say so before the day (mesh Wi-Fi versus extenders helps you decide what to ask for). Truespeed's app lets you change the network name and password, set parental controls and prioritise devices. You can use your own router, but Truespeed only supports the equipment it provides (see using your own router).

Truespeed says it can sometimes flex beyond a standard installation, but if that hasn't been prearranged it isn't always possible and may cost extra. Its terms say the installation design and any additional charges are agreed with you before work starts, and refusing a standard price plus excess installation charge is a 'good reason' to cancel, as is a risk of significant delay from events outside Truespeed's control. Its documents flag two things that may cost extra: asking for a route other than the planned one, and moving equipment or changing the agreed specification once settled. Truespeed's installation page and terms give no typical prices for non-standard work (checked October 2026), so get the figure in writing before you say yes. If a Truespeed install isn't for you, compare fibre broadband deals from other providers; our Gigaclear installation guide shows how a neighbouring rural network handles the same situations.

Under One Touch Switch, the process Ofcom introduced in September 2024 for moves between networks, you contact only the new provider. Your current provider must then send you switching information, including any early termination charges, so you can decide whether to go ahead; once the new service works the old one ends automatically, with no notice-period charges beyond the switch date.

Truespeed fits this into the call confirming your date: it asks whether you want it to use One Touch Switch to cancel your existing supplier, then cancels your current service once you go live. Two situations change this. If you're keeping your phone number, Truespeed says One Touch Switch isn't available because both services must be live for the number to move, so you manage the switch yourself (next section). That is Truespeed's own practice, not part of Ofcom's process, under which you simply tell the new provider whether you want to keep your number. If you want an overlap, you cancel your old provider separately and One Touch Switch doesn't apply (how to cancel your broadband contract covers notice periods).

Either way, Truespeed's terms make you responsible for charges under your old contract. Truespeed suggests asking your current provider when the contract ends and what exit fees apply, and says most people order when it's nearly over or pick a future date. If the early termination charge in your switching information is large, push the date back; if something goes wrong mid-switch, see broadband switch gone wrong?. Before committing, compare deals at your postcode or browse broadband deals by area.

Truespeed can only port a live number, so your old line must still be working. Once you're connected it sends a Phone Number Porting Authorisation form, and a one-off porting fee (£15 under its terms) goes on your first bill. The support page says porting can take up to ten working days; the terms allow up to 30 days but say it's usually quicker. When it completes, plug your phone into the Truespeed router, and don't cancel your existing contract until the number has ported and is live. See keeping your landline number when you switch.

If you have BT Redcare or a similar BT alarm, move it to another line before you switch: Truespeed says Redcare only works with a BT-supplied phone service, and if you're keeping your number the port request will be rejected otherwise. In a power cut the Truespeed phone line, which is powered by the router, stops working along with the broadband, including for 999 calls. Truespeed offers a UPS (a rechargeable battery back-up for the router and termination unit) that it says runs the phone for about an hour, free in some circumstances such as relying on your landline because of disability or connected medical devices; use a corded handset. If you have a health or security system on your landline, or are vulnerable, Truespeed asks you to call it to discuss your needs; do that before installation. See will a digital landline work in a power cut? and telecare and alarms after the landline switch-off.

Truespeed's terms say the first invoice, sent within seven days of activation, contains your initial installation charge, plus service from activation to the end of the month, any add-ons and possibly the next month in advance. As its website calls standard installation free, check your order confirmation shows no installation charge and query any that appears on the bill.

There are two ways to walk away. Under consumer law you have 14 days from Truespeed's written acceptance of your order; if service has started you may pay for what you've used and for installation. Separately, Truespeed's 30 Day Money Back Guarantee on residential broadband runs from go-live: broadband charges are refunded, telephone charges aren't, and the installation deduction doesn't apply inside the guarantee. Your old service isn't automatically reinstated if you cancel, so don't treat it as a free trial; broadband cooling-off period explains the 14-day right.

Afterwards, the terms say to keep the termination unit and fibre cable in good order, report damage and leave the wall-mounted devices when you move out. Moving into a home that already has Truespeed? Call it to update the details and have the equipment checked. Run a broadband speed test over ethernet in the first week as a record, and see current packages on our Truespeed broadband deals page.

• Read the postcode checker result. A 'local issue' is Truespeed's to fix within 90 days at no cost; if it says it doesn't yet serve your area and connection depends on take-up, the order is binding unless it hasn't connected you within nine months (beyond the 14-day right to change your mind).
• Ask your current provider for your contract end date and exit fees, or read the One Touch Switch information it must send you.
• Decide at order time about a phone line and mesh; the terms say a phone line can't be added later, though Truespeed's web pages say it can.
• Get written landlord or landowner agreement before the survey visit, and leave gates unlocked for it.
• Pick the router's room, within ten metres of the coil and near power, and have an adult over 18 who can make decisions home for the whole visit.
• Move any BT Redcare or similar BT alarm to another line before you switch, and tell Truespeed about telecare or medical equipment on the line.
• Check the first invoice for an installation charge, and keep your old service until Truespeed is live.

For how other rural networks handle the same steps, see Fibrus installations and Quickline installations, or compare providers on our UK broadband providers page.