A pop-up has one job: trade for a few weeks, then disappear. With 44% of SMEs expecting to generate more than a quarter of their annual revenue during the festive period, is connectivity really something you can risk?
Card terminals searching for a mobile signal, staff hot-spotting from their phones and stock lookups timing out all cost.
A pop-up doesn’t need less connectivity than a permanent store. It needs the same reliable connection, for a shorter timeline, If you are opening a seasonal unit, kiosk, concession or a market stall this winter, the connectivity needs planning alongside the fit-out, not afterwards.
Here is what is realistic between now and Christmas.
IS YOUR SITE ON-NET OR OFF-NET?
Optinet has on-net locations where FTTP and Ethernet connectivity can be provided in as little as five working days. For off-net locations, we work with all major operators, but lead times can be much longer.
Checking your location early is important. The sooner you know what’s available, the clearer your options are for getting connected.
WORKING BACK FROM BLACK FRIDAY
Black Friday falls on Friday 27 November 2026. If your temporary site needs to be trading by then, connectivity should be ordered, installed and tested well before peak trading begins.
For off-net sites, lead times are typically around 33 days, but this can vary depending on the survey, site requirements and complexity of the delivery. Additional infrastructure or third-party works can extend this further. If your site is off-net, there is less room for delays, so the earlier you start the process, the better.
For an on-net site, Optinet can deliver in as little as 5 working days from the point of order.
- Late October: Place order and agree term. Optinet will install, configure and hand over in 5 working days.
- Early November: test everything that relies on connectivity: card terminals, EPOS, stock lookup, click and collect
- From 27 November: trade, with the connection already proven
Whether your site is on net or off net, you still need to allow enough time to get connected and test everything before peak trading starts. Once the peak season change freeze begins, like most providers working with retail, we pause non-essential network changes across peak trading, to protect and optimise network uptime. It protects you, but it means late orders and late changes may not be possible once the freeze is in. Get your order in early, get everything tested and avoid leaving your connectivity to the last minute.
WHAT A TEMPORARY SITE ACTUALLY NEEDS FROM A CONNECTION
A temporary site may only be trading for a few weeks, but its connectivity requirements are no different from a permanent store. Card payments, EPOS, stock systems, scanners, click and collect and other connected services still need a reliable network to run.
You might consider 4G or 5G as a quick solution, but mobile performance can vary depending on network capacity and how busy the local network is. When lots of people are using the same network in the same area, saturation can affect speeds and reliability, exactly when your temporary site could be at its busiest.
A dedicated business connection gives you the reliability, and service levels you need to keep trading. And if something does go wrong, you have a support team behind you to help get it resolved.
We’ve written before about what an hour of downtime actually costs a retailer. When more than a quarter of annual revenue can come from the festive period, connectivity is not something to take a chance on.
KIT AND MANAGED EQUIPMENT
A temporary site may only be around for a few weeks, but that doesn’t make connectivity any less important. You still need the right equipment in place to keep everything running, without adding unnecessary hassle to the setup.
As your connectivity provider, we can provide fully managed equipment, including the router, firewall, and WiFi. The equipment is supplied, configured and monitored by us, so you know it is set up correctly and that there is a team keeping an eye on it if something goes wrong.
It means one less thing to organise when you’re getting a temporary site up and running, and one team to contact if you need support. When the site closes, the equipment can simply be returned to us.
A SHORT CHECKLIST BEFORE YOU ORDER
- address confirmed and connectivity status checked
- opening date and last trading day confirmed
- everything that will run over the connection listed
- Contract term agreed for the trading period
- Equipment decided: supplied and managed by Optinet, or your own
- Cease date and notice period understood and diarised
- understand the support hours
TEMPORARY DOES NOT HAVE TO MEAN IMPROVISED
If you know where you are opening, we can check whether the building is on our network and give you a realistic date for getting connected. If it isn’t, we will tell you that too, while there is still time to explore your options.
Send us the address and we will come back with lead times and pricing