Prepare the ground: Now’s the time to get ahead of the Christmas freeze

Prepare the ground: now’s the time to get ahead of the Christmas freeze

Concerns about Christmas always come early for connectivity providers, and we’re no different here at Elevate Wholesale. There’s only a month or so until the seasonal embargoes land, less than a month in Manchester and Birmingham.

So, there’s only a few weeks left to assess your customer base and make sure you don’t get caught out by any last minute connectivity requests.

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Here’s the 2026/27 embargo dates for each of our HyperCities…‍

• Birmingham: Inside the ring road: 2nd November 2026 to 4th January 2027. Outside the ring road, all arterial routes, high streets and shopping centres: 30 November 2026 to 4 January 2027
• ‍Leeds: 5th November until 23rd November, Thursdays to Sundays only, then 26th November to 4th January 2027 every day‍
• Manchester: 9th November 2026 – 4th January 2027
• Cardiff: 17th November 2026 - 3rd January 2027
• Liverpool: 23rd November 2026 – 3rd January 2027
• London: Dates vary by local authority and Transport For London, but typically run from late November to mid January 2027

During these periods, permits for cabling, splicing or any form of carriageway incursion will be rejected… so get your orders in now for any year-end projects your customers might have coming up.

If you’re not yet sure what they’ve got in store for the festive period; now’s the time to establish the readiness rating for your base as a whole. And in true Blue Peter fashion, here’s one we made earlier to help. 

Our diagnostic scorecard runs you through five questions that will help you quickly determine your customers’ (and in turn your) readiness for the change freezes. Take the quick 4 question quiz now.

There’s a commercial opportunity here, too. The freeze can mean hard-won orders get held up, delaying the point at which you can turn them into revenue. But the earlier you identify what your customers need and explore the options available, the better placed you are to keep things moving and make the most of those opportunities.

If you’re already looking to sort out new connectivity orders in time for Christmas, you can do so 24/7 through the Portal, or by getting in touch with your Account Manager. 

And if you conversations run a little late, don;t worry talk to us about our wireless connectivity solution which can provide a direct connection up to 10Gbps within 10 days, using encrypted rooftop point-to-point microwave technology. 

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Business as usual? Order a little earlier than usual…

Even your everyday connectivity orders could face delays if they're left too late. Whether customers need a new connection, an upgrade or a change to an existing service, take a look at your pipeline now and get orders submitted as early as possible. You can remind yourself of our full connectivity offering here.

If you would like to discuss this in more detail, or require any further information, please don’t hesitate to contact your account manager or get in touch.