Before you start
- An unlocked handset, or one that supports eSIM
- A Reading address, for a contract or broadband
- A UK bank account, for a contract Direct Debit
Step-by-step
- 1
Buy a pay-as-you-go SIM or activate an eSIM on arrival
Sold in supermarkets, phone shops and online with no identity registration at all. A UK number in your first hour unlocks bank verification, NHS appointment systems and delivery notifications, all of which assume you have one.
In personWho: YouDay 1 - 2
Do not attempt a 24-month contract in your first weeks
Contracts run a credit check and require a UK bank account and address. With no UK credit file you will be declined or asked for a deposit. Rolling one-month SIM-only plans have no credit check and are excellent value.
OnlineWho: You - 3
Take a SIM-only plan and buy the handset separately
A rolling SIM-only plan with a large data allowance costs a fraction of a bundled handset contract over the same period and can be switched monthly. Buying the phone outright is almost always cheaper in total.
OnlineWho: You - 4
Keep your number when you switch
Text PAC to 65075 and you receive a porting authorisation code by return, valid for 30 days. Ofcom rules require the switch to complete in one working day. Never cancel the old service first — that is how people lose the number.
Mobile appWho: You - 5
Shop the broadband market properly, because here you actually have one
Check the exact postcode against Openreach-based providers and the alternative full-fibre networks that have built across the town. In much of Reading two or more physical networks reach the property, which is unusual in Britain and means the headline price is negotiable and the speeds are real. It is worth twenty minutes rather than taking the first bundle offered.
OnlineWho: You - 6
Order broadband the day you have an address
UK installation takes one to three weeks and may need an engineer visit, and in a converted Victorian house it can need the freeholder's consent on top. If you work from home — and in this town a great many people do — treat this as the first thing you arrange after the keys, not the last.
OnlineWho: You
Documents you’ll need
- Nothing at all for pay-as-you-go
- A Reading address and bank details, for a contract
- Passport, occasionally requested for a contract
Things most newcomers don’t know
Reading has genuine physical network competition, which almost nowhere in Britain does.
The M4 corridor has been a telecoms cluster since the 1980s and multiple full-fibre networks have built across the town in addition to Openreach. That means the address you are looking at often has two or more physical networks serving it, so price and speed are both better than the national picture and worth actively comparing. Most of Britain has one network and a choice of resellers; here the choice is real.
Source: Ofcom — broadband coverage checker
The UK has no SIM registration, unlike most of Europe.
Germany, Spain and France all require identity verification to activate a SIM. The UK requires nothing for pay-as-you-go, so a working UK number is a fifteen-minute errand rather than a first-week project.
Source: Ofcom
Text PAC to 65075 — switching keeps your number in one working day.
Ofcom requires networks to issue a porting authorisation code by text on request and complete the switch within one working day. Most people never learn the shortcode and stay on an expired contract tariff for years, which is exactly what the networks are counting on.
Source: Ofcom — switching mobile provider
If you commute, check coverage on the train rather than at home.
Both the fast Great Western line and the Elizabeth line into London run through cuttings and tunnels where coverage drops on some networks and not others, and Elizabeth line journeys are long enough that people plan to work on them. Ask regular commuters which network they use before you sign a contract around the assumption that you will be productive on the way in.
Source: Ofcom — mobile coverage checker
Common mistakes to avoid
- Taking the first broadband bundle offered in a town where you have a real choice of networks.
- Signing a 24-month handset contract in your first weeks and being declined or asked for a deposit.
- Cancelling the old service before requesting a PAC code, and losing the number.
- Leaving the broadband order until after you move, when installation takes weeks.
- Not knowing that pay-as-you-go requires no identity check at all.
Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.
Make it your personal checklist
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Sources
- Ofcom — switching mobile provider — official
- Ofcom — mobile and broadband coverage checker — official
Last verified August 2026. Government processes change — always confirm critical details against the official source before acting.