Tiscali has now officially become part of the TalkTalk family, which means that Tiscali subscribers can finally breathe a sigh of relief. A new page entitled ‘My Tiscali’ has appeared on the Tiscali website, and it states that:

“We would like to re-assure you that all your services and products will continue as normal and without interruption and, importantly, your existing email addresses will remain the same.

Once the sale is complete, TalkTalk very much look forward to welcoming Tiscali customers, and assure Tiscali customers that your service will continue as it is today.”

Continue Reading »

TalkTalk have just launched their new Home Mover service, which will see those moving home into a non-cable able to bypass the usual route of having to sign up with BT first before switching providers. As TalkTalk are now taking on the cost of providing a service at the new property, the consumer will be able to avoid shelling out for the process, which usually costs around £120.

Instead, existing TalkTalk customers would be able to pay £29.99 to have their service moved to a new address - the same amount as the normal connection fee for TalkTalk broadband. New customers would have to stump up £59.99 for the process and sign up for TalkTalk broadband for 18 months.

Moving house is a pretty stressful affair already. Wendy Becker, MD of TalkTalk pointed out: “Customers have more than enough to worry about when moving home, so we’re pleased to be able to take the hassle - and a lot of the cost - out of the process of getting your home phone and broadband up and running.”

Continue Reading »

TalkTalk/Carphone Warehouse has released a list of FAQ’s (complete with answers) that they’ve been receiving from Tiscali customers since news of the buyout was announced a couple of weeks back. The blog post is keen to stress that, although Tiscali has accepted TalkTalk’s offer, they “don’t own Tiscali yet. We’ve had our offer accepted and, subject to EU approval, it will be signed off at the end of June.”

It turns out that the Tiscali TV service will continue to run as normal, so those of you who were worried about this service suddenly disappearing can rest easy. It also looks as though contracts signed with Tiscali before the acquisition will remain binding for their duration. Billing arrangements are also to remain the same for the time being.

TalkTalk, who are understood to have been in talks with the increasingly unpopular Phorm have also said that there are no plans to introduce Phorm’s tracking software to any of their customers, including Tiscali.

Click on the link below for the full list of questions and answers, which was first published over on the TalkTalk blog.

Continue Reading »

Tiscali has just released its latest list of figures for the last quarter, which shows a steady decline in subscribers from nearly 1.76 million at the end of last year, to 1.7 million at the end of Q1 2009 (31st of March).

This news comes just a week after it was announced that TalkTalk and AOL owners Carphone Warehouse bought the UK arm of the Italian firm, which was struggling with debt repayments, for £263 million, £20 million of which went towards clearing debts, according to the press release found here (PDF).

It is thought that once the transaction is complete next month, Tiscali subscribers will be migrated to the TalkTalk network and be offered the basic TalkTalk Essentials service (8Mbps speeds, 40GB download limit, Evening & Weekend calls) as standard.

Continue Reading »

Sky has just launched a great promotional offer that is exclusively available to Tiscali broadband customers. From now until the 11th of June, Tiscali subscribers who switch to Sky Broadband will receive £50 credit, and will get a free Sky+ box thrown into the bargain.

This seems like a really good deal, as no-one really knows whats going to be happen with all those Tiscali TV boxes in June, when TalkTalk are supposedly migrating Tiscali customers. Plus, it sees punters making a saving of £99; £49 that you’d normally pay for the Sky+ box, plus the £50 credit.

Continue Reading »

It’s a bit short of and decidedly less tasty than Heinz’s famous 57 Varieties, but ISP TalkTalk has just launched a list of 47 Reasons why you should sign up for its broadband and phone services.

Some of the listed 47 Reasons include:

• Fantastically low cost calls

• Free wireless router

• Min 40GB monthly usage limit

• Commitment to always be cheaper than BT

They could have included on the list those ‘Human Animations’ adverts that bookend ITV Mystery Drama shows, and the fact that they share a name with a critically lauded proto-post rock pop group who shot to fame with the song ‘It’s My Life’, which was later covered by Gwen Stefani.

Continue Reading »

After about a year of negotiations and will-they-wont-they speculation, Carphone Warehouse has finally snapped up Tiscali’s UK operations for a cool £263 million. This purchase means that Carphone has leapfrogged Virgin Media to become the second largest ISP in the UK, with some 4.25 million broadband subscribers.

More importantly, the buyout means that Tiscali customers, concerned that they may lose their connection can rest easy. It was thought that Tiscali had racked up debts of €500 million across the Continent, and rumours of the group going into administration had subscribers understandably worried.

Tiscali UK CEO Mary Turner said: “It’s good news for our customers who will increasingly benefit from a group that has consistently championed best value and award-winning customer service.”

Carphone Warehouse chief executive Charles Dunstone also said: “It has been the longest deal I have ever worked on. I think it has been hard for the shareholders of Tiscali because during the process we had the collapse of the banking world and then the decline in the pound to the euro so we think this price is low.”

Continue Reading »

Carphone Warehouse has decided to put an end to speculation regarding the break up with TalkTalk… by announcing that the group is breaking up.

Whilst the demerger won’t happen for some time yet, Carphone founder Charles Dunstone said that the current economic climate will “undoubtedly present challenges” which may see the broadband provider split from its parent company “in the year ahead”.

Under Carphone’s plan, the high street mobile retailer and broadband provider TalkTalk would be split into two separate companies.

“We are well funded, and have clear and simple strategies for our two businesses which balance growth with tight operational efficiency and cash generation,” said Mr Dunstone.

It is unsure whether AOL will merge with the TalkTalk, or remain part of the Carphone Warehouse group.

Tiscali appear to be the first victims of the recession in the British Broadband Big 6, after its shares have been suspended on the Italian stock market after taking a 50 per cent tumble this morning after it was revealed that the group, which collectively owes banks €500 million, failed to meet a debt repayment.

Tiscali is currently the fifth largest broadband provider in the UK, with a subscriber base of around 1.7 million. Tiscali, who listed looking for a buyer for their UK consumer services as a top priority in 2008, were looking for at least £600 million. Among those interested in a buyout included TalkTalk/AOL owners Carphone Warehouse and Sky - the latter stumped up £450 million for Tiscali’s UK arm, but talks broke down, becoming “impossible to proceed,” according to Tiscali.

This means that Tiscali will be coming to the banks of Europe cap in hand, at a time when fiscal security is shaky to say the least.

Broadband Comparison site Broadband.co.uk have released the results of their anecdotal speed tests for January 2009, which sees Virgin Media sitting pretty atop the pile with an average download speed of 6.018Mbps - a speed and position no doubt bolstered by the recent launch of the premium Size: XXL 50Mbps service.

Sitting just behind Virgin in second place is O2, owners of Be Broadband’s ADSL2+ infrastructure, with a top average download speed of 5.319Mbps. Third place is Sky Broadband, with a top downstream average of 3.521Mbps.

The three ISPs offer theoretical maximum download speeds of 50Mbps, 20Mbps (or 24, if you’re with Be) and 16Mbps respectively.

Market leaders BT were nowhere to be seen in the upper echelons of the speed test, lurking second to last with a top average download speed of 2.331Mbps, just about AOL’s 2.011Mbps.

In the upload speed stakes, O2 performed considerably better than Virgin, with a top average of 0.734, well above the cable group’s 0.466Mbps.

Continue Reading »