Tiscali UK is no more. In an unsurprising move, TalkTalk have today rebranded Tiscali to TalkTalk. TalkTalk picked up Tiscali UK for a bargain price of £236 million last year after their original offer of £550m was rejected by Tiscali just before the financial problems beset the country. The move made the largest residential broadband provider in the UK under the Carphone Warehouse umbrella which also owns the TalkTalk, AOL and Opal brands.
"We want to make it very clear that being part of TalkTalk is much more than just having a different logo on the top of your bill. For that reason we've reviewed all of the pricing tariffs and can say from today that if you're with TalkTalk you’re getting the same value as your fellow customers. "For many of our customers this will mean a reduction in their monthly bills, others will see no change with the remainder getting a small increase. Any customer visiting our website can clearly see our tariffs. "We've gained a lot from the Tiscali acquisition, most notably TV and Portal expertise and some great people, but from today the brand name will disappear and our focus is on TalkTalk."
Charles Dunstone (CEO), Carphone Warehouse
For Tiscali customers, this is both good and bad news. Some will see price reductions on their service, but others may see a price rise of £5 if they do not take the TalkTalk phone line rental service. ISP Plusnet have noticed this and are offering Tiscali customers a special 3 month free offer if they migrate to Plusnet by the end of January. Users interested should check where they stand in terms of contract with Tiscali/TalkTalk as early termination may incur charges.
I am a Pipex customer, on a Market 3 exchange, with an existing contract which runs for another 9 months. I have been offered immediate termination with no charges, not 30 days notice, which I thought was quite reasonable. Likely I will accept the offer! They said that their price increase was due to increased charges from BT.