Tiscali reckons it's the fastest growing broadband operator in the UK. The ISP says it's getting between 30 and 40 per cent of all new sign-ups to ADSL in the UK, beating-off the likes of BT, AOL and Wanadoo UK.

Overall, Tiscali has 1.24m broadband punters, the pan-European ISP reported yesterday, Much of Tiscali's success is coming from its 150k service, which retails at £15.99 a month.

News of Tiscali UK's progress coincided with Bulldog's decision to launch a similarly-priced capped 512k service.

Bulldog's PrimeTime 500 service costs £15.99 a month and provides downstream speeds up to 512 kbps during peak times and 256 kbps during off-peak hours. Available to punters in the South East and major city centres including Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and Cambridge and aimed at light users, PrimeTime 500 has a 2GB download limit per month.

Anyone overstepping the limit can expect a "£5 fee for exceeding the monthly limit". Other charges also apply.

Oh, and BT has cut the cost of getting into online gaming for new users of Xbox Live and PlayStation 2 Network Gaming. The cost of the router needed to connect a gamer's broadband line to their games console has fallen from £99 to £20 when purchased online or £45 if purchased offline. ®

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