Tiscali pulls plug on 186K

Sparks broadband customer scramble

By John Oates • Get more from this author

Posted in Telecoms, 21st January 2009 14:54 GMT

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Tiscali has cut off wholesale broadband service to 186K customers.

The two firms are in the middle of legal fight which, 186K claims, means it cannot comment further on the matter. But it reassured subscribers that it is still in business and that most of its bandwidth comes from BT Wholesale and their service should be unchanged.

186K said Tiscali's plug-pulling "only affects a small percentage of the end users of our service, we sincerely apologise for the inconvenience it has caused".

The company is promising customers free migration over the next few days if subscribers fill in a form - available here. Of course you might find it difficult to fill in the online form if you've been disconnected - temporary user names are also available.

Leeds-based 186K provides various internet services, and has earned itself a colourful reputation by gobbling up other small ISPs in recent years.

Tiscali said: "The Wholesale Broadband Agreement with 186k has terminated. In consultation with Ofcom, Tiscali is providing continuity of service in the form of temporary access to all users that are on the Tiscali Network.

"We have provided MAC codes in bulk to 186k to enable it to move its reseller bases and we have also put in place a process to provide MAC codes to all direct customers. This process is in line with other wholesale providers within our industry."

ISPReview, which alerted us to the story, reports several customers struggling to get migration codes from Tiscali and others having a hard time getting hold of 186K - it took us ten minutes to get through to their support line, but our call was answered. ®

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