Broadband News

Competition is set to increase within the triple play services (Broadband, Phone and Television), as Tiscali announced this week that on the 1st March 40,000 Homechoice subscribers will automatically Switch to Tiscali TV. Currently this service is only available in London and Stevenage, but there are plans to reach the Midlands and the North West by mid-2007. By the close of 2007 Tiscali aims to make Tiscali TV accessible to over 10 million homes.

Tiscali’s Triple-play package costs only £19.99 per month and their premium package (which includes over 55 channels) costs £29.99pm. But viewers will have to pay extra for Sky Sports. This compares with Virgins Triple play pack which costs £30 and its premium service which costs £85 (however that does include mobile deals and more).

Tiscali TV is certain to appeal to those without satellite dish’s as the signal is delivered via a broadband connection, but time will tell how good the service is and whether it will provide a strong enough challenge to the might’s of Virgin Media and Sky.

Orange also intends to release a TV service, as the Orange Livebox is already being used for the IPTV services in France and it looks set for Orange to make this accessible to the UK market this year (2007). The service will include a set-top box with a hard disc, where users can download material onto their box. They will then be able to watch, record or transfer to their PC or phone. It is unknown as yet how many channels the service will provide.

Compare broadband and digital TV packages here.