Tiscali Broadband

Tiscali offer amazing value broadband packages from just £4.49. Their new bundle range offers excellent options for digital TV and home phone calls.

Whether you're looking for stand-alone broadband, broadband and talk or broadband and digital TV, Tiscali has a package for you.

Special offer: Tiscali Option 1 just £4.49 for the first 3 months

In this section

• Tiscali online shop
• Tiscali packages
• Tiscali awards
• Tiscali features
• Tiscali news

Services

Services

• Line rental included in cost
• Digital TV
• Home broadband
• Free connection
• Webspace
• Support
• Security package
• Online storage
• Business broadband
• Static IP address
• Price excludes VAT
• Mac compatible
• Free wireless router
• Fair usage policy
• Email
• Calls
• ADSL broadband

Company history

Company history

European-based telecommunications company Tiscali was founded in 1998 by the renowned Italian business tycoon Renato Soru who named his company after an ancient Sardinian village. In fact, Tiscali has maintained its Italian hub and currently operates from Cagliari.

Despite this Italian base, Tiscali has bought out many other European internet providers such as France’s Liberty Surf and, resultantly, Tiscali’s influence can be felt throughout Europe. In particular, Tiscali provides internet and telephone services to many countries including Germany and the Czech Republic.

In the UK, Tiscali’s success over the last decade has led to the company’s reputation as one of the most popular ISPs in the country, rivalling other established ISPs like BT and American telecommunications company AOL. Tiscali’s rapid growth is indicative of the company’s focus upon the development of the technical future.

Customer service

Customer service

Tiscali have an easy to use, and award winning customer service area, which offers answers on the most common questions from setting up a wireless network to optimising your connection speed. If you can’t find the solution you can type in your question on line, which will receive a response by email.

If your enquiry is urgent you can contact Tiscali by phone and a range of numbers are available on the site depending on your query. Lines are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and calls are charged at national rate.

Equipment

Equipment

Some Tiscali broadband packages come with a free modem as well as free connection. The included CD installation guide provides easy to follow steps on installing broadband and there is also an online reference page on their award winning website for any extra tips for an easy set-up.

Each package includes a USB data cable, an RJ11 cable, plus two free filters, enough for two phone sockets, which enables the telephone to be used at the same time as being connected to the internet.

Software features

Software features

Tiscali provides a good basic level of security with all its broadband packages, offering free anti-virus and email anti-spam software. For advanced security, there is also an extra 25% off Norton security software for all Tiscali customers, starting from as little as £2.50 per month. This will provide automatic security updates, virus scans, and adware and spyware prevention as well as being Windows Vista compliant.

Email features

Email features

All Tiscali broadband customers receive 6 free email addresses with a total capacity of 100Mb.

Tiscali devote a huge online area to webmail issues, from setting-up an account, to managing multiple email addresses. Customers can also learn how to set up their own webspace with 100Mb capacity provided.

Extras

Extras

Tiscali Broadband members can collect up the three free gifts every month by simply using their internet service regularly. A ‘Rewards’ email sent monthly will provide details of the exciting gifts on offer, from Music and DVDs, to gadgets and computer accessories. A small charge of just £2.99 is required per gift for postage and packaging.

Tiscali news

• Carphone Warehouse in for Tiscali
  24th September 2008
  Carphone Warehouse is reported to have put in a bid to buy broadband provider...
• Tiscali make false customer accusation
  4th September 2008
  Broadband provider Tiscali has egg on its face after an old customer was sent letters threatening...
• Tiscali lowers profit forecast, loses customers
  14th August 2008
  Internet service provider (ISP) Tiscali has lowered its profit forecasts for this year on the...
• Gamers' Tiscali discontent
  28th July 2008
  A growing number of Tiscali broadband subscribers are expressing their discontent with the...
• BT and Tiscali in broadband dispute
  21st July 2008
  Broadband providers Tiscali and BT have entered into a row which has stemmed from BT's apparent...
• Tiscali announces new business broadband package
  14th July 2008
  Broadband provider Tiscali has announced a new package designed for UK companies. The...

Customer reviews

• Tiscali is a rip off. I signed up for the £25 deal with the entertainment mix twelve months ago . I have been trying to sort out my bill ever since. I got so frustrated with everything that I am changing supplier. It is very hard, you think everything is alright then you get your bill and nothing has changed. Beware.

  a shaw, 19th September 2008

• Took out a 3-month contract to avoid bother - business plan. Paid a surplus. Promises and promises were made by them that its prioritised, bob was it! Migrated after a month to Entanet, but thats a different story!

  Kieran, 17th September 2008

• Right Tiscali really isn't that bad.

  When a problem arises they tend to fix the problem virtually straight away and I've not been left without internet access for more than a few hours.

  The customer service is excellent for me they always seem to understand my problems and fix them straight away or at least know what the problem is in the first place unlike most ISP's who seem to put you on hold for hours on end.

  Maybe it's trial and error with Tiscali but the service is excellent at my end.

  Tiscali TV is excellent for the price and the phone line is superb.

  No problems so don't be distracted by negative reviews every service provider has an equal amount of bad reviews and an equal amount of good ones =]

  Scott, 11th September 2008

• You need your head examined if you have anything to do with Tiscali or Toucan. If you are in any doubt just Google search or YouTube search "toucansucks" or "tiscalisucks" and see.

  tony, 02nd September 2008

• Tiscali left me without a phone for 5 weeks including the Christmas period. I changed back to BT for my phone line and broadband.

  Eight months later, I am still trying to close my account with Tiscali having spent a fortune on phone calls and continually given the run-around. Potential customers beware!!!

  ronald lane, 24th August 2008

• It took a while but eventually I got what I ordered - thanks to the Scotsman on the other end of the line. I had one problem with the connection and a serviceman was out the same day to fix it.

  allan, 02nd July 2008

• Tiscali's support team excel at buckpassing. Email communication is ignored so you have to phone them and spend 2 hours being passed around and cut off. The broadband itself is good though.

  john booth, 11th June 2008

• As a disabled service user of Tiscali, I have never been treated so unreasonably and rudely. It is an example of the poor service standards that this country now sees as acceptable.

  If you join Tiscali you do so at the risk of your sanity and finacial peril, they draw funds from your bank after promising free line rental.

  I would have assigned a zero star rating but one star is the minimum!

  cara cavanagh, 10th June 2008

• Great broadband from Tiscali. £4.49 is very cheap and it is really very good indeed. Great stuff Tiscali!

  Steven (Mortlake exchange), 10th June 2008

• I have been with Tiscali for 4 years. The broadband connection is fine but the service is NONE EXISTANT. I've been trying to get someone to sort out a problem for two years but nobody ever comes back or does anything! Buyer beware!

  Barrie Lipscombe, 06th June 2008

• When I first joined up to Tiscali was getting speeds of around 4Mb, BT stated that on my line I should be able to get 5.5Mb, this was fine considering I was getting so much at a low price.

  I then changed package to included phone calls and line rental - in order to do this I had to sign up to a 12 month broadband contract. Since this time I have received nowhere near 4Mb, I'm lucky if I get 2Mb.

  I have given up dealing with their support team - you can only do so many speedtests and post so many results without anything being done the other end.

  Suzanne van der Straaten (Enfield exchange), 20th April 2008

• I have been a Tiscali Broadband customer for about 2 years. I started off on the 1Mb package and upgraded to 2Mb, then to 8Mb Tiscali Max.

  There have been occasional problems - which are generally resolved quickly, either by email or phone and overall I have found their service to be good. It's true, they have ignored (or lost) emails from time to time and on one occasion didn't phone me back. Overall, however, with the line speed which I get at the moment which is between 4Mb and 6.5Mb most of the time, I am quite happy to stay put .

  The price which I am paying (£14.99 a month) includes free weekend calls. I also pay monthly for their Norton Internet Secuirty package, which saves the hastle of having to worry about upgrading every year - it just prompts you to download the newer version - no hassle.

  Another bonus is that their service is compatible with PlayStation 3 network - so I can game on-line, using the supplied wireless router.

  David (Barnstaple exchange), 17th April 2008

• I have had a modem connection problem for well over a week now, Tiscali initially promised to replace the modem but then told me to go to the local hardware shop to buy one myself! What a service!!

  Joan, 13th April 2008

• Although they made a mistake not sending the welcome package, the Tiscali help desk had almost no waiting time to get through. Their help was average making them at least a million times better than BT where systems were down for over two weeks. Waiting times of almost an hour existed on the BT help desk and we were cut off incidentally.

  Although internet providers always were a pain, I think Tiscali performs above average, the speed is also quite good (7.5Mb, where it is supposed to be in between 2 and 8).

  Roderik (Leicester Central exchange), 11th April 2008

• Tiscali on the whole are not bad when things are good but when they are bad... They are really bad!! Customer servcice is non-existent and a contradiction in terms! When you eventually get through to a call centre, that seems to be in Delhi or some other obscure place, they tell you to disconnect your security to see of this makes any difference to your speeds!! Like we are really gonna do that! I wouldn't anyway. They always promise to call back but, after spending over £30 on calls, I have still haven't received a return call!!

  Cami (Armagh exchange), 07th April 2008

• I wish I had read all these comments before signing up to Tiscali. It has been a nightmare dealing with a company where customer support has no meaning and they simply do not care.

  joan johnson (Worthing Central exchange), 27th March 2008

• Save yourself the hassle and avoid Tiscali like the plague. Their customer service is non-existant. They refuse to honour any agreed action to call you back and no one takes responsibility at thier call centre. Enough to drive you to despair. Be warned.

  Mike, 21th March 2008

• I would not recommend this company to anyone as their customer service is appalling and the connection speed and reliabilty poor even at modest speeds.

  I only got my issues resolved after telling them I will be writting directly to the independant regulator.

  Technical support, exchange engineers and billing departments are unreliable, incosnistent and at times completely unintellagable.

  Spend a bit more money and use someone else! Tiscali simply aren't geared up to effectively manage this sort of service.

  Paul, 05th March 2008

• I recently signed up to Tiscali's Broadband Max. I was led to believe I would get download speeds of up to 4Mb. Because they have such extreme conjestion problems, evening speeds are around 200kbps. Their support functions provide no help and they admit there's nothing they can do. GO ELSEWHERE.

  Brian (Yelverton exchange), 25th February 2008

• Like many of your reviewers I have had little trouble with the broadband service provided but to upgrade to a phone/broadband package is impossible despite the fact that the sales team approached me on two separate occasions. Emails are ignored and "customer service" operators keep you hanging on rather than ring back. Do they understand what the word "service" means?

  Mary Eldridge (Deal exchange), 20th February 2008

• On 19th December I received an e-mail from Tiscali inviting me to upgrade my service. I opted to take the 8Mb offer.

  Ever since then I have been attempting to have the upgrade installed. Calls produce no effective response, e-mails likewise. Promises to "fix it" within 48 hrs or to call me back or to reply to e-mails are never kept.

  I have spoken to staff in India, Czech Republic (I think) and various UK locations (including the alleged HQ) none has brought any action. Staff are usually friendly but promise much and deliver zero.

  The service is appalling. I am now looking for an alternative supplier. How can any company survive like this??? "The customer is King. Without a satisfied customer we have no business".

  John Evans (Chester Le Street exchange), 13th February 2008

• I ordered Broadband on the 3rd Dec 2007 and I was finally told on the 4th Feb 2008, after about 20 calls and numerous e-mails, that they could not provide the service that they had promised.

  Tiscali may be a good provider but if anything goes wrong you stand little or no chance on getting a quick solution to your problems.

  If you are moving to Tiscali to save money, pray you do not have problems as it will cost you a fortune in telephone calls to get an honest answer to your problems. I have heard every excuse in the book over the last two months. Must I give Tiscali one star as this is one too many?

  Graham Smith (Aberdeen Balgownie exchange), 05th February 2008

• Two months without service. Over £25.00 in "support" calls. I was initially advised that the problem was at my end and should get hold of an IT engineer (I am one), then told fault was at my local BT exchange, then I was told it was a network fault and finally told a software fault at Tiscali.

  At the end of the day, the problem was that Tiscali's server failed to recognise my change of password. It took them two months and their third level offshore technicians to find out what I'd been telling them all along! I've paid with patience and money for their expertise in not supplying their product.

  Avoid this company like the plague - they don't care!!!!

  Jeff Fisher (Batley exchange), 01st February 2008

• I wouldn't recommend Tiscali to my worst enemy. It has taken 4 months to sort out an error in my bill for which they were responsible. Letters are unanswered. They are arrogant.

  Alan, 27th January 2008

• Cheap as chips, suits me just fine - I've had no problems.

  Go Tiscali!

  Tony Kent, 18th January 2008

• I have had a Tiscali broadband service for two years. It is fine when it works but if there is a problem of any sort the service is appalling.

  They charge to talk to their help lines and refuse to deal with email requests for help. It is a nightmare.

  Rating - service ok support rubbish.

  Eric Fish, 07th January 2008

• I have been with Tiscali for 6 months and had nothing but trouble. Don't always ring customer service as they don't seem to know what to do and if I do ring and speak to different people I get different responses to the problem.

  I can't wait for the contract to be up.

  Kate, 22th December 2007

• I have been more than happy with my Tiscali package for two years now. It works, it's pretty cheap, customer service are OK. Hopefully I can get Tiscali TV soon.

  Free Spirit, 19th November 2007

• Awful customer service, do not get Tiscali.

  James, 19th November 2007

• I started using Tiscali from November last year, and I have found it reliable and high speeds, when I had a problem earlier this year the staff member who helped me was excellent and they sorted out my problem straight away ( I was disconnected). Full recommendation for Tiscali, top notch!

  Magnus Iversson (Andover exchange), 26th October 2007

• It was good when I was on 2 meg , crap since i went to 8 meg max , it's like being on dial up.

  Trevor Thomason (Egremont exchange), 20th October 2007

• To start with Tiscali had good service, but I have been without my broadband connection for four weeks now and Tiscali blames BT, BT blames Tiscali. So I'm afraid Tiscali has lost a customer. Not happy!
  

  Julie, 19th September 2007

• have been trying to contact there tech guys for 2 wks first through E Mails no reply to that then by phone which is based in India so very hard to understand operator and was a complete waste of time and cost me money being kept waiting, and all I wanted was to upgrade to the next level ,but they didnt reconise my password even though it logged me on, so its sending me in september to join AOL

  frank knight, 08th August 2007

• I’ve been with Tiscali for a little while now and I’m finding it to be a reliable and easy to use service. My wife probably uses it more than me though - her computer knowledge now puts mine to shame. There’s so much information on the website and it’s really easy to understand, even for me.

  My wife and kids love the free weekend calls that are included in the package, but they especially enjoy the three free gifts I can claim for them each month as a Tiscali customer. I’m now regularly in their good books!

  Trevor, 08th August 2007

• When I needed wireless, Tiscali helped me choose the hardware needed and I found the products to be fairly reasonably priced. I was already happy with my broadband package but wanted the freedom to work from different areas of the house so I enquired about wireless connection. It’s a shame it didn’t come free with my monthly plan, but as I’ve got a very good deal on my 8MB package, I can’t really complain.

  Edward, 08th August 2007

• I’ve been really pleased with my Tiscali package. Everything from discussing my broadband needs to setting up has been so simple and straightforward. I only needed the 1MB broadband option and even though I’m only paying £7.99 for the first three months, I still get an unlimited amount of time online.

  It’s good to know that if I have a query late at night, when I do most of my work, I can contact the customer service team - even the smallest question has been greeted with a friendly response.

  Joanne, 08th August 2007