Broadband News

Tiscali to become second 'quad-play' provider

(04-01-08) - Italian broadband provider Tiscali is planning on launching a mobile phone service later this year, making the company the second UK ISP to offer the “quad-play” of broadband, digital television, home phone and mobiles services.

Having already bought the small mobile phone company ToucanMobile last summer, The Telegraph reports that rebranding under the Tiscali banner and a mobile launch will be complete by the last quarter of 2008.

Mary Turner, Tiscali chief executive, told The Telegraph: “The assessment is not if, it is who and when. The business case has already been approved by the board.”

Branching out into the quad-play market would put Tiscali (www.Tiscali.co.uk) - currently the UK’s fourth largest ISP - into direct competition with cable giant and quad-play pioneer Virgin Media (www.VirginMedia.com).

Despite the discounts offered to customers taking all four services, take up of quad-play packages by Virgin Media mobile phone customers has not been high. However, Ms Turner told The Telegraph that it was all about timing, saying that Sky’s (www.Sky.com) See Speak Surf triple-play bundle had softened the market. “The market will be ready, but you have to make it absolutely convenient for the customers to buy that fourth product,” she said.

Michael Phillips, BroadbandChoices.co.uk product director, said: “As Tiscali continues its local loop unbundling programme, more customers are able to take advantage of the extremely competitive prices it’s offering - £19.99 a month for broadband, digital TV, home phone and line rental is a very good deal - and it’s these existing customers that Tiscali will be targeting when it launches what I'm sure will be an equally competitive mobile phone package.”

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