Hello John
I have been with Tiscali for some time now, first with
dial-up, then 2MB
broadband with free weekend UK and international calls,
and now with up to
8MB broadband, free line rental and any time free UK and
international
calls.
The price you mention, £14.99 per month, was what I was
paying for 2MB
broadband with free weekend calls. I now pay £19.99 per
month for my
current package. However, they now seem to be offering
free line rental,
2MB broadband and free weekend calls for £14.99 with a
discount for the
first three months.
I will try to answer your questions, but my experience may
differ from
yours, depending on where you live and what services you
can receive.
When I was on 2MB broadband I did test the speed, but I'm
afraid I can't
remember where I found the testing software on the web.
Anyway, it seemed
ok, and the speed Tiscali reported when I went online was
usually 2.3MB.
With my current package the speed reported is usually
something like 6.2MB.
I have never had to use the technical support line, so
can't report on it's
efficiency. I have heard that others have not found it
that good, but this
is true of many ISP's.
When I upgraded from dial-up to broadband, and then to the
higher speed
broadband, it took no more than two weeks to set up or
upgrade. Everything
went smoothly and there were no problems.
Tiscali offers unlimited broadband use, but there is a
fair usage policy
which applies to people who download a lot of files,
pictures, etc. From
what I have read on their site, this applies during the
evenings when most
home users are online. If you don't download this kind of
stuff you should
have no problems. I have never been kicked off, and I do
listen to quite a
lot of internet radio and also stream audio books.
Apparently the 195 directory enquiries service is still
free according to
the details on their site. If you are leaving BT
completely, I don't know
whether you will need to register on 195 again when the
switch to Tiscali is
complete.
The free phone calls you get are to UK numbers starting
with 01 or 02, and
international calls are to Tiscali's top ten countries, so
you will need to
find out which these are if you make international calls,
which I don't, so
I don't know which countries they are. Calls to mobiles,
premium rate and
other numbers not starting with 01 or 02 will attract
charges.
Their website is huge, and I find it rather difficult to
get to where I want
to go, but I don't use it much. I do check my bill
online, as they don't
send out print statements. I don't use their e-mail
service as I prefer
Outlook and find e-mail on the web difficult to access.
This afternoon, in
response to your message, I have been looking around to
find some of the
information you need, and it took me quite a while to find
the bit about
directory enquiries. However, I know you are probably
more of an expert
than I am, so you might find their site good. Like many
other
organisations, Tiscali seem to want to give us everything
under one roof, so
the site is cluttered with news, entertainment, shopping,
competitions, etc,
and you can even get TV online.
A while ago there was a problem with outgoing e-mail.
Tiscali users could
receive incoming mail from other providers, but something
went wrong when it
came to us sending messages out. This was sorted out, of
course, and now
all is well, but I thought I should report it for the sake
of balance.
I have had the occasional problem getting online, but
again this has been
universal to all Tiscali users, and has normally only
lasted a short time.
I find that over the time I have been with them problems
have been rare.
On the whole I have been very satisfied with Tiscali. The
service seems to
work well, and there is a link on their site called
service status where you
can find out if there are any technical problems (if you
can find the link)!
I use JAWS, and quick keys are a great help getting around
the site.
Tiscali do provide access keys, but I never use them as
they conflict with
JAWS and other commands.
I think all service providers have problems from time to
time, but I would
certainly be happy to recommend Tiscali to anyone. If you
do decide to go
ahead, I hope everything goes smoothly. Of course, you
may need to get a
MAC code from your present provider, which I gather often
used to be a
problem, but I think there are new regulations which
compel providers to
give these codes on request. I didn't need to do this, so
I hope it doesn't
cause you trouble.
When I first joined Tiscali's dial-up service I had
sighted help setting up.
A friend supplied me with a Tiscali CD, and there is a
code on the package
that you need to enter, so you might find sighted help
useful. Tiscali will
send you a modem, CD, and connectors to plug into your
phone socket. The
modem is free, but I think there may be a connection fee
of about £30. A
twelve month contract does apply.
I hope this has helped, but if you need any further help
please let me know.
Wendy
-----Original Message-----
From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
John Wilson
Sent: 09 December 2007 13:20
To: Access UK
Subject: [access-uk] Information about Tiscali broadband,
please
Hello All,
I'm considering moving to Tiscali's 2 MB broadband and
phone
line package at £14.99 a month. I should appreciate
feedback
as to the reliability of this package if anyone is
currently
on it.
Could they let me know:
1. It has a 50 to 1 user ratio. Do you find that you get
anywhere near the 2 MB download speeds that they
advertise?
2. They have a 5p a minute technical support line. Do you
get through to someone to speak to when you phone with no
problems or do you have a long time to wait until anyone
answers. I have experience the latter with Tiscali when I
used their phone lines 4 or 5 years ago.
3. How long after telling them that you wish to use them
and
giving your payment details, etc, does it take them to get
the modem to you and get you up and running? they tell me
2
weeks. Is this true?
4. Do you have any problems in getting online or any
problems with being kicked offline?
5. Do they offer a free Directory Enquiries service
similar
to the 195 enquiries from BT? If not, waht is the
alternative and waht does it cost?
6. Are there any other reliability and efficiency issues
with Tiscali broadband and phone service I should be aware
of before making a final decision?
Your efforts in replying are much appreciated.
Best regards,
John.
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