Review of Tiscali Broadband & Talk Option 1
- 8MB speedy Tiscali broadband
- Free line rental (saving you £141 p/a)
- Unlimited usage - no download limits
- Free wireless router
- Free weekend calls (UK and international)
- Now just a 12 month contract (was 18 month)
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REIGNING champion of budget broadband Tiscali is always lobbing around the cheap broadband deals and true to form, old habits die hard: This combined broadband and phone deal - Tiscali Broadband and Talk Option 1 - is currently the UK’s cheapest broadband and phone package.
For less than £15 a month Tiscali has managed to include just about everything you'll be looking for in a broadband package along with some surprising additions you won’t find elsewhere in this price range, such as a free wireless router and the inclusion of line rental in the monthly price.
You'll struggle to find another broadband package at even close to this price that includes line rental and a free wireless router.
The In's and Out's
The Tiscali Broadband and Talk Option 1 package is built around an up to 8 Mb broadband connection with unlimited downloads and free Weekend Calls to the UK and selected countries.
This in itself is the limit of many other packages at this price but remember that line rental is included, saving you as much as £141 a year, if you're currently paying BT it's usual £11.75.
On top of that Tiscali will also give you a free wireless router, which is a welcome bonus, as a lot of cheap broadband deals these days only include a modem and will charge you extra (from around £30 upwards) for a wireless router upgrade.
Anything to watch out for?
There is a setup fee of £30 but this is not really worth losing any sleep over as you'll make up for that with line rental savings.
The contract for this cheap Tiscali broadband package is now only 12 months having recently been reduced from 18 months. This is a definite sign that Tiscali, despite a reputation in the past for some dodgy customer service, is responding to demands from customers. Hopefully TalkTalk and BT are taking notes!
Fair enough but what about download limits?
Tiscali gives you unlimited bandwidth usage which is a rarity amongst budget broadband packages, but as with all providers these days, Tiscali has its own take on a 'fair use policy'.
Some applications which utilise peer-to-peer technology such as file-sharing programs and on-demand TV services like BBC iPlayer may slow down during peak hours (6pm-11pm Monday to Sunday).
That said, those of you who watch a few hours of on-demand TV a day via BBC iPlayer or 4oD for example needn't worry, as people affected by this policy are usually downloading every week the amount of data an average user would download in a month or two.
"I like to talk all week though!"
If you can't stop yakking away on the blower then consider Tiscali's Broadband and Talk Option 2 instead.
For an extra fiver a month you'll get all UK and International calls free.
One small thing to note is that the free international calls are to 10 selected destinations only, this does include USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and most of the EU but not India, Pakistan or South Africa.
Hard to Fault
Despite these minor points, Tiscali's Broadband and Talk Option 1 package is a tough deal to beat.
It includes aspects that most users will want and features that will interest a more demanding customer. The inclusion of line rental and a free wireless router in the price really make this package stand out.
These are two of the biggest costs involved with a broadband connection and Tiscali has squeezed them out.
A little more detail
Broadband
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Special Note.. |
Any good? |
| Package Name: |
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Up to 8Mb |
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| Connection Type: |
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ADSL |
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| Max Speed: |
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8Mb |
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| Usage Limit: |
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Unlimited |
Fair usage policy applies |
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| Hardware: |
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Wireless Router |
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| Anti-virus Protection: |
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No |
Email security does include anti-virus email checker. Regular Anti Virus software available from £2.50 per month |
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| Firewall: |
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No |
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| E-mail Account: |
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Yes |
Up to 10 email addresses |
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| Webspace Provided: |
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Yes |
100MB of webspace |
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| Domain Included: |
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No |
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| Backup Dialup: |
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Yes |
0844 backup dialup |
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| Consoles Supported: |
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All major consoles supported |
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Home Phone
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| Package Name: |
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Weekend Talk |
| UK Weekend Tariff: |
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Free to UK landlines |
| UK Evening Tariff: |
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1.5p per minute (same as BT) |
| UK Peak Tariff: |
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4p per minute (same as BT) |
| International Tariff: |
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Free to 10 international destinations including USA & Australia |
Payment, Installation and Contract
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| Payment Method(s): |
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Direct Debit / Credit Card |
| Activation Fee: |
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£30 |
| Installation: |
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Free |
| Minimum Contract: |
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12 months |
| Line Rental: |
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Line rental must be taken with Tiscali (free) |
| Support: |
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Free online support, otherwise 10p per minute support line (5p for calls from Tiscali Talk landline) |
Actual User Ratings
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At a Glance
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Bundle details: |
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Phone: Weekend calls to UK landlines |
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TV: Not included |
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Mobile: Not included |
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It is best suited for: |
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Heavy web surfers who want a super quick unlimited connection and free calls to all UK landlines at weekends without having to pay BT for line rental. |
Customer Reviews
Remember, the customer reviews below are subjective (and are not the opinions of ChooseISP.co.uk).
No name given from writes... 30/04/2008 "If you require a stable, fast connection, or play online video games, use a bit torrent client to download video music ect, or expect a reasonable level of customer service, or technical support, do not use Tiscali as throttling of p2p clients is active each day. The connection is interleaved giving latency issues (online gaming) 24/7. Yes they are cheap but I wish I had chosen a diferent ISP and would have gladly payed more for a good service level on all the fronts."
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