Be Broadband Welcomes Puzzled Tiscali Customers

The aftermath of the failure of Tiscali’s UK assets sale to British Sky Broadband ISP could be highlighted by the ruckus of the sharing of spoils by a number of aspiring UK ISPs. The scene reminiscents a wild savannah documentary frame where a huge tusker is succumbing to odds, as at least one hyena or vulture has dared to close in, from amongst a good number waiting in the vicinity for the inevitable, with probing eyes.

The first vulture reference definitely points to Be Broadband, as it has responded to the concerns over the plight of Tiscali existing broadband and dial-up subscribers. In fact, Be-Broadband has announced that they would encourage the switching customers of Tiscali to their side, by offering them a gift credit of GBP40. This move from the part of Be comes immediately after the scope any sale of the Tiscali UK assets had come to an impasse with BskyB making a hasty retreat.

 In the newly developed circumstances, Be Broadband has also treaded a bit ahead by offering some tips to the existing Tiscali subscribers to migrate away from the sinking ship. This might, however take up to a couple of weeks, particulary for the absence of any fast migration process amidst unbundled UK ISP. To that end, Be has promptly advised the Tiscali users to obtain their MAC Key (Migration Authorisation Code) from the customer care service of Tiscali, using which they could sign-up with Be.

 This is a highly significant move by Be, as it knows well about Ofcom’s directive to the UK ISPs that they mandatorily had to issue the MAC key, without charge and within five working days from the date of request. Although, an ISP, in such a situation can charge the rental, provided there are some remnant months according to the contract. Ofcom had also insisted that MAC requests should be deemed separately.

 Meanwhile, as a measure to counter the blitzkrieg, Tiscali has let out an announcement to its customers that business would continue as usual, and they were in safe arms. However, a large number of its customers feel that even though Tiscali manages to limp, their financial constraints would definitely prove a hurdle towards their transcending to future broadband technologies.