UPDATE2 Scotland Based UK ISP TenTel Quietly Slips into Administration

Thousands of customers are at risk after Edinburgh-based broadband ISP TenTel, which at the end of last year boasted of “fantastic growth” and their success in securing a £500k investment (loan) from the Barclays (here), slipped into administration. TalkTalk will take on their customers.

Yesterday one of TenTel’s advertising partners informed ISPreview.co.uk that their account with the ISP had been closed “due to the company going into administration.” We have since been attempting to contact TenTel but so far there has been no response, although the business is currently still marked by Companies House as being active.

The provider, which established itself in 2013 with an aspiration of attracting 20,000 customers during their first year of trading and 100,000 within 5 years, was a fairly new entrant to an already crowded market. The ISP tried to make a name for itself by selling shorter 1-6 month (contract term) broadband bundles.

Suffice to say that TenTel has struggled to achieve their aspirations. At the end of November 2016 the ISP reported being home to just 10,000 customers and at that point they also set themselves a significantly lower target of reaching 20,000 by July 2017.

Nevertheless they’ve continued to soldier on and outwardly there have been no obvious signs of any problems. However, Companies House reports that the ISP’s Managing Director, Robert McKechnie, was removed from his position on 16th May 2017. On top of that the ‘Order Now‘ button has vanished from their website (i.e. you can’t order their broadband packages online).

Likewise TenTel’s small accounts to 30th June 2016 suggest that they also had a fair debt (here) to resolve.

UPDATE 11:47am

ISPreview.co.uk has just been informed that Tom MacLennan and Iain Fraser, partners with FRP Advisory, have been appointed joint administrators of TenTel Limited.

The update states that TenTel “had been unable to secure the funding needed to take it to the next stage of development” and TalkTalk (one of the ISP’s suppliers) has “acquired all customer contracts, and will be responsible for the on-going supply of broadband and phone services.”

The joint administrators will maintain the company’s offices until the end of June 2017 to ensure a smooth transition of services and they’ve also started a 30-day consultation period with all 54 staff.

Tom MacLennan, FRP Advisory Joint Administrator, told ISPreview.co.uk:

“The acquisition of the customer contracts by Talk Talk will ensure customers continue to receive their broadband and telecoms services without any disruption. The business will close at the end of the month and we will be consulting with staff on the options and support available to them.”

Separately, Aquiss has already reported receiving a “series of calls and emails” from worried TenTel customers this morning. The ISP is offering a helping hand to restore services quickly by offering Tentel customers free activation for orders placed before June 30th 2017, although a lot of other ISPs also offer free activations for migrating users so take some time to look around.

UPDATE 1:19pm

Ofcom has confirmed to us that they are aware of the situation and they also pointed ISPreview.co.uk towards a basic FAQ page that has been setup by TalkTalk (here).

TalkTalk’s Statement

In order to maintain services to all TenTel customers, TalkTalk is taking over responsibility for supplying your broadband and phone lines. Our biggest priority is making sure that this has no impact on your existing services.

This means that everything should continue as normal – you will have the same broadband and phone service as you’ve always had, and you’ll be paying the same price. You can still access ‘MyTenTel’ in the same way, and you don’t even need to change your payment details – that will all transition smoothly.