{"id":40550,"date":"2025-01-13T08:10:10","date_gmt":"2025-01-13T08:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/?p=40550"},"modified":"2025-01-13T08:10:10","modified_gmt":"2025-01-13T08:10:10","slug":"cost-cutting-sees-uk-isp-talktalk-scale-back-support-for-internet-matters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/01\/cost-cutting-sees-uk-isp-talktalk-scale-back-support-for-internet-matters.html","title":{"rendered":"Cost Cutting Sees UK ISP TalkTalk Scale Back Support for Internet Matters"},"content":{"rendered":"

Debt-troubled UK broadband provider TalkTalk<\/a> has reportedly “pulled out<\/em>” of industry-funded online child safety charity Internet Matters<\/a>, which was established alongside BT<\/a>, Virgin Media<\/a> and Sky Broadband<\/a> during 2014. The move is said to form part of the ISP’s efforts to cut \u00a3120m in costs and follows recent job cuts (here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The latest move ultimately flows from last year’s decision to accept a refinancing package worth roughly \u00a3400m<\/strong> (here<\/a> and here<\/a>), which saved TalkTalk<\/a> from the immediate risk of a default on its debts. The deal essentially extended the group\u2019s debt maturities to September 2027 and brought them more time to fix the foundations or find a buyer for their various companies, which won\u2019t be an easy task (here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

At the same time, TalkTalk<\/a>\u2019s most recent financial results (here<\/a>) revealed that their on-net customer base (fibre FTTP<\/a>\/C and broadband) had fallen again to 3.6 million (down from 3.94m in 2023), although their Ethernet (leased lines etc.) base grew to 75,000 (up from 69,400). Suffice to say that recent developments mean the provider is having to find ever deeper ways of cutting costs in order to stay afloat.<\/p>\n

According to a report on the Telegraph<\/a> (paywall), the founding members of ‘Internet Matters’ are understood to pay an annual membership fee of roughly \u00a3300,000. This may be just a drop in the ocean of TalkTalk’s debt, but it’s a drop they clearly need.<\/p>\n

A TalkTalk spokesman said:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cTalkTalk is proud to be one of the founders of Internet Matters, having financially supported the organisation for the past decade. We remain committed to online safety and are exploring different ways of continuing to support Internet Matters and its work moving forward.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Interestingly, the newspaper indicates that the charity’s other backers may not currently be minded to increase their contributions in order to cover the loss of TalkTalk’s support.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Debt-troubled UK broadband provider TalkTalk has reportedly “pulled out” of industry-funded online child safety charity Internet Matters, which was established alongside BT, Virgin Media and Sky Broadband during 2014. The move is said to form part of the ISP’s efforts to cut \u00a3120m in costs and follows recent job cuts (here).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25605,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[74],"class_list":["post-40550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uk_isp_news","tag-talktalk"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/mastodon.social\/@ispreview\/113820035391392652","error":""},"yoast_head":"\nCost Cutting Sees UK ISP TalkTalk Scale Back Support for Internet Matters - ISPreview UK<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Debt-troubled UK broadband provider TalkTalk has reportedly "pulled out" of industry-funded online child safety charity Internet Matters, which was\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/01\/cost-cutting-sees-uk-isp-talktalk-scale-back-support-for-internet-matters.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cost Cutting Sees UK ISP TalkTalk Scale Back Support for Internet Matters - ISPreview UK\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Debt-troubled UK broadband provider TalkTalk has reportedly "pulled out" of industry-funded online child safety charity Internet Matters, which was\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/01\/cost-cutting-sees-uk-isp-talktalk-scale-back-support-for-internet-matters.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ISPreview UK\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ispreview\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ispreview\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-01-13T08:10:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/nggallery_import\/talktalk_smart_home_protection.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark Jackson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ispreview\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ispreview\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mark Jackson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/cost-cutting-sees-uk-isp-talktalk-scale-back-support-for-internet-matters.html#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/cost-cutting-sees-uk-isp-talktalk-scale-back-support-for-internet-matters.html\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Mark Jackson\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/de66a8b4e937c21c80e443d1bf9c35d5\"},\"headline\":\"Cost Cutting Sees UK ISP TalkTalk Scale Back Support for Internet Matters\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-13T08:10:10+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/cost-cutting-sees-uk-isp-talktalk-scale-back-support-for-internet-matters.html\"},\"wordCount\":320,\"commentCount\":12,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/cost-cutting-sees-uk-isp-talktalk-scale-back-support-for-internet-matters.html#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/01\\\/nggallery_import\\\/talktalk_smart_home_protection.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"TalkTalk\"],\"articleSection\":[\"ISP News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/cost-cutting-sees-uk-isp-talktalk-scale-back-support-for-internet-matters.html#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/cost-cutting-sees-uk-isp-talktalk-scale-back-support-for-internet-matters.html\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/cost-cutting-sees-uk-isp-talktalk-scale-back-support-for-internet-matters.html\",\"name\":\"Cost Cutting Sees UK ISP TalkTalk Scale Back Support for Internet Matters - 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Just to recap. In 2020 TalkTalk became the subject of a \u00a31.1bn takeover by Toscafund - controlled by hedge fund tycoon Martin Hughes (here), which including debt valued the broadband provider at around \u00a31.8bn. The deal took the ISP private and gave them more financial flexibility for their future plans. Since then, they've backed Freedom Fibre (here) and this week made the notable acquisition of Ethernet provider Virtual1 (here). According to the FT (paywall) and Sky News, TalkTalk is now said to have asked investment bank Lazard to review its options after allegedly being approach by several groups, including Vodafone and Sky (Sky Broadband). Lazard is a logical choice as they recently acted as Financial Advisor to TalkTalk on the Virtual1 transaction. Some industry analysts have reportedly suggested that TalkTalk itself could now be worth \\\"at least\\\" \u00a33bn. But this seems rather optimistic for an ISP that doesn't have any significant fixed line broadband infrastructure to call its own (excluding their old unbundled LLU network) and largely just piggybacks off Openreach (BT), CityFibre and Freedom Fibre. But TalkTalk do have a strong business and wholesale side. Funnily enough, Sky Broadband are in a similar position with their own fixed line base, while Vodafone also likes to piggyback off Openreach and CityFibre. At present, Vodafone has a fixed broadband base of 991,000 customers, while Sky Broadband is estimated to be home to around 6.7 million and TalkTalk has approximately 4.2 million. Suffice to say, anybody gobbling up TalkTalk would instantly become a much larger provider, giving them a greater say in how the UK broadband market develops and more opportunities for convergence (Vodafone with mobile, and Sky with mobile and TV). Crucially, TalkTalk's consumer base is mostly made up of those on older copper and hybrid fibre lines (i.e. ADSL and FTTC \\\/ VDSL2), which are ripe for a future migration to FTTP. At the time of writing, all of the aforementioned operators have decline to comment on the reports, and TalkTalk has yet to receive any serious formal offers. In other words, we strongly suspect that this is largely just an exercise in spin to help TalkTalk drum up some more productive interest in the idea. But at the same time, it's not unreasonable to suspect that they might succeed, as the interest seems genuine. On the other hand, we see reports like this every year or so and only a very few ever convert into a serious offer. Time will tell. Much may depend upon whether or not TalkTalk\u2019s new owners are more flexible and pragmatic about doing a deal than the previous lot. 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Just to recap. In 2020 TalkTalk became the subject of a \u00a31.1bn takeover by Toscafund - controlled by hedge fund tycoon Martin Hughes (here), which including debt valued the broadband provider at around \u00a31.8bn. The deal took the ISP private and gave them more financial flexibility for their future plans. Since then, they've backed Freedom Fibre (here) and this week made the notable acquisition of Ethernet provider Virtual1 (here). According to the FT (paywall) and Sky News, TalkTalk is now said to have asked investment bank Lazard to review its options after allegedly being approach by several groups, including Vodafone and Sky (Sky Broadband). Lazard is a logical choice as they recently acted as Financial Advisor to TalkTalk on the Virtual1 transaction. Some industry analysts have reportedly suggested that TalkTalk itself could now be worth \"at least\" \u00a33bn. But this seems rather optimistic for an ISP that doesn't have any significant fixed line broadband infrastructure to call its own (excluding their old unbundled LLU network) and largely just piggybacks off Openreach (BT), CityFibre and Freedom Fibre. But TalkTalk do have a strong business and wholesale side. Funnily enough, Sky Broadband are in a similar position with their own fixed line base, while Vodafone also likes to piggyback off Openreach and CityFibre. At present, Vodafone has a fixed broadband base of 991,000 customers, while Sky Broadband is estimated to be home to around 6.7 million and TalkTalk has approximately 4.2 million. Suffice to say, anybody gobbling up TalkTalk would instantly become a much larger provider, giving them a greater say in how the UK broadband market develops and more opportunities for convergence (Vodafone with mobile, and Sky with mobile and TV). Crucially, TalkTalk's consumer base is mostly made up of those on older copper and hybrid fibre lines (i.e. ADSL and FTTC \/ VDSL2), which are ripe for a future migration to FTTP. At the time of writing, all of the aforementioned operators have decline to comment on the reports, and TalkTalk has yet to receive any serious formal offers. In other words, we strongly suspect that this is largely just an exercise in spin to help TalkTalk drum up some more productive interest in the idea. But at the same time, it's not unreasonable to suspect that they might succeed, as the interest seems genuine. On the other hand, we see reports like this every year or so and only a very few ever convert into a serious offer. Time will tell. Much may depend upon whether or not TalkTalk\u2019s new owners are more flexible and pragmatic about doing a deal than the previous lot. Arguably, TalkTalk might have gone much further by now had they taken some different decisions a few years ago (e.g. co-investing in FTTP instead of Pay TV)."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/01\/cost-cutting-sees-uk-isp-talktalk-scale-back-support-for-internet-matters.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Cost Cutting Sees UK ISP TalkTalk Scale Back Support for Internet Matters"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/","name":"ISPreview UK","description":"Top Broadband ISP and Mobile Provider Information Site","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/#organization","name":"ISPreview.co.uk","url":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/ispreview_uk_logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/ispreview_uk_logo.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"caption":"ISPreview.co.uk"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ispreview","https:\/\/x.com\/ispreview","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/mjack\/","https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/ispreview.bsky.social","https:\/\/mastodon.social\/@ispreview"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/de66a8b4e937c21c80e443d1bf9c35d5","name":"Mark Jackson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/nggallery_import\/Mark-Jackson-96x96.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/nggallery_import\/Mark-Jackson-96x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/nggallery_import\/Mark-Jackson-96x96.jpg","caption":"Mark Jackson"},"description":"By Mark Jackson Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. 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