Posted: 21st Jan, 2009 By: MarkJ
Broadband supplier 186k (EzeeDSL, Elite, Mailbox Internet and EFH Broadband) has issued a new statement regarding its ongoing financial and legal dispute with
Tiscali UK (
original news), which last week resulted in an unknown number of its customers being cut-off from their Internet connection.
Since then it's emerged that some of those contacting
Tiscali to try and get their service reconnected with a different ISP have been informed that 186k has "
shut down", "
are no longer in the market" or even that "
186k have been acquired by Tiscali".
It's perhaps understandable why
Tiscali might draw such a conclusion when so many have had difficulty contacting 186k about the problem and or to receive a migration code (MAC). However 186k is adamant that it has not shut down:
Statement - 186k Dispute with Tiscali UK LimitedA number of 186k customers have had their internet access interrupted by
Tiscali UK Limited (
Tiscali) on Wednesday 14th January 2009. This action was taken without notice to 186k Limited (186k) and the disruption is continuing for many users.
Affected customers were presented with an option to migrate towards
Tiscali Internet Service Providers (ISP) and obtain a temporary username to access the internet.
Customers who have contacted
Tiscali at their overseas call centre have in some circumstances been informed that 186k
have shut down,
are no longer in the market or even that
186k have been acquired by Tiscali.
None of these accusations has any foundation. 186k is a wholesale ISP with a customer base covering broadband, dedicated servers, colocation, leased lines, telephony and other information technology related services. Of its wholesale broadband customer base, only a small percentage was serviced by
Tiscali, with the remainder provisioned with
BT Wholesale.
186k would like to make it clear that although the action by
Tiscali has caused significant disruption to its operations, and even more inconvenience to end users and resellers, the business continues to operate as normal and is working hard to restore access for customers and move them to
BT Wholesales stable and reliable network.
There is an ongoing legal dispute and High Court action between 186k and
Tiscali which we cannot comment on further at this stage. It is unfortunate and unfair that end users have been inconvenienced by this dispute. 186k would like to reassure its customers that it is continuing to do everything possible to restore service to those affected by
Tiscalis actions.
ISPreview has heard from a number of affected customers since the problems began. Some report that they have requested a migration code (MAC) from
Tiscali, which still hasn't arrived. Many have also continually tried contacting 186k but to no avail.
For many of those affected the situation merely underlines why consumers need another way to receive their migration code (MAC), when neither the supplier nor ISP can be relied upon to accommodate in a timely fashion.