Posted: 29th Oct, 2010 By: MarkJ

The budget conscious Internet and fixed line phone provider, TalkTalk UK ( AOL UK , Tiscali , Opal ) has, somehow without us spotting it until today, launched its own range of
mobile phone and Mobile Broadband packages. The services appeared without much fanfare and we're not sure how long they've been listed on TalkTalk's site.
At the end of July 2010 TalkTalk revealed that it had signed a new
Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) agreement with Vodafone UK, allowing them to launch their own range of mobile voice and Mobile Broadband services -
TalkMobile - alongside existing products.
At the time TalkTalk said that the service was set to launch sometime later in the summer, although we haven't heard even so much as a peep about it since then. It's probably a huge oversight on our part, we can't be sure, but TalkTalk's website is now promoting the new services.
Sadly the anticipated prospect of true
triple-play mobile, broadband and home phone service bundles has not yet been fully realised. Instead TalkTalk has kept its mobile deals somewhat separate from their existing broadband and fixed line phone bundles. However you do still have to be a TalkTalk customer to take the mobile service.
TalkTalk MOBILE ESSENTIALS - £10 Per Month
Only 5p per minute to UK mobiles, landlines, 36 international
destinations and 5p per text in bundle. 10p per minute or text outside of the bundle.
Unlimited free calls to your TalkTalk landline.
30 Day (1 Month) contract term.
TalkTalk MOBILE PLUS - £30 Per Month
Unlimited calls and texts - to call UK mobiles and landlines + text UK mobiles (£200 per month fair use policy).
Unlimited international calls - to landlines in 36 popular countries (£200 per month fair use policy).
Plus you get mobile internet (150MB per month fair use policy).
30 Day (1 Month) contract term.
It's noted that TalkTalk's SIM-only mobile deals also restrict mobile internet access in other ways. For example, P2P and using your mobile phone as a modem are both forbidden, although this is true of other operators too. Likewise it also blocks VoIP .
Elsewhere you can also get a bog standard Mobile Broadband service, which costs £10 per month and includes a £29.99 one-off setup fee (includes USB Modem / Dongle). For that you get just 1GB of monthly data usage (then 10p per MB) and a one month rolling contract. Once again, Mobile Broadband is available to existing TalkTalk customers only.
UPDATE 3rd November 2011TalkTalk officially confirmed the launch of their "new" mobile phone and Mobile Broadband deals yesterday, although it came as part of an equally low-key blog post instead of a major PR push. The spin itself said nothing that we haven't already reported.