Tiscali takeover triggers broadband turf war

Tiscali's takeover of Pipex has triggered a raft of broadband offers for UK consumers as rivals seek to poach Pipex's client base. 

PlusNet is offering a month's free service to Tiscali customers who switch to the ISP for broadband and telephone services. Customers can change their mind after 90 days. 

"Tiscali's acquiring Pipex will create massive customer churn in the consumer broadband market," said Neil Armstrong, products director at PlusNet.

"Pipex is ranked fifth for customer service by uSwitch and Tiscali is ranked seventh. We expect that Pipex customers will react to this move by voting with their feet.

"Broadband users want speed, reliability and first class customer service, not mass market offerings."

Orange is also making a play for disgruntled broadband users by offering a free laptop to customers who sign up to its triple-play broadband, phone and mobile service for two years.

Customers need to sign up at a PC World store to get the hardware, an Advent 7211 with a 15.4in display, Intel Celeron processor, 256MB memory, 40GB hard drive and a DVD rewriter.

Alternatively customers can get a £350 discount on any other laptop.