Tiscali seeking mobile partner?

Just one day after buying itself a triple play service, Italian ISP Tiscali is thought to be eyeing the mobile market.

Rumours abound that Tiscali UK is holding meetings with mobile operators 3 UK, O2, T-Mobile and Vodafone with a view to leasing capacity on their networks.

Mary Turner, the chief executive of Tiscali UK, previously confirmed to telecoms.com’s sister publication at Informa Telecoms & Media, Telecom Markets, that mobile services were on the radar in both the UK and Italy.

If a two way deal could be struck, Vodafone may be a fitting partner as it is seeking a broadband partner just as Tiscali is on the market for a mobile platform. Vodafone chief executive Arun Sarin commented in May that the operator plans to extend its offerings in the home and office to include the provisioning of DSL services.

On Monday, Tiscali confirmed plans to merge its UK operations with Video Networks, owner of TV, broadband and telephony player HomeChoice.