Not sure Tiscali did the right move. If they knew the actual physical lines in the UK are still owned and controlled by BT and how BT mess with other providers using their network, they would not bother with this 1.9 m subscribers considering there is no such a thing as loyal broadband subscriber. They can switch at any time.
I know what you mean, but over here Tiscali a building a reputation of two things: 1. good customer service (they tend to be ranked number one by users) 2. competitive price - you can save almost 50% using Tiscali compared to BT and still be using the same lines! That said the price paid for Pipex seems high.