I have a solution for how to get limewire working with tiscali, but not everyone is going to like it (I've only just found this out, as I am a LW newbie, only been running for 4 days).

Ok, the solution is this: DON'T TRY TO CONNECT IN THE EVENINGS! I have only once (the first time) managed to do it, but all other times I have connected, I have tried in the morning. As I am disabled / housebound it's not a problem for me, and I can run limewire all day long until the evening, when my connection drops away to nothing.

This may not be official policy, it may even only be a temporary effect, but it's been true the last 4 days. I don't know what the cause is (it might be just 'one of those things', like I could never use RapidShare when I was with another ISP, but with tiscali I can).

Gotta be worth a try though - have a quick go before you go to work, see if I'm right.

If you have a look at Tiscali's fair usage policy, it states that Tiscali will manage bandwidth during peak hours (6-11 pm)
http://www.tiscali.co.uk/products/br...ode=ZZ-NL-11XY

the contract i agreed to with tiscali (the 8mbs "unlimted" one) says that if you use the internet heavily during peak hours then action will be taken, but there is no such mention of restrictions until you're deamed a heavy user (whatever that actually means).

what you're suggesting is that their policy states that they block, regardless of amount of use, during peak hours. that's not what they say. also they say the opposite: tiscali have stated in writing a number of times to me that they do not block certain types of traffic. this is their explanation for me not being able to use p2p during a significant amount (many, many more hours than their designated peak hours):
is there any chance they don't actually block p2p and that the reason i'm unable to use p2p software is down to heavy amounts of internet traffic? at the same time i'm unable to use p2p web pages work fine for example.

is there any proof that can be obtained to display blocking of certain ports? if so i would really like to hear about it.

when people say tiscali block p2p use, what proof is there? bearing in mind they're putting it down to just lots of people using the net what concrete information can be pointed to that says that tiscali are blocking certain types of traffic?

the "we always advise our customers not to use any peer to peer programs" part, they've said that to me on the phone as well. seeing as that "recommendation" is not part of their agreement (i.e. we don't receive that recommendation until after having signed the year contract) it's moot imo. they'd need to include that in their promotional and sign up literature for it to have any meaning, which they don't, so it doesn't.

how/what proof?

Of course Tiscali say that they don't block ports! Yet anecdotal evidence would suggest that their bandwidth management (FUP) is somehow effecting many peoples ability to connect at all during peak hours (and outside of peak hours in some cases). Others are seeing very slow download speeds, regardless of the plan they're on.

If you use the forum search to look for Tiscali, you'll find heaps of threads about this. Just for example:
Tiscali blocking Limewire
can't connect between 5pm-11pm
Tiscali & Limewire
Connection Problem - with Tiscali.co.uk

You might also find some info if you search the Tiscali forum.
Tiscali Forums - powered by vBulletin