Not sure what you mean by being forced to use stale DNS data, but...
I have been using the HOSTS solution to get access.
Everyday for the past month or so I have been reverting to the original HOSTS file in order to test if tiscali have got their act together.
In the past day or two, I have managed to get access using the original HOSTS file, but it eventually goes t*ts up again after an hour or so, so I have had to revert back to the HOSTS file with the ebid IPs numbers.
So in a nutshell, as far as I am aware, they haven't sorted it out yet.
They certainly haven't got back to me, or left any messages in their forums to say they have sorted it, since I last checked their forums earlier this evening.