Manx Electricity Authority To Boost IoM Broadband Capabilities
by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London
29 October 2003

Legislation passed in the Isle of Man last week will allow the Manx Electricity Authority to use its undersea fibre-optic cable network to provide telecommunications services and significantly increase the island’s broadband capabilities, the IoM Online reported on Tuesday.

MEA’s Chief Executive, Mike Proffitt, said that the Authority will be able to provide broadband at speeds of 16 megabits per second, significantly faster than the current high end of half a megabit. He also indicated that the venture would not require additional sums of investment as the infrastructure is largely in place and the MEA can supply homes and businesses via the existing copper cable network.

“Many people over the last couple of years have looked at the Isle of Man as a centre for e-commerce because of the tax structure, the stable government and its close proximity to the mainland,” observed Mr Proffitt, adding: “But often they've turned away because of high off-Island capacity costs and the limited bandwidth.”

Mr Proffitt noted that the expansion in the island’s broadband capabilities will make the jurisdiction more attractive to international firms seeking data storage facilities. “We are planning to market the attraction of having this type of competitively priced broadband to places like Bahrain and Dubai — where they would be very interested in using the IoM for data storage,” said the MEA Chief.

The project brings MEA into competition with Manx telecom, though Proffitt does not foresee any problems arising from MEA’s entry into the market. “I think we can do business with them because they could use our capacity,” stated Mr Proffitt.

http://www.iomonline.co.im/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=872&ArticleID=682241