Isle Of Man And Bermuda Dispute Communications Satellite Slots

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London

11 February 2005

It has been reported that the governments of the Isle of Man and Bermuda have become locked in a dispute concerning the rights to a potentially lucrative communications satellite slot.

According to a report by Isle of Man Online, the Manx government has accused Bermuda of undermining the Island's satellite slot that serves the North American market, filed two years ago by Manx-based firm Mansat, by seeking to modify one of its own slots.

In an attempt to resolve the dispute, which is being moderated by the UK regulator, the Office of Communications (Ofcom), it is believed that the Island's Communications Commission is asking the Tynwald for £500,000 to cover potential legal costs and help “promote and defend the space industry in the Isle of Man.”

Speaking to members of the Tynwald on the matter last week, Chief Minister Donald Gelling stated that:

“Business related to space and satellite activity is a multimillion-pound industry for the Isle of Man and the potential for the future is huge. We have no choice but to resist this late attempt by Bermuda to muscle in on our slot if we are to protect the credibility of the Island and its space industry.”

For its part, the Bermudian government claims that the Isle of Man has blocked its attempts to modify one of the three slots allocated it by the United Nations in 1983, and is currently engaged in discussions with Ofcom and the UK Foreign Office to conclude the issue.

The space and satellite industry was identified by Treasury Minister Alan Bell last year as a “small but exceedingly promising area for the Island,” and the corporate tax rate for firms in the sector was cut in the 2004 budget to zero percent.

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