Isle Of Man At The Vanguard Of Worldwide Broadband Revolution

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London

19 July 2006

Broadband penetration on the Isle of Man is 60% higher than that of the OECD average, confirming the jurisdiction as one of the world's leading e-economies, according to Manx Telecom.

Announcing that more than 10,000 broadband connections have been achieved on the island, Manx Telecom stated that ADSL broadband penetration on the Island is now 12.7 connections per 100 of population. By comparison, a recent OECD report on broadband take-up around the world showed that the Island is ahead of both the UK and Ireland in the number of DSL connections – they trail at 11.5 and 5.0 respectively.

Since launching the service six years ago, Manx Telecom says that it has made a multi-million pound investment in Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) core equipment, providing unrivalled levels of coverage – 99.8% - compared to other European countries. Furthermore, price reductions and increased availability have seen its popularity soar, with the number of connections growing by over 50% during the last twelve months.

ADSL technology provides broadband Internet access over a standard telephone line, effectively ‘splitting’ the line so that it can be used simultaneously for both voice calls and high-speed Internet browsing.

The Isle of Man became one of the first ten countries in the world with ADSL broadband services when Manx Telecom first enabled the Douglas exchange in March 2000 to offer business broadband services. By June 2001 both business and residential ADSL broadband services had been rolled out to Ramsey, Castletown, Peel, Port Erin and Marown exchanges, and by June 2003 all eleven exchanges on the Island had been ADSL-enabled.

Chris Hall, managing director of Manx Telecom commented:

“We are delighted to have reached the 10,000 connections milestone and proud that our investment has provided a high quality service that is available to nearly all households on the Island."

"We are all aware, through TV and press advertising in the UK, of ISPs offering what look like very cheap high-speed broadband deals. However it is important to bear in mind that most of these low cost services are only offered where they are economically viable – in other words in the major cities where the number of customers served by a single exchange is often significantly more customers than the entire population of the Isle of Man, and furthermore there are often considerable additional costs “hidden” in the small print.”

Mr Hall continued:

“Nevertheless, MT is committed to continuing to enhance and improve its broadband offerings, and we are constantly striving to reduce our costs so that we can pass these savings on to our customers. In addition, in response to customer feedback, our in-house ISP, ManxNet, is currently finalising plans to introduce a lower-priced ‘entry-level’ broadband service, which should be very attractive for any internet users yet to experience the exciting performance available from an ‘always-on’ high speed broadband connection.”

The take-up of broadband has also been supported by Isle of Man Government’s policy of subsidising initial connection charges to customers.

“These latest figures help to demonstrate how the “e-Island” dream is fast becoming a reality, as they show how well the Island ranks against other leading e-enabled jurisdictions around the world," noted Tim Craine, the Isle of Man’s Director of e-Business.

"The initiative involving funding from Government via the DTI, to cover the cost of a broadband connection for individuals and businesses has certainly helped to drive the rapid increase in broadband connections in recent years," he added.

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