The Isle of Man has a world-class telecommunications
infrastructure, and services which cater for the full range of
corporate voice and data communications requirements.
Manx
Telecom is the Island's principal network
operator, with advanced fixed and mobile networks across the
Island.
Communications Commission
Both Manx Telecom and Sure (Isle of Man) provide services under
telecommunications licenses granted by the Isle of Man
Communications Commission and approved by Tynwald, while a number
of ISPs and IT companies provide corporate network and related
services.
Infrastructure
Manx Telecom has invested significantly in
infrastructure during the last few years to provide additional
capacity and new services in line with market requirements.
The new 4G sevice went
live on the 29th July 2014, with 95% population coverage. It is one
of the first sites in the UK to use this innovative technology and
enables internet usage to be up to 7 times faster than
before.
This follows the company's 3G launch in 2001, which was the first
commercial availability outside of Japan. In November 2005 it also
became the first operator in the world to offer 3.5G (HSDPA)
services to its customers.
Connectivity Off-Island
Connectivity off the Island is provided by two resilient
fibre optic rings, owned respectively by BT and Cable &
Wireless, which connect the Island with the North of England and
Northern Ireland.
These links employ 'self-healing SDH loop' technology which
guarantees that if a fault occurs at any part of the link, voice
and data traffic is seamlessly re-routed in the other
direction.
Their total available capacity is 3 million channels (240
Gigabytes) which, with a current capacity utilisation of less than
0.2% on the main cable alone, represents huge potential for the
future.
In addition, the Manx Government owns a third of the undersea cable
connecting the Island with the North of England, and is currently
evaluating commercial and technical options for activating this
capacity to support Island businesses.
E-Business Legislation
The Isle of Man was one of the first countries to pass
dedicated e-business legislation with the introduction of the
Electronic Transactions Act in November 2000.
Additional business continuity regulations introduced in 2002
enable banks, investment businesses and corporate service providers
which are regulated in approved jurisdictions, to use Isle of
Man-based computer servers in the event of catastrophic
failure.
The Island's strong position in financial services and e-business
make it the perfect location for companies in the business of
electronic trading platform development.
The Island also has a sophisticated internet hosting
infrastructure, with a choice of service
providers. Their range of services include hosting, managed
services, internet security services, connectivity and consultancy.
Web hosting business solutions are offered to businesses of all
sizes.