Manx Telecom revealed today that it is to launch a new ultrafast broadband service which the company claims will transform the way Manx people use the Internet. The new service, called Ultima, will offer download speeds of up to 40Mbit/s and upload speeds of up to 2Mbit/s; considerably faster than even the current top broadband speeds of 16Mbit/s and 832Kb/s. “Make no mistake;” says Manx Telecom Marketing Director, David Smith, “this is the biggest development in broadband technology on the Island for some time, the investment for which has been made exclusively by Manx Telecom. The Isle of Man already has higher average broadband speeds than the UK, but we expect that Ultima’s unprecedented speeds will be welcomed by our customers who increasingly demand faster and higher capacity broadband. This is world-leading technology and has only been made possible, of course, by Manx Telecom’s massive and ongoing investment in the Isle of Man’s telecoms infrastructure, investment which has consistently provided the Island with leading edge technology ahead of it being available elsewhere. The technology is also being made available to all other Internet Service Providers on the Island.” Based on Very High Bit-Rate Digital Subscriber Line (VDSL) technology, which Manx Telecom has installed at each of their exchanges across the Island at a dedicated cost of some ?500,000, the new Ultima service is “line length dependent” and will be available on all lines up to 2km from a Manx Telecom exchange, which means that over 50% of Island homes and business will be able to benefit from the new Ultima service when it is launched in October. According to Manx Telecom, broadband customers on the Island are increasingly embracing the digital age with individuals, families, and businesses, accessing Smartphones, iPads, games consoles, laptops and Internet-enabled TVs simultaneously – all of which require seamless and ever faster data connections. “Ultima,” says David Smith, “will deliver the fastest broadband speeds on the Island, and will make a huge difference to the way our customers experience the Internet, opening up a whole new world of opportunities. We want as many people as possible to be able to take advantage of these amazing speeds, so all new Ultima customers will get a free router worth ?98, and customers who renew their Manx Telecom mobile pay monthly service at the same time will get a free router, plus free installation; that’s a saving of ?176, meaning that customers can effectively get the new Ultima service with no upfront costs. When balanced against the additional monthly line rental of ?9, we believe that Manx Telecom customers who opt for Ultima will benefit from the most competitive service in the market”. Manx Telecom expect a huge demand for Ultima, and customers who want to know if they will be able to access the new service should call Manx Telecom on 624 624 or drop in to one of the company’s Douglas stores, where staff will check that their line can receive Ultima. Alternatively, customers can visit www.manx-telecom.com/speed - ENDS -