From today, (2nd November), the Isle of Man’s mobile phone industry will compete with the UK's thanks to initiatives being launched by Sure.
Sure has become the first operator in the Isle of Man and UK to make it permanently free to receive a call whilst travelling anywhere in Europe.
The company has also introduced free texts to anywhere in the world for the rest of 2009 for all its customers.
In another first for the Island, calls to the Republic of Ireland will now be included as standard in all Pay monthly plans inclusive minutes whilst it will also be cheaper for all Sure customers to call that country.
These deals put the Isle of Man on par with UK value for the first time.
Since Sure entered the Manx market in July 2007, the price has steadily dropped - in the first year alone, prices fell by 33%.
Mike Stanton, Country Manager of Sure Isle of Man, says, "We are delivering the kind of value we promised to clients when we entered the market – and we are very proud to have got here.
"Customers have been telling us that the costs of texts, roaming and calling overseas have been real issues for them, and we have answered them by delivering these deals.
"There is a popular perception that prices here are higher than in the UK, but Sure has been leading the way in price reductions, and we have now managed to reach a point where we are offering the kind of deals that would be seen in the UK."
From Russia to the Canary Islands, calls are now free to receive while roaming in Europe for all customers.
For Sure Pay Monthly customers that means free incoming calls in 48 countries; for Pay As You Go customers it means free incoming calls in 18 countries.
Customers can now also text anyone, anywhere, for free until the end of the year.
Pay Monthly customers will automatically be able to take advantage of the free anywhere texts but PAYG customers just need to top up by a minimum of ?5 to get this benefit.
Sure has also permanently cut prices to call the Republic of Ireland, to just 10p/minute to landlines and 20p/minute to mobiles. Calls to Ireland will now be included in the inclusive minutes which are part of all Sure Pay Monthly price plans.
Calls to the rest of the UK are already included as part of the inclusive minutes in Sure price plans.
"So far, more than a thousand Islanders have transferred their mobiles to Sure since being able to change network and keep their original phone number," explains Mr Stanton.
"We are confident that our offers, and the fact that Sure charges calls by the second, will attract many many more.
"We brought true telecoms competition to the Island. It has only been a couple of years, but things have improved massively for customers, and we believe that is down to Sure."
