Background
In October 2018 the Isle of Man government published the National Telecommunications Strategy which was unanimously approved by Tynwald in October 2018.
The strategy laid out six key themes to set the direction the Island should take to meet Tynwald’s goal of being a world leader in the telecom industry. While there has been a great deal of activity across all the six themes, a key focus of this strategy was the National Broadband Plan which supports the delivery of ultrafast fibre broadband to as many people on the Island as possible.
The implementation of high speed broadband is a problem currently being tackled by every developed and many developing countries around the world with varying degrees of success. It is well understood that a high quality, high speed communication is a strong enabler for economic growth and social inclusion.
Since Tynwald approved the National Telecommunications Strategy in October 2018 the Department for Enterprise has been working up plans to support an Island wide fibre rollout programme with Manx Telecom.
You can find our more information on the Isle of Man National Communications Strategy in the PDF document included on this webpage.
National Broadband Plan
The National Broadband Plan (NBP), outlined in the Isle of Man’s National Telecoms Strategy, sets out to deliver ultrafast fibre broadband (FTTP) to as many households on the Isle of Man as possible.
Given the diversity of the Isle of Man’s landscape and the remote nature of some of the properties, the Isle of Man Government has recognised that delivery of fibre broadband to some areas would be commercially unviable and that funding should be made available to ensure that properties in nine intervention zones will have access to the Fibre.
With Manx Telecom chosen as the preferred supplier, the National Broadband Plan commenced on 1st July 2020 and it is expected that 99% of households will be installed with Fibre broadband by 2024.
You can find out if fibre is in your area and more information about the overall strategy behind the National Broadband Plan by vising the website. Link to the Think Fibre website.