Isle
of Man Internet and E-Commerce Facilities
Apart
from the Internet services delivered
by Manx Telecom, there are a number
of independent Internet Service Providers,
Web Hosting Operators, Business Continuity
and IT Co-location Providers, all of
which combine to provide a vibrant,
competitive and increasingly creative
telecoms and IT Sector.
There
are at least five Internet Service Providers
on the Isle of Man, all of whom also
offer hosting facilities.
In
1996 the Isle of Man Government obtained
permission to use the .im National Top
Level Domain (TLD) and has ultimate
responsibility for its use. The domain
is managed on a daily basis by Advanced
Systems Consultants, an Island-based
Internet Service Provider. A naming
committee consisting of representatives
from the Manx Government and local industry
considers all domain applications.
There
are a number of firms on the Isle of
Man which offer e-commerce packages
or e-business support, and several of
these are consortia. In one case, for
instance, there is a joint venture between
a management consultancy, an Internet
facilities house, a law firm and Manx
Telecom. This approach ensures that
all necessary skills are brought to
bear on the setting-up of an offshore
e-commerce operation.
Several
firms offer comprehensive support to
retail e-commerce operations, typically
including the following components:
- domain
name, hosting and site statistics;
-
secure space for customer ordering
form;
- home,
company information and other pages
as required;
- product
catalogue, shopping basket and ordering
facility;
- catalogue
design and construction including
photography;
- keyword-based
search engine positioning;
- payment-processing
solutions from an external service;
- continuing
site updating service.
In
July, 2006, Manx Telecom said that broadband
penetration on the Isle of Man was 60%
higher than that of the OECD average,
confirming the jurisdiction as one of
the world's leading e-economies.
Announcing
that more than 10,000 broadband connections
had been achieved on the island, Manx
Telecom stated that ADSL broadband penetration
on the Island was 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 had 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.
