Access to superfast fibre broadband is widely regarded as being essential for the future growth of all major economies.

We speak exclusively to Manx Telecom chief executive officer, Gary Lamb, about how the communications company believes it is leading the way to deliver the significant investment in infrastructure which will be necessary for the island to keep pace in the technology fast lane.

Q1: Why is fibre

broadband so important?

Gary Lamb (GL): World class, future-proof, fibre broadband at home and in business is becoming the standard expected by businesses and consumers in all leading nations.

Because FTTP (Fibre To The Premises) is more reliable – and much faster with speeds up to 1Gbps – it will have a big part to play in helping more businesses achieve the universal goals of being customer focused, profitable, and competitive.

Providing a fibre optic cable right into the premises creates a superior broadband infrastructure that cannot be surpassed by other technologies.

For this reason it represents a significant step in the evolution of broadband, and creates a moment of opportunity where technological innovation can be paired with business innovation. Early adopters can gain many advantages to improve efficiency, and even bring new products and services to market.

Fibre is the future, and we are proud to be leading the way in bringing it to as many homes and businesses on the Island as we can. We’re ready for the future, and determined that businesses on the Isle of Man will be too.

Q2: What is the situation on the Island right now with fibre availability?

GL: In March this year we announced the first two areas to take advantage of fibre broadband – the island’s main business district in Athol Street and the residential area Reeyt Ny Sheear just off Johnny Watterson’s Lane – both in Douglas. More work has been done since then.

By the end of this year we are aiming to have made direct fibre broadband available to approximately 4,600 residential and business premises on the Island. It would mean that out of all the homes and businesses on the Island a total of around 13% would have access to broadband with speeds of up to 1Gbps.

Q3: How does fibre fit into the broader picture of the future of digital technology on the Island?

GL: Digital transformation over the next decade will continue to revolutionise how we all live and work.

Fibre broadband will be a major element of the technology which underpins that transformation, and Manx Telecom is embracing the opportunities and challenges that it will bring.

We are already urging businesses of every size and in every sector to seize the opportunities offered by fibre broadband.

While it’s true that many big businesses on the island already benefit from fibre connectivity via other technologies such as Carrier Ethernet, the roll-out of FTTP brings the speed and reliability of fibre broadband within the reach of many more smaller and medium sized businesses because it’s easier to access and more cost-effective.

There will be businesses, international business centres, and even nations that get left behind in the race to roll-out fibre – but we are determined that as many Manx companies as possible will continue to have access to the broadband technology that’s required to allow them to keep pace with competitors, bring new businesses to the island, and to attract the people with the skills and experience to support them.

We can help businesses, and the Island, to join the dots that will lead to a whole new world of opportunities.

Q4: Bearing in mind the scale of what will be required in terms of financial investment, and investment in time and resources, is it realistic to expect that the private sector alone can deliver fibre across the Island without public sector support?

GL: In the first phase of our plan to roll-out fibre on the Island, we have set a target to make it available to approximately 13% of premises by the end of this year.

Following this phase of the roll-out we will measure the take-up of fibre services, gather feedback, and then analyse this data before deciding on our plans for 2019 and beyond. In the UK, for example, the latest Government initiative allocated £400million – via its Digital Infrastructure Investment Fund – to boost private sector investment in fibre.

However, even that figure has been described as a drop in the ocean compared to the sum that will be required to run full fibre connections across the UK.

Of course, the task here in the island will have its own unique challenges.

Bringing fibre to rural areas is an especially difficult challenge here – it’s a fact that the economies of scale, and the likely return on investment, may mean that it’s not economically viable for the private sector alone to take on the entire burden of investing in the infrastructure required.

In Jersey, for example, where the leading telecoms provider is state-owned, £19million of public funding has already been invested in fibre, and the total cost of the ‘Gigabit Jersey’ project is reported to be in excess of £41million.

However, it’s important to note that the Isle of Man’s geographical area is over four times the size of Jersey, and that Jersey is more densely populated. These factors give you an idea of the scale of the additional challenges we face in the Isle of Man.

There’s no doubt that rolling-out fibre is a significant undertaking, so we will continue to work with government on how best to improve service, especially in rural areas, as part of an Isle of Man national broadband plan.