Manx Telecom has been fined £100,000 by the island’s industry watchdog.

It comes after the Communications and Utilities Regulatory Authority (CURA) found that the company breached one of the conditions of its operating licence.

The breach relates to an interconnection request from rival firm Sure, which was lodged with Manx Telecom in August last year.

Interconnection is the process by which two or more telecom networks are physically connected, allowing customers from one network to communicate with customers on another.

In this instance, Sure wanted Manx Telecom to arrange the interconnection of Sure and BT networks, which would allow calls or data to pass between both networks.

Manx Telecom is in a position to control this interconnection process as the firm manages part of the infrastructure required to connect the two networks.

Under current regulations, Manx Telecom has a legal obligation to negotiate interconnection agreements in good faith and within a reasonable timeframe.

However, in August last year, Sure complained to CURA that Manx Telecom had breached its regulatory obligations due to ‘a number of factors’ related to that interconnection request.

As part of the complaint, Sure alleged that Manx Telecom had withdrawn options it had previously presented as part the interconnection request without ‘any justification.’

CURA launched an investigation before issuing Manx Telecom with a ‘Notice of Contravention’ in July this year.

Part of that notice set out steps that Manx Telecom should take to resolve the situation.

It also required the firm to explain how it had followed previous directions related to interconnection requests and to improve its procedures.

As part of its preliminary findings, CURA said: ‘Having regard for the evidence before it, [CURA] holds that by withdrawing options presented to Sure and BT during the process without any objective justification, Manx Telecom had breached its regulatory obligations.’

Manx Telecom was given until August 1 to respond to the notice, a deadline which was extended by two weeks at the company’s request.

After considering all the evidence presented, a report on the investigation published by CURA states: ‘[CURA] held that the withdrawal of the options for solutions at the two sites where BT has its Points of Presence on the Island was not reasonable.

‘In order to take the actions that Manx Telecom did there needs to be solid, tangible plans in place that predate the request.

‘As nothing was forthcoming in this regard the Authority sees no grounds to change its view that Manx Telecom breached Condition 1 of its Licence as set out in the Notice of Contravention.’

CURA’s preliminary judgement and £100,000 fine, as set out in the Notice of Contravention, was upheld.