The Communications Commission has been offering licenses to new operators since 2002, however despite extensive talks nothing had been finalised until now.

Cable & Wireless and Wire9 Telecom will enter the Manx market during the next few months, giving much needed choice to mobile phone users.

Anthony Hewitt, chief executive of the Communications Commission, said he was pleased with the progress made. He hinted that some of the big UK players had turned down the chance to set up here.

He said: 'We have had discussions with a number of mobile phone operators in the recent past, many have investigated the Island. We are very pleased that at last two operators have decided that they should proceed to enter the market.'
He added: 'We certainly expect the competition will do no harm at all for mobile phone prices. It is a positive move for the Island.'

Wire9 Telecom will operate its service through Manx subsidiary Cloud9 Mobile Communications. It will team up with internet service provider Domicilium to provide a full range of mobile services as a rival to Manx Telecom.

Its mobile system will be capable of switching to VoIP (voice over internet protocol) in WiFi areas. This will allow the cost of longer distance mobile calls to be dramatically reduced.

Lee Jones, director of Wire9 Telecom, said the initial services will be rolled out before this winter and a 3G capability will be available from summer 2007.

A retail shop will be established, with a full range of the latest mobile phones available to individual and business customers.

He said: 'Our strategy is to offer a price match to any other operator in the Island as a worse case scenario. That includes all free minute bundles, we will also offer a discount to join our network. Pre pay customers will be able to roam internationally and there will be considerable cost savings for roaming in certain European countries.'

Cable & Wireless International currently has mobile phone operations in The Channel Islands, Monaco, Macao and The Carribean and has a business model to suit Island telephony. It will offer a full range of mobile phone services.

Mr Hewitt said: 'Whereas the big operators in the UK see us as a small market, in the case of Cable & Wireless International, they are very familiar with small markets. The Island is actually about midsize in terms of the jurisdictions it operates in. It believes we are a very nice fit.'

The company were remaining tight-lipped about the move, but a spokesperson said it would make more annoucements in due course.

A statement said: 'Cable & Wireless International is delighted to have been awarded a mobile licence in the Isle of Man. We are excited about bringing choice to customers in this market, which fits well within our international portfolio.'

Manx Telecom said it welcomed the competition and is confident its tariffs will remain competitive.

Chris Hall, managing director of Manx Telecom, said: 'We welcome the Government`s decision to award two new mobile licences to Cable & Wireless and Wire9.

'We believe that competition in all sectors is good for customers and we fully support the increased choice being extended into the mobile market.

'We listen to our customers and continuously review our tariffs, benchmarking against what other operators, such as C&W in the Channel Islands, are offering, so we are confident that our prices and quality of service are competitive.'

An independent report into the telecommunication sector was commissioned by Government in 2001. UK consultancy InterConnect Communications Ltd (ICC) made recommendations about the mobile phone market.

It said: 'Interconnect would agree that, in some areas, Manx Telecom's tariffs do appear to be high. We submit that, without sacrificing quality, competition or effective regulation will serve to reduce prices where necessary to ensure a fair deal for all on the Island and not just the financial community.'

The Communications Commission have gone for competition over regulation in the mobile market and the consultants still see this as a good thing.

Alan Horne, vice-chairman of ICC, said this week: 'Competition in any market, no matter how small, is a good thing. It's been proven in market after market. When competition comes in the incumbent (Manx Telecom) smartens up customer service and prices drop.'

He added: 'In order to be competitive new entrants will have to match, if not exceed what Manx Telecom offers and provide the full range of services.'

Seperate Box

A report into Manx Telecom's pricing policy in comparison to similar jurisdictions was conducted last year by London-based consultancy Pure Pricing.

It compared fixed and mobile telecoms data from Manx Telecom with the UK, Eire, Jersey, Guernsey and Gibraltar. It was an update to the ICC report of 2001.

The main points were reconfirmed by a similar survey by GOS Consulting, released last month.

The main findings for the mobile phone market were;

Manx Telecom's contract tariffs are relatively high (only Gibraltar's are higher)

Contract for 250 mins per month peak rate (at time of report)

Manx Telecom £56.52
Jersey Telecom £42.79
Guernsey £37.26
Gibraltar £65.00
Eire £48.86
UK O2 £34.89
UK Vodafone £43.64
UK T-Mobile £41.82
UK Orange £41.33

Contract for 250 mins per month off-peak

Manx Telecom £47.21
Jersey Telecom £31.07
Guernsey £33.03
Gibraltar £58.63
Eire £48.28
UKO2 £35.86
UK Vodafone £42.73
UK T-Mobile £35.32
UK Orange £45.89

Pre-paid tariffs are low (only Eire is lower)

30 mins per month prepay

Manx Telecom £5.61
Jersey Telecom £6.52
Guernsey £6.62
Gibraltar £8.17
Eire £3.44
UKO2 £8.40
UK Vodafone £6.60
UK T-Mobile £9.36
UK Orange £8.60


MT's calls to the UK and roaming charges from the UK are low compared with the other non-UK operators.

MT's international calls and Eire roaming charges are higher than UK.

GPRS pricing is mid-range

Real tariffs have fallen by 10 per cent reflecting the increase in Manx RPI since 2001.

The introduction of a business discount scheme has helped