The first live 5G service in the Isle of Man has been launched by Bluewave Communications, marking a major milestone in supporting the island’s growing capability as a home for digital business.

For the first time, businesses in the Isle of Man will have access to 5G thanks to a ‘significant investment’ by Bluewave, the island’s first 5G mobile operator.

Bluewave is owned by Leeds-based AQL, which is known as one of the UK’s most innovative telecoms operators and a ‘hidden enabler’of so-called smart cities – technology which runs vital services such as traffic flow and streetlights.

AQL also owns the Carnane satellite earth station, on Douglas Head, which supports rural satellite internet across the island and the north of the UK.

The company’s founder and chief executive officer, Professor Adam Beaumont, said: ‘5G isn’t just the technology of the mast and how the handsets connect to the network, it is a whole re-engineering of how mobile works. It’s about the stuff “under the hood”, behind the scenes.’

The network will complement the island’s existing capability and coverage footprint.

While urban areas have some fibre connectivity and ultra-rural networks now have access to SpaceX Starlink satellite internet, Bluewave’s 5G offering will fill in the capability gaps and provide more choice to the user.

It will allow business users in Douglas and the surrounding region, including shipping operators, to connect to unlimited, high speed 5G data connectivity easily and cost-effectively.

Adam said: ‘Unlimited broadband is not something that’s really been offered in the broadband space on the Isle of Man because of the high cost of off-island connectivity.’

Bluewave’s investment will change all this. It includes building on-island mast and fibre infrastructure, along with creating terabits of connectivity capacity off-island, connecting to Leeds, Manchester and London and to the global internet hubs, thus bringing down the cost of data and giving digital businesses access to world class connectivity at costs on-par with major European cities.

The capacity of the network is huge, allowing uncapped data tariffs connecting to the global internet via Bluewave’s own terabit (a terabit is 1,000 gigabits) of off-island capability.

‘We have more capacity than any other Isle of Man operator,’ said Adam.

It will also connect to ManxIX, the island’s internet exchange. ManxIX, was founded by Adam, building on his innovative IXLeeds, the first independent internet exchange outside London.

Manx IX is expected to transform connectivity between operators on the island, further increasing efficiencies by keeping local traffic on-island.

When it comes to some of the changes and innovations all this can bring, Adam said: ‘The thing we want to focus on at Blue Wave is concentrating our high speed broadband for businesses and consumers for connecting innovation, bringing the exciting technology that we’re already doing across to the Isle of Man to run the pioneering innovation that needs that connectivity.’

5G can now support the island’s aspirations to embrace smart technology: everything from smart streetlights, to delivery drones and robots.

Adam is especially excited about the possibilities on the Isle of Man because, he said: ‘The Isle of Man has the flexibility to say “yes” to this.’

Adam is also a keen environmentalist and a trustee of Eden Project. As a born and bred northerner he has a special interest in the latest Eden, to be situated in Morecambe.

It is about to begin construction thanks to a recent grant of £50 million from the UK Government’s levelling up fund.

Adam said: ‘We grew up holidaying in Morecambe and Blackpool - it’s in our blood.’

The new 5G coverage also has a role to play in helping Eden Project Morecambe to reach its full potential. Each Eden project reflects its local environment and surroundings and the 5G coverage of the Irish Sea will play a part in providing more information about the marine environment between Morecambe and the island.

He said: ‘The other part of having 5G networks in the Isle of Man, pointing across the Irish Sea, is that we will also have a 5G network in Morecambe, pointing at the Isle of Man. These together will give us ubiquitous coverage of the Irish Sea enabling monitoring of the marine environment to provide real-time data to the scientific community. Eventually this data will be used as part of the digital storytelling of the rhythms of the natural environment which will be the focus of Eden Project Morecambe.

Adam said: ‘The Eden projects take hard scientific facts and data and turn them into interactive exhibits. This will provide the data to create this living theatre.’

It will also enable better-connected passenger ferries and shipping, opening up future opportunities for tourism both in the North West of England and the Isle of Man.

And clearly the possibility of strengthening links with the north of England offers many other exciting opportunities for the island.

Chief Minister Alfred Cannan said: ‘I am delighted that Bluewave have invested in a 5G network on the Isle of Man.

‘The network has the potential to unlock many partnerships, such as potentially creating digital twinning of our whole-island UNESCO Biosphere with the Eden projects in Cornwall and soon in Morecambe.

‘It can also support the growing need to connect the Internet of Things, which will bring future benefits for both the public and private sectors on the Isle of Man.’