Superfast broadband is not a ’nice to have’ but a ’must for business’.

That’s the view of Chief Minister Howard Quayle as Tynwald approved the government’s new national telecoms strategy.

The island has been at the cutting edge of technology in the past but is at risk of falling behind other jurisdictions, the strategy report notes.

We continue to slip down the worldwide league of average broadband speeds, dropping from 50th to 62nd out of 200 countries.

The new strategy aims to set out a ’direction of travel’ to introduce 5G and deliver high-speed fibre broadband to all residents and businesses who would want it.

Enterprise Minister Laurence Skelly told Tynwald that the island could not ’stand back and rest on its laurels’. ’We must embrace the digital world that is evolving around us,’ he said.

regulators

He said: ’We need modern and powerful regulators; we need to futureproof our whole island with a fast fibre capability and national broadband plan.

’We need to upgrade and expand our off-island fibre routes, we need to ensure our planning policies support this new infrastructure and we need to ensure where government itself operates in this market it does so transparently and effectively.’

He added: ’This strategy sends a clear message that the island is forward-looking in its approach and that the government will support initiatives which develop and grow its digital industries.’

Following a unanimous Tynwald vote to support the telecoms strategy, the Department for Enterprise will engage in a competitive process to find a preferred partner to deliver an island-wide fibre network.

Speaker Juan Watterson accepted it was important to emphasise that ’Tech-Isle’ message but he expressed concern at a ’one size fits all’ approach to broadband provision.

He explained: ’I think it is important we do expect ordinary users to be able to have access points at different levels of capacity within the system and not expect the smaller user to cross-subsidise the significant investment in infrastructure that will be required.’

Douglas East MHK Chris Robertshaw said: ’How on earth did we, so many years ago, pride ourselves in the fact that we were so far ahead on 3G? Somewhere we dozed off and suddenly woke up and found ourselves number 62 in the list. That cannot happen again.’

Fellow Douglas East MHK Clare Bettison pointed out: ’I think many people, particularly within rural communities on the island and sometimes in urban areas, will have experienced the joys of Manx broadband.

’I find it can often be akin to our own local Manx celebrity - Derry Kissack, of the Purple Helmets, and his claims of speeds approaching 100 mph!

’Yet for many island businesses and residents this is no laughing matter. In some areas broadband claims of speeds of up to 40 megabits per second are for the majority of time under five megabits per second.’

Infrastructure Minister Ray Harmer said: ’The vision is for 100% fibre across the island. I think that is hugely important, hugely significant.’