A new exhibition at the Manx Museum is exploring more than 135 years of telecommunications in the Isle of Man, from the island’s first telephone exchange to today’s full fibre broadband network.

‘Powered by People’, has been launched by Manx Telecom as part of Manx National Heritage’s ‘You Exhibit’ programme, is now open in the museum’s Cabinet of Curiosities and will run until September. Entry is free as part of general museum admission, with donations welcome.

The exhibition brings together artefacts and archive photography spanning more than a century of communications history, highlighting how the island has remained connected to the wider world despite its location in the middle of the Irish Sea.

The story begins with the granting of a single licence, the opening of one exchange on Athol Street and a small number of early telephone customers. By 1901, the island had 600 subscribers.

It follows the development of telecommunications through the decades, including the arrival of the Isle of Man’s first mobile network in 1996 and Manx Telecom becoming the first operator in Europe to launch a live 3G network five years later.

Alongside the technological milestones, the exhibition focuses on the people who made those developments possible, including the engineers, operators and staff who helped maintain and expand the island’s communications infrastructure across generations.

Gary Lamb, chief executive of Manx Telecom, said: ‘We're proud of our history, but mostly we're proud of the people who made it, around 400 islanders who make Manx Telecom what it is today, and the generations before them.

‘This is our story, but it's the island's story too. It belongs to everyone who has ever picked up a phone, got online or sent a message from somewhere on this island. We'd love people to come and see it.’

Katie King, curator for art and social history at Manx National Heritage, said: ‘We are delighted to have been able to share items from the Manx National Heritage collections as part of this exhibition, helping to tell the story of telecommunications on the Isle of Man through objects that have been carefully preserved for future generations.

‘Among the highlights are two objects connected to George Gilmour, one of the pioneers of telephone communication on the island, whose work played an important role in bringing this transformative technology to the Manx community.

‘These collections allow us to connect today's audiences with the people and innovations that helped shape the island’s history.’

Manx Telecom recently insisted it has no plans for redundancies after its acquisition under a new joint ownership structure.

The company, which recently completed a transaction that saw European private equity firm CVC DIF acquire a 55% stake in the business while Jersey Telecom retained 45%, is ‘focused on growth’ rather than cutting jobs.

The UK government gave final approval for the sale of Manx Telecom last month following what it described as a ‘detailed national security assessment’. The takeover was first announced in October last year.

Mr Lamb said the deal would allow the two telecoms providers to benefit from greater scale while maintaining their separate identities.