The Communications Commission is carrying out an online survey on a range of issues, including the take-up of mobile and fixed broadband subscriptions in the Isle of Man.

The survey, which runs until January 15, is designed to provide an insight into consumer habits and help to shape plans for the future.

It comes after criticism of speeds available in the island.

In August, an international league table of broadband speeds by cable.co.uk put the Isle of Man at 50th in the world, way behind Jersey at 14th and the UK at 31st.

The Isle of Man was one place ahead of Kenya and two ahead of Guernsey.

Chairman of the Communications Commission Bill Malarkey MHK this week said: ’We want to find out what is important to island consumers when they are using broadband services.

’The technology industry is evolving rapidly and it is important to remain in step with changing consumer habits. We are aware that the number of broadband subscriptions has been increasing steadily in recent years, with the trend towards higher quality, higher speed products.’

He added: ’Many people now consider broadband to be a necessity in modern society rather than a luxury. I would encourage everyone to complete this survey in order to provide the Communications Commission with feedback from a broad cross-section of the community.

’This is the first time a survey of this nature has been conducted in the Isle of Man and the information will support our efforts to serve the best interests of island consumers.’

Providers in the island ofer a range of broadband products, with ADSL (up to 16Mbps) available to 100% of households with fixed lines.

Other broadband products include VDSL (up to 40Mbps) and VSDL+ (up to 100Mbps). In December this year a new product was launched offering up to 200 Mbps. Fibre to premises is due to be rolled out to some areas of the island from 2018 and can offer up to 1,000 Mbps. 4G high speed mobile broadband is available to 99% of the island’s population.

The survey is available at https://www.gov.im/broadbandsurvey or the Communications Commission’s website.