Isle of Man gets 60Mbps wireless network

A 60Mbps fixed wireless network service went live on the Isle of Man on Friday, said to be the first of its kind in the UK.

The 3.5GHz service is run by Domicilium, one of the island's largest business ISPs and the exclusive licence holder for that radio frequency band on the island.

The band is not to be confused with the slower 5.8GHz "Band C" services, recently opened for business by Ofcom under a light-touch licensing scheme, which allows for more competition but makes service provision riskier for ISPs.

Domicilium offers a carrier-class service that includes guaranteed quality of service and backhaul. This is primarily targeted at banks and trading houses but can also be used to give broadband access to multi-tenant buildings and schools. The nature of the technology means that organisations can access high speed Internet services without having to wait for new cables to be laid or roads to be dug up -- and most significantly, they are no longer reliant on Manx Telecom, the incumbent operator.

Jon Allen, managing director at Domicilium, said in a statement: "As the only alternative to the incumbent monopoly telecom operator, we have a responsibility to provide competitively priced, high-quality broadband services to our customers."

Allen said the high speed services were made possible because of the VectaStar wireless equipment that is built by Cambridge Broadband, the UK's only 3.5GHz fixed-wireless hardware equipment vendor.

Peter Wharton, chief executive of Cambridge Broadband, said he hopes the company's efforts in creating a realistic alternative to traditional methods will catch on across the mainland: "We are very pleased to be working with Domicilium to establish the country's first such network," he said. "We hope that the success of this deployment will stimulate the deployments of the operators who have recently been awarded 3.5GHz licences in the mainland UK."