A Tynwald written answer has confirmed that £12.5 million in public funding has been approved for the island’s National Broadband Plan since 2018.
However, detailed payment records to Manx Telecom sit entirely with the Department for Enterprise.
The question, tabled by Glenfaba & Peel MHK Kate Lord‑Brennan, asked the Treasury Minister to list every payment made to Manx Telecom, including dates, purposes, locations, infrastructure type and authorising officers.
Treasury Minister Chris Thomas MHK said his department could not provide that breakdown because DfE manages the programme and approves all payments, with Treasury’s finance team acting only as a processing service.
Funding for the rollout was approved through annual budgets under the Fibre Optic Network capital scheme:
- 2019/20: £2m
- 2020/21: £1.5m
- 2021/22: £1.707m
- 2022/23: £5.893m
- Total: £11.1m
A further £1.4m from the Economic Recovery Fund was added in 2020/21 to accelerate the rollout to reach 75% of premises within three years and 99% within four.
Minister Thomas said all aspects of payment allocation, including whether works involved underground cabling, street cabinets or exchange upgrades, were reviewed and authorised by DfE, not Treasury.
The full written answer can be found here.
