Approved e-Gaming Disaster Recovery Provider Licence for Manx
Telecom
3rd September 2009
Manx Telecom, a wholly owned subsidiary of O2 and part of the
Telefonica Group of companies, has been licensed as an approved
e-Gaming Disaster Recovery Provider by the Isle of Man Gambling
Supervision Commission. The licence will enable the company to
provide e-Gaming clients with disaster recovery facilities under
the Island’s innovative legislation covering online gaming.
Manx Telecom, the Island’s leading telecommunications operator,
was established in 1889 and this year celebrates its 120th
birthday. The Island’s main provider of fixed, mobile, internet and
wholesale carrier telecom networks; Manx Telecom was the first
company on island to provide data centre services. The company’s
involvement in e-Gaming also goes back to the earliest days of the
sector, having hosted the first ever live e-Gaming sites to
register with the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission, in
2001. Since then, Manx Telecom has gone on to invest heavily in the
Island’s data centre and telecommunications infrastructure, putting
the island firmly on the e-Gaming map, and attracting several
global e-Gaming companies including the world’s largest poker
operator “PokerStars” to its purpose built data hosting and
disaster recovery facilities.
“Currently, we do, of course, provide data centre co-location,
fully managed hosted platforms, and disaster recovery, services for
a wide range of customers in variety of industry sectors,” says
Stephen Kane, e-Gaming & e-Business Development Manager at Manx
Telecom, “however, e-Gaming is somewhat different in that it is a
regulated business. Although we have provided data centre solutions
and services for some years now to companies with full Isle of Man
e-Gaming Licences, the introduction by the Gambling Supervision
Commission of a new Disaster Recovery Licence is a great step
forward. The Isle of Man, in particular, has lead with way with
flexible and pragmatic e-Gaming legislation under which e-Gaming
companies can put effective disaster recovery arrangements in
place, and we are pleased to be able to offer e-Gaming clients this
facility”.
Manx Telecom’s new licence will cover all its data centre
operations on-Island, enabling it to provide disaster recovery
services to e-Gaming businesses worldwide. Manx Telecom owns and
operates a number of data centre sites on and off Island, including
the Island’s only purpose built data hosting facility. Staffed by
qualified technicians 24 hours a day, 365 days a year it is
designed to deliver 99.999% “uptime” to hosted customers. In fact,
Manx Telecom’s data centre’s services have achieved 100%
availability for over 10 years, and its more recently installed
high capacity off-Island networks have achieved 100% availability
for over two years. This is thanks, amongst other things, to over
30 Manx Telecom specialist engineers who are specifically dedicated
to delivering seamless enterprise hosting and connectivity services
to its clients, and to Manx Telecom’s specialist power, plant and
engineering teams, who design and manage its facilities –
guaranteeing maximum availability.
Currently, Manx Telecom’s data centre solutions’ portfolio
includes; enterprise fully managed and co-location hosting, global
connectivity, disaster recovery, and many other data centre
services. As Manx Telecom’s data centre facilities portfolio
continually expands, the company has already attracted a growing
number of prestigious public and private sector clients; including
the world’s largest poker operator, e-Gaming companies, online
bookmakers, e-music platforms, global payment processors,
international e-money providers, global banks, international
insurance companies, and a range of public sector organisations.
Manx Telecom has an active programme of marketing both the data
centre and the Isle of Man to potential clients worldwide.
“There is no doubt, having made such a significant investment –
in excess of £120m in the past 10 years – in the Island’s
telecommunications infrastructure, purpose built data centre
infrastructure and fully resilient global connectivity solutions,
that Manx Telecom has been pivotal in establishing the Isle of Man
as a key player in the thriving e-Gaming sector, and in attracting
the largest names in the business to the Island.” says Stephen.
“Also, in doing so, we have built up a large and highly talented
pool of people providing a confident array, diversity, and scale of
resource, which is unsurpassed on the Isle of Man and in many other
offshore jurisdictions. As one of the Island’s largest employers
with over 300 people, we also have the largest dedicated data
centre solutions team, plus access to O2 &Telefónica group
resources of 257,000 professionals in 25 countries. With expertise
in all aspects of data centre solutions, global connectivity, and
disaster recovery, I believe we are truly a great asset to the
Island’s economy.”
Commenting, Garth Kimber, Head of e-Gaming Development at the
Isle of Man Department for Trade and Industry, said, “The Island
continues to attract e-Gaming companies, due in part, to our
approach to licensing. Manx Telecom has made significant
investments, and having an e-Gaming disaster recovery licence can
only be good news for the company, and for the Island.”