Over 120 years of Manx telecommunications

It was in January of 1889 that George Gillmore was granted a licence by the British Post Office to operate a public telephone system in the Isle of Man. At that time, in his own words, “The Manx people knew nothing about telephones or telephone exchanges…I had to set up a number of free lines to educate the people into the thing.”

The rest, as they say, is history. Here are some of the landmark events along the way.

1889 – George Gillmore opens a telephone exchange in Athol Street. Of the 14 or so subscribers, Quiggins Sawmill, the Isle of Man Railway and the Steam Packet are the first to sign up.

1891 – the National Telephone Company buys George Gillmore out and makes him manager of the new company. It’s only later that George realises he could have named his price. His licence was actually for the whole of the British Isles, and while the company paid £20,100 for the tiny Thanet Telephone Company in Essex, George got just £1,935, 17 shillings and three pence.

1899 – Subscriber numbers have risen to 526, with seven public call offices in the Island.

1912 – the General Post Office takes over the system.

1929 – the Anglo-Irish cable is opened, running from Norbreck near Blackpool to Port Grenaugh to Ireland. A momentous development, this enables the first telephone communication with England.

1940 – having retired shortly after the Post Office took the system over, George Gillmore dies, aged 88.

1967 – the first Subscriber Trunk Dialling (STD) call is made from the Island to the UK.

1980 – British Telecom is formed from the break-up of the General Post Office.

1986 – British Telecom forms Manx Telecom, which the following year is granted a 20-year licence to operate the Island’s telecommunications system.

1988 – Peel becomes the first digital working exchange in the Island, with all the other exchanges following suit over the next 12 months.

2002 – The Isle of Man is one of the first countries in the world to enjoy broadband ADSL services, courtesy of Manx Telecom.

2005 – Manx Telecom becomes the world’s first operator to launch the super-fast HSDPA (3.5G) service.

Today – Having been keeping the Island’s residents and businesses connected for over 21 years, Manx Telecom’s investment totals around £120 million.